Approach to feed drive load measurements in heavy turning

Abstract

It is well known that the forces loading the feed axes carry a lot of information about the machining process. The measurement of the forces opens the possibility of implementing such functions as cutting tool condition diagnosis, tool breakage detection and adaptive feed control aimed at maintaining constant loading. Hence inexpensive, but usable in industrial conditions, force sensors are sought for the steerable axes. The article describes a feed drive load measuring system based on industrial force sensors. These are strain gauge sensors located in the ball screw area. The system was designed for compressive and tensile forces of up to 30 kN. The effect of nonaxial forces on the measurement error is examined. The proposed system does not introduce any new elements into the machine structure and requires only its minor modifications. The system was tested in a strength testing machine.

Flexure-based dynamometer for vector-valued milling force measurement

“…However, providing reliable measurement of direction-_____________ dependent components (i.e., in vector-valued manner) can be cost intensive. Force sensors may also be integrated in machine tool structures directly near drive housings, nuts or bearings as shown by Medyk, Kasprzak and Pyzalski in [11][12]. Alternately, indirect force calculation is possible by measuring the spindle or drive motor current or power consumption as shown in [13].…”