Tool Life Monitoring in End Milling of AISI H13 Hot Work Die Steel Using a Low-Cost Vibration Sensor Connected to a Wireless System

Machining of complex components with high added value requires the development and implementation of technologies for monitoring the processes outputs and to ensure the performance and reliability of the manufactured part. Cutting tool wear is one of the most relevant variables in machining due to its effect on both the machining cost and quality of the manufactured component. Although tool wear has been extensively investigated for more than a century, the advent of Industry 4.0 has required more accurate and reliable monitoring systems. This work investigates the feasibility of using a low-cost vibration sensor, based on a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), connected to a wireless data transmission system attached to a rotary tool (milling cutter) for tool wear monitoring when milling annealed AISI H13 hot work die with coated tungsten carbide inserts. A microcontroller with an integrated internet connection connected to a local server through the Wi-Fi network was employed. In order to validate the proposed system, tests were performed comparing its behavior with a conventional piezoelectric sensor in terms of sensitivity to changes in the cutting conditions and tool wear evolution. The results indicated that the proposed system responds satisfactorily to changes in the cutting conditions, with approximately a four-fold increase in the acceleration amplitude when either cutting speed or axial depth of cut were doubled. Although neither the MEMS nor the piezoelectric accelerometer was capable to detect tool wear evolution (considering a tool life criterion VB B = 0.3 mm), the RMS value of the signal generated by the vibration sensor based on MEMS is approximately four times higher than that provided by the piezoelectric accelerometer, thus indicating a better representation of the vibration phenomenon resulting from fixing the MEMS on the tool (in contrast to the piezoelectric accelerometer attached to the workpiece).