Sensor Integration
Smart Tooling System
The smart tooling system is a wireless sensor system developed for noninvasive integration into commercial end milling tool holders. The system is Bluetooth compatible for plug and play operation. Sensor integrated tooling is available in a variety of configurations for torque, acceleration, force, and temperature. Sensor integrated smart tools can help you characterize a production process, improve part quality, or research end mill dynamics.
The Smart Tool Holder system is designed to transmit data directly from an end mill tool tip or from individual cutting inserts. This capability is critical to advance physical modeling and condition monitoring techniques for tool chatter, wear mechanisms, and run out.
The Smart Tool Holder is a robust real-time sensor interface system that can provide tool tip sensor data for process condition monitoring during metal cutting. The objective scope of the smart tool holder is to enable accurate determination of NC metal cutting system dynamics so cutting forces and, ultimately, part quality can be estimated in-process.The Smart Tool wireless sensor system combines existing robust hardware technologies in a novel application. The system can be used to replace conventional spindle mount sensors, air microphones, and bed dynamometers while providing better resolution on the cutting process.
The smart tool holder system has been developed and tested at the UNH Design and Manufacturing Laboratory and has been used to explore a variety of end milling phenomena. Numerous academic publications have been produced as a result of this sensor's unique resolution on the metal cutting process.
Reflex Tooling System
In addition to wireless sensor integrated tools, Suprock Technologies has developed Reflex tool holder technology with sensing abilities capable of detecting the action of tools smaller than 0.5 mm in diameter. These tool holders respond to the touch of a tool with a metal workpiece and indicate the presence of the cutting tool- an important feature for high volume processes like Swiss style machining. The Reflex sensor components and amplification technology is miniaturized and embedded with patent pending techniques that yeild high performance while minimizing value-added expenses. The result is a low cost, high performance indicator of tool functionality that acts as a red light/green light indicator for proper process parameters.
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Swiss machining often utilizes tooling under 1mm diameter. With traditional methods, this is difficult to sense. Therefore, we have developed a solution for condition monitoring that is capable of sensing the work of milling and drilling smaller than 0.5mm diameter.