Detecting tool breakage using accelerometer in ball-nose end milling

Cutting force and vibration are two major characteristics that reflect the tool state in the milling process. Measurement of vibration on the workpiece or the fixture of the workpiece is one of the indirect methods to evaluate the effects of the cutting force. Currently, there is a lack of tool breakage monitoring solutions using vibration sensor in ball end milling operation. The work described in this paper is aimed at the exploration of an on-line monitoring strategy to make use of accelerometer signals. Our experimental investigations provided sufficient evidence that accelerometer signals are sensitive to tool breakage in ball-nose end milling.