Real time monitoring of input force for high speed power chucks used in CNC Lathes

It is very important to monitor the chucking condition of the power chucks for safety consideration in CNC Lathes, especially high speed lathes. Measuring the pressure of the oil supplied to the rotary cylinder is a widely used method to monitor the input force of the power chuck. This paper proposes a direct input force measuring method for real time monitoring with more reliability compared to traditional methods. An input force sensor is developed and tested in the experiment, which monitors the variation of the input force of the power chuck accurately and promptly. The sensor is less likely to be polluted by the cooling water and scrap iron.