Control of Machining in Manufacturing of Parts for Automobile and Aerospace Engineering

Machining during the manufacturing of parts for aircraft engines or automobile cams and crank shafts requires precision control of the tool path. This precision control has become essential for quality assurance and productivity improvement. This research focuses on the development of an instrumented transducer to measure the cutting force in an on-line fashion. Design of a strain gage layout is presented to minimize the cross-talks. Calibration based on the transformation matrix method establishes the mapping function between the three cutting force components and the measured voltage signals. A strategy to use this instrumented dynamometer for on-line monitoring of the machining process is discussed.