AU J.T. 14(3): 161-172 (Jan.

2011)

Feasibility of Tool Condition Monitoring on Micro-Milling

Using Current Signals
Tunde Isaac Ogedengbe, Robert Heinemann* and Srichand Hinduja*
Mechanical Engineering Department, SEET, Federal University of Technology
Akure, Nigeria
E-mail: <tioged@yahoo.com>

Abstract
This paper reviewed existing studies in the area of tool condition monitoring. The
review revealed the substantial amount of works that have been done in the area of tool
condition monitoring in machine tool. However, it was observed that investigating the
feasibility of using the main spindle and feed motor currents for tool condition
monitoring in micromachining has not been carried out despite their advantage of low
cost and simplicity. Therefore this study went further to investigate spindle and feed
motor current signals as to their ability for sensing and monitoring tool wear
progression on a micro milling machine. This initial investigation revealed some
promising process signals for monitoring tool wear progression in micro milling.
Keywords: Micro machine tool, micro machining, tool condition monitoring,
spindle motor, feed motor, current signal.

1. Introduction This may result in a situation whereby

In conventional large scale machining,
the undeformed chip thickness is generally
much larger than the tool edge radius and,
therefore, it is reasonable to assume that, as
most cutting models do, the cutting tool has a
sharp cutting edge and it completely removes
the material as specified by the depth of cut.
However due to the small edge radius of the
tool and very low feed rates, this assumption is
no longer valid in micro-machining. The edge
radius of the tool in micro-milling is
comparable to the chip thickness and causes a
large negative rake angle. This negative rake
angle then causes ploughing and elastic
recovery of the surface. If the depth of cut is
less than the minimum chip thickness, the
material is just squeezed underneath the tool.
After the tool passes the material, the material
is ploughed with no chip formation and part of
the ploughed material recovers elastically.
* cannot be observed easily by the naked eye,
School of Mechanical Aerospace and Civil
Engineering, University of Manchester,
Manchester, UK.
E-mail: <Robert.Heinemann@manchester.ac.uk;
sri.hinduja@manchester.ac.uk>
during micro-milling operations each cutting
edge of a micro-tool goes through both shearing
and ploughing during machining, resulting in
fluctuations of and increases in cutting forces
(Malekiana et al. 2009). This can result in
deterioration of the tool condition and finally
tool breakage. Typical increase in cutting
forces as the tool cuts through the workpiece
was found to be between 2 to 20 N in micro
milling of S-7 steel using 0.8 mm diameter end
mill (Dow et al. 2004).
Tool breakage is a phenomenon
experienced by operators during micro and
macro machining. An inherent characteristic of
micro-milling is that it is difficult for the
operator to monitor the tool. It is very difficult
to detect damage to cutting edges, making it
nearly impossible to stop machining or change
the cutting conditions before the tool fails.
Because feature sizes and cutting tools are
small, the micro tool is prone to breakage that
and it is nearly impossible to restart an
interrupted machining process by aligning the
tool to the workpiece. Because it is hard to
spot, the operator may not be aware that a tool

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AU J.T. 14(3): 161-172 (Jan. 2011)
has chipped during a machining cycle, and thus
might continue with the machining, wasting
precious production time. Also, damage to a
workpiece by a broken tool may not be
observable without special instruments.
The most appropriate strategy available
to manufacturers and researchers to reduce the
possibility of tool failures is to introduce some
form of feedback representing the condition of
the tool during the machining process. This
feedback system for the machine tool is
referred to as tool condition monitoring
(TCM). According to Donnell et al. (2001), the
main goal of TCM is to increase productivity
and competitiveness by maximizing tool life,
minimizing machine down time, reducing
scrappage and damage. The traditional ability
of the operator to determine the condition of
the tool based on his/her experience and senses,
i.e. vision and hearing, is now the expected role
of the TCM system.
At very high spindle speeds, which are
usually used in micro machining, with the
miniaturization of the cutting tools, TCM is
critical and becomes an important issue (Tansel
et al. 2000; Chae et al. 2006). TCM can reduce
not only the production costs by reducing
downtime and unnecessary tool changes, but it
can also improve the product quality. In
general, TCM includes monitoring tool wear
and tool breakage.
Tool wear monitoring methods are
classified into direct and indirect methods (Lin
and Ting 1996; Ghani et al. 2002). The direct
method is implemented using a dedicated
instrument, such as a tool maker optical
microscope, to measure the size of the wear
directly, while the indirect method is based on
the acquisition of measured values of process
variables (such as the change of cutting force,
temperature, vibration, spindle motor current,
acoustic emission and surface roughness) and
establishing relationships between these values
and tool wear (Lin and Ting 1996). Although
indirect methods are more complex in terms of
determining the actual tool wear, they are less
difficult to implement into the operation of a
machine. This is the reason why they are more
suitable for practical application and why they
are more widely used.
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In general tool condition monitoring
comprises three steps, namely sensory signal
acquisition, feature extraction and decision
making (see Fig. 1). The first step is to capture
the signals. A variety of sensors can be used to
capture information that may reveal the state of
the tool during the manufacturing process.
Such monitoring signals may be force,
vibration, sound or acoustic emissions,
temperature, power and motor current. The
second step is to process the signals, from
which a set of monitoring indices, also called
features or attributes, are obtained.
Fig. 1. Illustration of the setup for tool condition
monitoring.
Typical monitoring indices include (a)
time-domain indices, such as mean, variance,
root mean squares (RMS), threshold crossing
counts; (b) frequency-domain indices, such as
the energy at a specific frequency band,
integral of amplitude peak, natural frequency,
and damping ratio; (c) time-frequency domain
indices; (d) higher order spectrum indices; and
(e) wavelet indices (Du 1999). The last step is
the decision making step (which leads to
classification), wherein monitoring indices are
used to classify the present tool condition with
respect to a predefined tool condition.
Classification is very important for the success
of a tool condition monitoring system. Hence,
tool wear classification algorithms should
consider whether the features are
discriminating enough, and avoid unnecessary
computation that may hinder the subsequent
classification process.
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2. An Overview of Tool Condition
Monitoring Research
Researchers have devoted much time and
effort to find correlations between tool wear
and process signals such as acoustic emission
(AE), feed force, cutting force, spindle power,
and vibration signals and most of these
research has been carried out on conventional
CNC machines i.e. there is little reported
research at the micro scale on TCM.
(Jemielniak et al. 1998) presented cutting
forces and acoustic emission measures as a
function of tool wear in longitudinal turning of
C45 steel, and evaluated their applicability for
tool condition monitoring. The mean value of
the AE root mean squared (RMS) signal, the
burst rate (i.e. the number of times the AE
signal exceeds a preset threshold per unit of
time), the feed force mean, the feed force
standard deviation and the passive force mean
were found to have good correlation with crater
wear depth. These signals, together with the
cutting parameters, were chosen as inputs to a
feedforward, back propagation (FFBP) neural
network for decision making and classification
within the TCM system. In another study,
(Jemielniak and Otman 1998) presented a
method of catastrophic tool failure detection in
a turning operation using AE. The method,
which was based on the statistical analysis of
an assumed β distribution of the AE RMS
signal, uses symptoms other than the direct AE
RMS signal to detect catastrophic failure of the
tool. The skewness and kurtosis of the assumed
β distribution of the AE RMS signal were
found to exhibit high sensitivity to catastrophic
tool failure. The incident of tool fracture
caused a significant change in both the
skewness and the kurtosis of the assumed β
distribution of the AE RMS. Using an AE-
sensor and a Hall-sensor, Quan et al. (1998)
acquired, analysed and extracted feature
parameters that characterize tool-wear
condition in turning and milling. The
accumulated values of the spindle power and
four other AE-signal features were found to
have a close relation to tool wear on the basis
of correlation coefficient. The study developed
a neural network-based algorithm, using the
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identified feature as input, for detecting tool
wear with 96% success. Dimla-Sr and Lister
(2000) investigated three mutually
perpendicular components of the cutting forces
and vibration signature measurements in terms
of their suitability for tool wear monitoring
using a variable speed centre lathe as the test
bed. A Kistler mini accelerometer (type
8730A) was used to measure the acceleration
signals in three mutually perpendicular
directions while a Kistler tool post
dynamometer (type 9263A)) was used to
measure the cutting forces in the x, y and z
planes. Both measuring instruments were
attached to the tool holder. The measured x-, y-
and z- static force over the entire experimental
conditions ranged between 291-1185 N, 163-
1211 N and 384-1240 N respectively. Also, the
x-, y- and z- dynamic force and acceleration
ranged between 68-511 N, 96-796 N and 118-
1058 N and 50-506 g, 53-461 g and 99-860 g
respectively. Observing the trend of the
acquired signals over tool life revealed that the
vertical components of both the cutting forces
and the vibration signatures were the signals
most sensitive to tool wear, with nose wear
being the most useful indicator of imminent
tool failure.
In another study, conducted by Chen and
Jen (2000), a dynamometer and an
accelerometer were used on a milling machine
to collect data for tool condition monitoring.
The dynamometer was placed under the CNC
table to obtain the cutting forces exerted on the
workpiece while the accelerometer was
attached to the frame of the spindle shaft to
capture the vibration of the spindle. Several
data fusion methods were adopted to integrate
the features obtained from the acquired signals
before they were applied into the learning
procedure of a neural network. The
performance of the monitoring system was
found to significantly improve with suitable
selection of the data fusion method. Sun et al.
(2004) carried out several experiments on a
lathe with signals acquired from an AE-sensor
mounted on the tool holder. The study took
several features of the AE-signal into account,
and tried to identify the most effective set that
could give robust and reliable identification of
the tool’s condition. The results revealed that
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some neural network approaches could be
employed to efficiently select features that are
highly correlated with tool wear for TCM.
Al-Habaibeh and Gindy (2000) utilised
Taguchi's orthogonal arrays to design an
experimental programme for investigating the
number and type of sensors and signal
processing methods most appropriate for the
detection of fault conditions in milling
processes. In addition to recording AE and
cutting forces, six accelerometers were used to
monitor the vibration of the spindle and the
workpiece. The goal of the study was to reduce
the number of sensors needed to detect cutter
deterioration and thus reduce the cost and time
required for developing effective tool condition
monitoring systems for machining operations.
The study was able to compare 17 TCM
systems with respect to the apparatus used,
their cost and performance and it concluded
that it is essential to compromise between cost
and performance of the systems if a cheaper
system with good performance is needed.
Haber et al. (2004) investigated tool-
wear monitoring in high-speed milling based
on the different signal signatures in the time
and frequency domain. Sensorial information
from a dynamometer, accelerometer and an
AE-sensor were acquired, compared and
analyzed. With respect to the time domain, the
study concluded that the mean and peak values
of cutting force and vibration exhibit the best
performance for tool-condition monitoring.
With respect to the frequency domain, the
study established that the AE-signals are
sensitive to changes in the tool’s condition,
with some peaks exhibiting a change in
magnitude depending on the sensor’s location.
However, in the case of a worn tool, the
amplitudes were found to increase irrespective
of the sensor position.
Li et al. (2000) measured the feed cutting
force using an inexpensive current sensor
installed on the AC servo motor of a CNC
turning centre. The study analysed the factors
that affected a feed drive system in detail, and
presented a model of the feed drive system for
estimating feed cutting force with respect to the
feed motor current. The feed cutting force was
then estimated using the feed motor current
with an error of less than 5%.
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In another study, the spindle motor
current of a horizontal machining centre was
measured using current hall sensor during
drilling and the cutting torque was measured by
a Kistler cutting force dynamometer, type
9123B, (Oh et al. 2004). The cutting torque
was estimated from the measured spindle
motor current and validated when it was
compared with the measured cutting torque.
Results show that the drilling torque can be
estimated accurately from the spindle motor
current with an average estimation error of
6.6%. Subsequently, the cutting torque
measured indirectly from the spindle motor
current was controlled by regulating the spindle
motor current through the machine controller.
Experimental results showed that the drilling
torque was well-regulated at a given reference
level and the risk of drill failure and drill flank
wear were reduced remarkably through cutting
torque control.
Xiaoli (1999) performed drilling cutting
tests on quench steel workpiece material using
a Makino-FNC74-A20 machining center and
measured the ac servo motor current signals of
the machine through the hall current sensor.
The process signals were decomposed using
wavelet transform and tool breakage features
were extracted from the decomposed signals.
Subsequently, the study was able to detect tool
breakage in the drilling process for small
diameter drill.
Also, Kim et al. (2002) developed a drill
wear estimation model in terms of the drilling
torque. Drilling experiments were then
performed on a vertical machining centre and
the spindle motor power was recorded using
the load meter built into the machine controller.
The drilling torque was estimated from spindle
power while tool wear was in turn estimated
from the drilling torque. The wear estimation
approach was found to be reliable with an
estimation error below 0.02 mm.
The work described above is only a
fraction of the work done on TCM at the
conventional large scale machining level. Most
of the research work consolidates the fact that
spindle motor current/power, axis drive
current/power, AE signal, vibration signal and
cutting force signal have been widely used
within the indirect method to monitor tool
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conditions during various machining operations
(Byrne et al. 1995; Jemielniak 1999; Prickett
and Johns 1999; Sick 2002).
Despite more than a decade of intensive
research, the development of tool wear
monitoring systems is still on-going. Chae et
al. (2006) reported that while tool wear
monitoring has been extensively studied at the
conventional large scale machining level, very
limited work has been conducted at the micro-
scale. An overview of studies at the micro
machining level shows that Jemielniak et al.
(2008) based their strategy on an AE sensor
and cutting force signals to monitor tool wear
in micro-milling of cold-work tool steel. The
cutting experiments were carried out on a high-
precision milling machine, equipped with a
50,000 rpm spindle and an HSK 25 tool holder.
The workpiece was clamped on a three-axis
9256C1 mini-dynamometer alongside an AE-
sensor (type 8152B221). Signals from the two
sensors were acquired and the test was
regularly interrupted to measure tool wear
using an optical microscope. Results of the
study revealed that the cutting forces and AE
signals provided robust and reliable
information for the tool condition monitoring
in micro milling. In another study, Zhu et al.
(2008) extracted wavelet packets and time-
domain features from cutting force signals and
presented a discriminant feature selection
approach for the Hidden Markov Model
(HMM) of tool conditions in micro-milling of
copper and steel. The cutting force was
measured with a Kistler 9256A 3-channel
dynamometer mounted under the workpiece,
and tool wear was measured using a
microscope. Though the working conditions
were at micro level, a conventional large scale
machine tool, the MAKIMO V55 vertical
milling machine driven by 22KW spindle drive
motor, was used for the experiments. Malekian
et al. (2009) examined factors affecting tool
wear and investigated a tool wear monitoring
method using various accelerometers, force and
acoustic emission sensors in micro-milling. A
micro-CNC machining centre equipped with a
300 W spindle was used in the experiment.
Several sensors, including a miniature Kistler
3-axis force sensor (type 9017B), an AE
sensor, accelerometers and capacitance sensors,
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and an optical vision system were used to
monitor tool conditions. The recorded signals
were analyzed off-line and later applied to a
neuro-fuzzy method to fuse the signals together
in a neural network environment. It was
reported that a comparison between the actual
tool wear and the simulated results from the
neuro-fuzzy method showed good agreement,
with 0.1222 minimum training error, when the
resultant force, acceleration and AE signals
were fused together. Another approach applied
to TCM in micro milling operation investigated
an on-line laser system and an on-line tool-
workpiece voltage monitoring system for tool
condition monitoring (Gandarias et al. 2006).
These approaches involve connection of
electrical circuit and/or reflective laser sensors
between the workpiece and the tool making the
system expensive and more complex in terms
of additional sensors and mounting/removal of
both the tool and workpiece.
3. The Challenge of Tool Condition
Monitoring on Micro-Machine Tool
From the review conducted on existing
studies discussed in the second section, it is
clear that the apparatus used for the acquisition
of process signals for TCM consists of AE
sensors, accelerometers, dynamometers and
power and/or current sensors attached to
various elements of a machine, cutting tool or
workpiece. At times it may involve fabrication
of tailor-made fixtures for locating sensors as
in Haber et al. (2004) depending on the nature
of machining operation which can make the
process cumbersome, especially when many
sensors are used on a micro machine tool.
Though the approach outlined within Al-
Habaibeh and Gindy (2000) could be
implemented to reduce the number of sensors,
and hence the cost, without compromising the
system's ability, the pair goes on to imply that
simplicity and cost effectiveness is an
important feature of any TCM system. It is
essential that the system uses simple and cheap
sensors that are wear and maintenance free and
do not obstruct the working space (Tonshoff et
al. 1988).
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Moreover, with the ever increasing
demand for reduced production costs and
improved product quality, machining process
condition monitoring, possibly without costly
sensor equipment, is an important aspect of
modern manufacturing. It has been reported
that sensors to measure current or effective
power of feed drives or the main spindle
represent an alternative to measuring cutting
forces using expensive dynamometers and
force sensors. Another advantage is that current
sensors are easy to retrofit into the machine,
which is the reason why they have already been
employed for tool condition monitoring
frequently(Byrne et al. 1995).
The spindle motor current of a Tree 1000
lathe was among the signals utilized by
Dornfeld (1990) for successful monitoring of
progressive tool wear in a single point turning
operation. Also the feed cutting force which is
a well known measurand in TCM has been
estimated from the feed motor current using
neuro-fuzzy technique, with 95% accuracy (Li
et al. 2000). This approach was extended to
tool condition monitoring by Li et al. (2004),
wherein the feed-cutting force was estimated
using inexpensive current sensors installed on
the AC servomotor of a conventional large
scale turning centre, with the results applied to
tool wear monitoring system. This shows that
the use of spindle motor current and feed motor
current signals for tool condition monitoring
has been successful on conventional large-scale
machine tools for macro mechanical machining
operations. However, a similar approach has
not been investigated in micro milling. One
reason might be because some of the machines
used for the research in micro milling are
conventional precision machine tools rather
than small micro machines. The approach may
not be feasible on such machines due to very
low cutting forces involved in micro milling
compared to the relatively high friction forces
in the guideways and the spindle. However, on
a micro machine tool with direct drive feed
axes and an air bearing spindle, the friction
components are likely to be relatively small.
But the problem that could be encountered is
where and how to attach the current sensors to
relevant elements of the micro machine. If this
problem could be solved, then the feasibility of
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using the feed and spindle motor current signals,
of a micro machine, for sensing tool wear
progression in micro milling would be an interesting
area of investigation for cost effective tool
wear monitoring. Thus, this study investigates
and discusses the feasibility of utilizing the
main spindle and feed motor current signals of
a micro milling machine for sensing tool wear
progression in a milling operation.
An attempt was made in this study to find
a method of extracting the signals without
hampering the cutting operations. This is
mainly possible through sensorless data
acquisition approach. The investigation was
carried out on a micro milling machine tool
developed in Ogedengbe (2010). Effort was
made during the development of the machine to
use controller supporting hardware modules
built with digital signal processors (DSPs) so
that their capability could be harness for
acquisition of the current signals without using
external sensors. Then the trend of the acquired
signals was plotted against tool life to observe
how well the various signals correlate with the
progression of tool life.
4. Experimental Setup and Method
As mentioned earlier the experiments
were performed on a micro milling machine
tool having the X/Y/Z axis stroke as 50/50/50
mm. The maximum spindle speed is 100,000 rpm.
A detail description of the machine is available
in earlier study (Ogedengbe 2010). The
workpiece material was EN8 steel, supplied in
bar form with 25 mm × 25 mm edge length. It
was cut in pieces of about 30 mm length, which
could be clamped on the machine’s XY table.
The micro-tools used in this study were two-
fluted uncoated micro-grain tungsten carbide
micro end mills, supplied by Fraisa
(www.fraisa.com). The specification of these
tools is given in Table 1. The tools were used
in a face milling operation with the tool
moving in the X axis direction. Table 2 gives
the experimental conditions employed in the
tests. Based on the reviewed literature, both the
power consumed by the main spindle as well as
the feed drives was investigated.
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Table 1. Cutting tool specification.
Flute Shank Helix
Part No. Diameter
length diameter Angle
M45710.100 1 mm 3 mm 3mm 30º
Table 2. Experimental conditions.
Axial Radial
Operation depth of
cut
depth of
cut
Feed rate
Face
100 µm 250 µm
240
milling mm/m in
The Automation 3200 soft motion
controller used on the machine tool can collect
real time information about the performance of
the feed motors as well as the motor for the
main spindle. This performance information
which includes feedback current signals can be
acquired through the Ndrive CL. For this, a
program was written to collect the feedback
current signal of all the three linear axes as well
as the main spindle without using any external
sensor. The data collected was saved to a file in
text format. At the spindle speed of 30,000
rpm, using a two-fluted end mill, the tooth
passing frequency was 1 kHz. Given due
regard to the Nyquist-Shannon sampling
theorem the signals were sampled at a rate of 8
kHz. Fig. 2 shows the experimental setup
employed in these tests.
Fig. 2. The experimental setup.
A ProgRes® C10plus CCD camera with
SONY ICX252AQ Super HAD image sensor
and high-power zoom lens, mounted on the
right side of the machine, was used to capture
images of the tool at regular intervals in situ,
i.e. without having to disengage the tool from
the tool holder. The cutting tests were
interrupted after every 10 passes of the tool on
the workpiece to observe the flank wear of the
micro end mills using the vision system. Also,
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the X, Y, and Z feed motor and the spindle
motor current signals were collected for every
Rake
Angle other pass of the tool on the workpiece.
10º Customarily, crater wear (KT)) or flank
wear (VB) are usually used as the tool
condition indicators in TCM. While crater wear
Spindle
is the type of tool wear characterized by a
speed concave depression in the rake face of the
30,000 cutting tool adjacent to the cutting edge, flank
rpm wear is the result of gradual wearing away of
the cutting edge. Flank wear, mostly caused by
abrasion, is the most desired form of tool wear
indicator. Hence, a total wear in flank VBmax of
100 µm was used as the criterion for tool life.
Pictures of each of the two flutes of the tool,
taken in situ, during the cutting test were
measured and the average wear in the flank of
the two flutes was taken as the final flank wear
value as given in Eq. ((1), where VB1 and VB2
are the flank wear of the first and the second
flute respectively. An example of tool wear
measurement is shown in Fig. 3. The cutting
tests were stopped when a total flank wear of
100 µm was exceeded.
VB1 + VB2
VB = . (1)
2
Fig. 3. Example of tool wear measured,
VB = 48.04 µm.
5. Results and Discussion
The recorded process signals and other
measured process data are discussed in this
section. Three micro end mills were used in the
cutting tests to perform three full tool life tests.
As shown in Fig. 4, tool lives varied from
about 8.5 min for Tool 1 to approximately 13.5
minutes for Tool 3. It can be seen in this figure
that rapid wear was experienced by all three
tools used for the cutting tests during the early
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part of tool life (i.e. between the first one and
half to two minutes of starting the milling
operations). Also shown in Fig. 4 are typical
photographs of progressive tool wear of Tool 1.
Next the feedback current signals
acquired during the cutting tests were analysed
both in the time and frequency domain to
examine their usability for tool condition
monitoring. The three-dimensional curves of
the raw process signals were generated in terms
of the number of cutting passes to assess the
entire spectrum of acquired process signals
both in the time and frequency domain.
Fig. 4. Flanks wear curves for cutting tests and
pictures of Tool 1 at various stages.
In respect of the number of passes of the
tool over the workpiece, the tool lives were 134
passes, 124 passes and 135 passes for tools 1, 2
and 3, respectively. As an example, Figs. 5, 6,
7 and 8 depict the feedback current signals
sampled over the life of the first tool, with
which 138 passes were machined. The spindle
and X-axis feed motor current signals are
shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 while the Y-axis and
Z-axis feed motor current signals are shown in
Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, respectively. From the graphs
it becomes obvious that the four different
signals showed a similar trend with progressing
tool life, so much so that all of them exhibited,
firstly, an increase in magnitude and, secondly,
a strong increase in fluctuation within each
pass. This increase takes place continuously
throughout the entire tool life with notable
variation in the rate of change between
consecutive milling passes though the rate of
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change seems to vary slightly from one signal
to the other. This observation can be used to
draw a conclusion that all the signals have a
strong correlation with the progression of tool
life. The signals acquired during the lives of
Tools 2 and 3 exhibited a similar characteristic
as the ones depicted in Figs. 5 to 8 and was
therefore not displayed.
It has to be mentioned that the end mill
broke during the 135th pass, which caused the
spindle to stall and the feedback system to
receive abnormally high spindle power signals.
As this was not recognised in time, the
machining was continued with the broken tool
and stalled spindle shaft for passes 136 to 138.
This explains the excessively high spindle
power recorded during these passes 136 to 138.
Unlike the spindle power signal, the feed
current signals of the X, Y and Z stages dropped
close to zero, as the tool after it had broken was
no longer in contact with the workpiece, which
means that only the internal friction of the
stages had to be overcome. This could be used
to further imply that the current signals can
identify not only when the tool has worn out
but also when the tool has broken.
Further analysis was conducted in the
frequency domain. Using the Fast Fourier
Transform (FFT), the intensity of the
frequencies contained in the acquired signals
was calculated. In order to better visualise the
result, plotting the FFT results from all the
passes was not done. Instead, only the
frequency intensity plots of every 10th pass, i.e.
passes one, 1,11, 21, 31, and so on, were
plotted, see Error! Reference source not
found. 9, 10, 11 and 12 (for Tool 1). To
eliminate severe truncation of the overall
frequency intensity due to the high amplitude
at around 0 Hz, the frequency axis starts at 100
Hz. As with the time domain graphs, Tools 2
and 3 exhibited a very similar behaviour in
terms of their frequency plots and are therefore
not presented here.
From Figs. 10, 11 and 12 it can be seen
that in the case of a new tool the feed currents
for the x, y and z stages all exhibit a distinctive
peak at 1 kHz, which matches the cutting edge
engagement frequency for the two-fluted end
mill rotating at 30,000 rpm, and its harmonics.
In the case of the X feed current, Figure 10, the
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intensity plot of the frequencies changes with The fact that in the case of the Z feed
progressing tool life. During the first 25 to 50 current signal the frequency peak at 500 Hz
passes of the tool over the workpiece, the exceeds the frequency at 1 kHz in terms of
frequency plot is characterised by distinctive magnitude could have been brought about by
peaks at 1, 2 and 3 kHz, as pointed out before, the cutting tool exhibiting wear which was
and a very low intensity between these peaks. more severe on one cutting edge than on the
As the tool begins to wear, however, the other. As a result, the cutting edge engagement
intensity plot dominated by the three peaks frequency of one edge (500 Hz) would be
turns into a plateau-like shape, spanning from dominant over the tool engagement frequency
around 500 to about 2,500 Hz, with the peaks of the two-fluted tool (1 kHz).
almost completely vanished. This change
cannot be observed for the Y and Z feed current
signals however, which retain the distinctive
peaks at 1 kHz and their harmonics throughout
the entire tool life. Unlike the frequency
spectra for the three linear axes, the frequency
spectrum of the spindle power, see Figure 9,
does not exhibit distinctive peaks at all. It
could be seen on Figures 9 to 12 that the
amplitude of the distinctive peaks exhibited by
the curves representing frequency domain
analysis of the current signals slightly changes
with tool progression. Even though these
changes are not very obvious in this case as
compare with the time domain analysis it could
be inferred that these frequency intensities
possess certain information that could represent
the condition of the tool.

Fig. 6. The X-axis feed motor current signals

recorded as tool wear progressed (Tool 1).

Fig. 5. The Spindle motor current signals

recorded as tool wear progressed (Tool 1). Fig. 7. The Y-axis feed motor current signals
recorded as tool wear progressed (Tool 1).

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AU J.T. 14(3): 161-172 (Jan. 2011)

Fig. 10. Change in amplitude peak of X-axis

feed current signal over tool life (Tool 1).

Fig. 8. The Z-axis feed motor current signals

Fig. 11. Change in amplitude peak of Y-axis
recorded as tool wear progressed (Tool 1).
feed current signal over tool life (Tool 1)

Fig. 9. Change in amplitude peak of Spindle Fig. 12. Change in amplitude peak of Z-axis
current signal over tool life (Tool 1). feed current signal over tool life (Tool 1).

6. Conclusion
Four signals, namely spindle motor
current as well as the X-, Y- and Z-axis feed
motor currents, were recorded and examined
both in the time and frequency domain in order
to identify their feasibility for tool wear
progression monitoring in micro milling. The
results suggest that these signals possess
characteristic trends that would be useful for
monitoring tool wear progression in micro
milling. However, it is important that in order
to quantify the change in the characteristics of
the process signals brought about by tool wear
so that the same can be used for decision

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AU J.T. 14(3): 161-172 (Jan. 2011)
making during tool condition classification,
some distinctive features would have to be
extracted from the recorded process signals in
relation to tool flank wear both in time and
frequency domains. Hence this study will
continue in this direction with a view to
establish an effective tool condition monitoring
system for micro milling using spindle and
feed motor current signals.
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