Sharper Edges

THE INDIAN CUTTING TOOLS SEGMENT IS SEEING AN ENTIRELY NEW RANGE OF TOOLS WITH BUILT-IN SENSORS AND OTHER NOVELTIES.

- Jayashree Kini Mendes

COMPANIES THAT WORK THREE SHIFTS are bound to use their tools for a long period of time. That means regular inspection. Most often, tools at a factory are inspected manually. And this requires machine down-time, adding to production cost. As the industry transitions to Industry 4.0, there is an expectation that such manual condition monitoring will be replaced with embedded sensors.

In order to enhance the quality and efficiency of these operations, some companies are developing cyber physical systems for machine tools alone. Embeddedsensors will provide continuous streams of real-time data without requiring any stoppages.

According to a report, researchers at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) have developed an intelligent, lowcost tooling insert, embedded with smart sensors. This will deliver in-process condition monitoring that reduces machining stoppages. The aim of the project was to improve the efficiency, performance and quality of production operations, which is vital to improving the productivity of the wider economy.

NEW THINGS AT WORK

The cutting tools industry has always been a challenging one. With time, there has been an upgrade in machining technologies, changes in raw materials and high productivity demands from customers. The key is to have high productivity without breakage and damage of the tools. Often these challenges are addressed by the right mix of raw tool material grade, geometry and coating. There is a constant innovation happening in these three areas to provide the optimum tooling solutions to the customers. New tools with optimum grades and geometries, new machining techniques and digital consultation support are some of the new trends that we see in the market today.