In-process control of surface roughness with tool wear via ultrasonic sensing

This paper presents in-process monitoring and control of surface roughness during machining processes via ultrasonic sensing. A newly developed system is utilized to measure the reflected intensity of ultrasonic beams from the surface and in-process measurement capability is evaluated under machine vibration and tool wear. The experimental results show that the system is able to detect the changes in surface roughness caused by tool wear and can possibly be used to monitor tool wear. Finally, in-process control of surface roughness using the ultrasonic system is demonstrated by adapting the system to a CNC machining center and performing geometric control. The results show it is possible to maintain surface roughness within 10% of the target value for tool wear up to 0.3 mm.