A System for Monitoring the Machining Operation by Referring to a Predicted Cutting Torque Pattern

A system for predicting the cutting torque by using a geometric modelling system, and its application to verification of NC data and monitoring of the cutting process are described in the paper. The cutting process is simulated geometrically in a modelling system. Based on data obtained from the geometrical simulation and on technological data of the NC program, the cutting torque is estimated, by using an empirical equation, as a linear combination of the volume of the removed material and of the tool-workpiece contact surface area. The torque measured in the experiments was in good agreement with the preliminarily estimate. The system also proved to be applicable when machining a cast part with geometrical inaccuracies within a few millimeters.