Development of an on-line tool-life monitoring system using acoustic emission signals in gear shaping

摘要

Sensing techniques for monitoring machining processes have been one of the focuses of research on process automation. This paper presents the development of on-line tool-life monitoring system for gear shaping that uses acoustic emission (AE).Characteristics of the AE signals are related to the cutting condition, tool material and tool geometry in the cutting of metals. The relationship between AE signal and tool wear was investigated experimentally. Experiments were carried out on the gearshaping of SCM 420 material with a pinion cutter having 44 teeth. Root-mean-square (RMS) AE voltages increase regularly according to tool wear. It is suggested that the maximum value of RMS AE voltage is an effective parameter to monitor tool life. Inthis study, not only the acquisition method of AE signals for rotating objects but also the signal-processing technique were developed in order to realize the in-process monitoring system for gear shaping. The on-line tool-life monitoring system developed has been successfully applied to gear machining processes.