Position-oriented process monitoring in freeform milling

Today's process monitoring applications in the area of five-axis milling are based on strategies developed for machining operations of one or maximum three effective degrees of freedom. Applied static and dynamic threshold monitoring can be used to detect excessive loads, but do not enable the basic evaluation of process behaviour. As alternating machining conditions do not allow a determination of the machining characteristics, it becomes apparent that a machining position-oriented monitoring solution would reveal a basic opportunity to improve the monitoring abilities in a freeform cutting process. In this paper a metrological solution is introduced, which allows a position-oriented inspection of a five-axis milling process. Measurement chains which have been integrated into a machining centre are described. Experimental results of measuring the processes' cutting forces in parallel to the machine's axes position and the needed technological environment and software solutions are presented.