REAL-TIME MONITORING OF USAGE AND WEAR OF TOOLS FOR MECHANICAL MACHINING FOR INTELLIGENT MANAGEMENT THEREOF

摘要

An electronic tool monitoring system (4) to monitor usage and wear of tools (5) for mechanical machining, comprising, for each tool (5) to be monitored:- a tag (6) to be applied to the tool (5) and with a unique identifier (ID) that allows the tool (5) to be distinguished from other tools (5), and- a self-contained and stand-alone electronic monitoring device (8) designed to be firmly and removably applicable to a tool driving apparatus (7) of the tool (5) to monitor usage and wear of a tool (5).;The self-contained and stand-alone electronic monitoring device (8) comprises:- an electronic sensory arrangement (11) to allow the tool (5) to be identified and usage and wear thereof to be monitored;- an electronic communication interface (12) to communicate with a remote tool management centre (2),- an electronic operator interface (17) to provide an operator with information on the tool (5), and- an electronic control unit (14) electrically connected to the electronic sensory arrangement (11), the electronic communication interface (12) and the electronic operator interface (17) and programmed to:∘ store data indicative of a service life of the tool (5),∘ identify and monitor usage and wear of the tool (5) based on an output of the electronic sensory arrangement (11),∘ estimate residual service life of the tool (5) based on monitored usage and wear of the tool (5) and on the stored data indicative of service life of the tool (5),- if service life of the tool (5) is determined not to be exhausted, provide the operator with information on the residual service life of the tool (5) via the electronic operator interface (17),- if service life of the tool (5) is determined to be exhausted, implement one or more of the following interventions to cause operation of the tool (5) to be interrupted:∘ notify the operator, via the electronic operator interface (17), of a need for operation of the tool (5) to be interrupted, and∘ intervene directly on the tool driving apparatus (7) of the tool (5) to interrupt operation thereof; and- transmit to the tool management centre (2), via the electronic communication interface (12), the unique identifier (ID) of the tag (6) associated with the tool (5) and data indicative of either the estimated residual service life of the tool (5) or exhaustion of the service life of the tool (5).