ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Monitoring of diamond disk wear in stone cutting by means

of force or acceleration sensors
W. Polini & S. Turchetta
Received: 31 March 2006 / Accepted: 21 July 2006 / Published online: 6 October 2006
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2006
Abstract The application of sensor systems is becoming
more commonplace in improving productivity, automation,
and reliability. The sensors employed in such systems possess
signal and information ability for enhancing the monitoring
and control of machining processes. Although measuring
force and acceleration signals have been commonly used for
the monitoring of metal machining processes, their application
to stone cutting has not been well developed, which is perhaps
due to the complexity of the interaction between the stone and
the diamond disk. In order to enhance knowledge in this area
of applications, a multi-sensor system was developed and
installed for the monitoring of stone cutting by diamond mill.
The signals acquired and analysed by the systeminclude force
and acceleration under different machining conditions. The
measured signal data was used to perform time-domain
analysis. The results indicate the feasibility of using the
RMS features of force or acceleration signals along z-axis for
the monitoring of disk wear.
Keywords Multi-sensor monitoring system
.
Wear
.
Diamond disk
.
Cutting force
.
Acceleration
.
Stone
1 Introduction
In-process monitoring of a stone-cutting process plays a
very important role in avoiding downtime of the machine
and to prevent unwanted conditions such as excessive tool
wear or breakage. A recent survey of literature in the field
of tool-condition monitoring stresses the fact that the choice
of sensors and the signal interpretation are critical in
establishing a reliable tool-condition monitoring system
[1]. This is due to the fact that manufacturing processes are
difficult to model mathematically. Sensors supply the
information that we need to describe the process.
Avast amount of literature exists in the field of tool-wear
monitoring in the metal-cutting environment; it suggests that
many different process parameters can be used to predict the
cutting tool-state [1]. Direct methods are less beneficial
because the cutting area is largely inaccessible, and
therefore on-line monitoring cannot be carried out while
the tool is engaged in cutting. These methods include touch
trigger probes, optical, radioactive, and proximity sensors as
well as electrical-resistance measurement techniques. Indi-
rect methods take measurements while the tool is actively
engaged, since it involves recording a variable that can be
correlated to tool wear. Commonly used methods include
acoustic emission [2], tool temperature, cutting force [3, 4],
vibration signature [410], and miscellaneous methods such
as ultrasonic and optical measurements, workpiece surface
finish quality [5], workpiece dimensions, stress/strain
analysis and spindle-motor current. The cutting conditions
(speed, feed-rate, and depth of cut) are known to affect the
sensor signals, and a range of methods have been suggested
to separate the effects of these conditions from those of
wear on the measured parameter.
However, it is necessary to add that the wear progression
of a diamond tool strongly influences the tool's performance
and, therefore, the effectiveness and the efficiency of stone
machining [11, 12]. In fact, a worn tool increases the loss of
cutting ability, the amount of vibrations induced by the
cutting process, the probability to have a discontinuous
process and, therefore, the presence of chippings and
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
DOI 10.1007/s00170-006-0733-x
W. Polini
:
S. Turchetta (*)
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale,
Universit degli Studi di Cassino,
via G. di Biasio 43,
03043 Cassino, Italy
e-mail: turchetta@unicas.it
waviness on the resulting stone product. In the literature, very
few works exist that address techniques to control the wear of
synthesized diamond disks used for linear cutting. Luo et al.
[13, 14] characterised the change, due to wear, of the grit
shape vs. the machining time and the consequent variations in
cutting force. Wright [15] determined the trend of the
protrusion height for a single grain of a sintered diamond disk.
The present work shows a system for in-process monitor-
ing of the wear of a diamond disk in stone cutting and
particularly focuses on the sintered diamond disk, which is
widely used to cut slabs or blocks in ornamental stone. Awork
exists in the literature on a multi-sensors system to monitor
wear of the tool tip of a synthetic diamond tool, which are
specifically used for the manufacturing of aluminium pistons:
it uses simultaneously vibration and strain measurements [13].
This work presents a system with two sensors for in-
process monitoring of the wear of a diamond disk in stone
cutting. The proposed system aims to establish the wear
progression of a diamond disk by monitoring, during stone
cutting, force or accelerations induced on machined work-
piece. The measured force and acceleration signals are
elaborated in order to investigate the correlation among disk
wear, cutting force and accelerations. The characteristics of
the cutting force and acceleration have been examined in time
domain. The identification of common sensory features that
best correlate the tool wear condition with tool wear has been
adequately studied. To address the problem, stone cutting on
Coreno Perlato Royal by a NC machining centre retrofitted
with force and acceleration sensors and data acquisition
systems have been conducted to find the relationship among
force, acceleration signals and tool wear. Different settings of
cutting parameters have been intended to simulate diverse
process conditions. Each measurement has been further
divided into components: x, y and z cutting forces (F
x
, F
y
and F
z
) or accelerations induced along x, y and z axes (V
x
,
V
y
and V
z
). Those components have been processed for time
domain features. Using statistical analysis techniques, some
components of sensory data have been found to be the most
influential factors of tool wear. Therefore, the identified
sensory features can be used for the control of diamond disk
wear in stone cutting more reliably and accurately under
varying cutting conditions.
The objectives of this paper are (1) to define wear of a
diamond disk; (2) to present a system for in-process
monitoring the wear of a diamond disk for stone cutting
and, finally, (3) to show the main results obtained by means
of the proposed in-process monitoring system.
2 Disk wear monitoring system
Stone cutting by means of a diamond disk consists in
wearing away its mineral constituents by passing hard grits
over the machined surface, as shown in Fig. 1. A diamond
disk is composed of a support, abrasive grits, and a bond
(see Fig. 1). The support is that part of the tool that the
Fig. 1 Scheme of stone cutting
by a diamond disk
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 455
abrasive grits are attached to; it gives the correct shape to
the tool; it transmits the kinetic energy from the machine
axes to the abrasive grits; it absorbs the stresses generated
during machining. The abrasive grits constitute the cut
edges; they are characterized by a granulometry, a shape,
and a concentration. The bond is a metallic alloy blocking
the abrasive on the tool support in order to make the
machining possible. It assures both cutting ability and long
tool life. A diamond disk for stone cutting is electroplated,
i.e., it is constituted by a layer of diamond grits fixed to the
mill support by the bond.
Many works of the literature assume as tool failure mode
the flank wear, the fracture, the crater wear, and the plastic
deformation [13]. Flank and crater wear are generally
accepted as the normal tool failure modes. In the case of
the electroplated diamond disk used for this study, the flank
wear did not play a very important role.
On the basis of the results achieved for the sintered
diamond tools [15, 16], it is possible to describe the wear of
an electroplated diamond disk as the progressive consump-
tion of diamond grits placed on a single layer on the tool
cylindrical surface. This wear is characterised by a
sequence of four steps, as shown in Fig. 2.
The progression of diamond tool wear carries out to
consume the diamond. The micro-geometric effect is both
the progressive rounding and breakage of the diamond grits
that are placed in a unique layer on the mill surface. In
previous works we presented a test protocol [17] in order to
measure the micro-geometric parameters [18] that charac-
terise the wear of a diamond mill. This protocol implies the
need to observe the tool (once dismounted by the mandrel)
after the cut. The present paper overcomes the need to
dismount the tool by the mandrel by implementing an on-
line measurement of diamond mill wear.
For monitoring the diamond disk wear in stone cutting, an
NC machining centre of Brembana Macchine was used. The
adopted multi-sensor systemis made up of the data acquisition
program to sample out from two sensors at once, the
judgement program to show the monitoring state on screen,
and finally the treatment program to cope with the wear
events. Here, a dynamometer (Kistler 9257BA) for measuring
the main cutting force and an accelerometer (Kistler 8704)
with sensitivity of 50 mV g-1 for measuring the acceleration
of workpiece toward main cutting force are attached.
The Kistler three-component force dynamometer (F
x
, F
y
,
and F
z
), has been mounted under the stone workpiece to
cut. Three accelerometers were attached onto the sides of
the workpiece to cut for monitoring in all the three
directions (the feeding, the traverse to feeding, and the
vertical one). A schematic diagram of the adopted multi-
sensors system is shown in Fig. 3. The signals acquired by
the dynamometer and by the accelerometers have been
sampled at different frequencies and for different time
intervals in order to set the acquisition parameters, giving
the whole information about force signal with the minimum
time waste. The signal along the x, y andz-axes was
Fig. 2 Wear of a diamond disk
456 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
periodic and 8,192 acquisition points seem to be enough to
keep the whole signal information. Therefore, the output of
the dynamometer was fed into an A/D converter and
sampled at 10 kHz by a PC. Each observation consisted
of about 0.8129-s time signal. The raw cutting force data
were transformed into time domain.
3 Testing of the sensor system
3.1 Test conditions
Throughout the experiments, the workpiece used was a slab
of 100100 mm with a thickness of 20 mm. The workpiece
material was Coreno Perlato Royal marble, whose mechan-
ical properties are reported in Table 1. It mainly consists of
CaCO
3
with inclusions of seaweed and fossils that produce
light and dark spots appreciated from an aesthetic point of
view. The tool was a diamond disk, commonly used to cut
slab, with a diameter and a thickness of 180 and 5 mm,
respectively. The considered diamond disk has 13 sectors
where the diamond concentration is 5.11 diamonds/mm
2
and the diamond grit size is 50/60 mesh. Its bond is
constituted by 90% of nickel.
Two feed-speed values v
a
(200 and 400 mm/min) and
two cutting depth values d (1 and 1.5 mm) have been taken
into account; they have been chosen in order to reproduce
the commonly used industrial range of process variables.
The spindle speed was fixed to 3,000 rpm. The experimen-
tal plan is shown in Table 2. The experimental cuts were
performed in a random sequence in order to reduce the
effect of any possible systematic error.
Twenty diamond grits have been identified on the
surface of the new diamond disk and their protrusion
height was measured by a Leica microscope. Then, the new
tool was mounted on the mandrel of the CNC machining
centre in order to execute a linear cut inside a slab of
Coreno Perlato Royal, as shown in Fig. 4. The cutting force
signal was acquired along the whole cut. Then, the wear of
the disk was accelerated by carrying the tool to execute a
series of cuts on a slab of a very abrasive stone, the
Sardinian granite. Once a certain stage of wear that has
Table 1 Mechanical properties of Coreno Perlato Royal compared to
White Carrara marble
Material properties Coreno Perlato
Royal
White Carrara
Carrara
Density (kg/m
3
) 2,740 2,705
Water absorption (%) 4.0 0.06
Compressive strength (MPa) 163 131
Young modulus (MPa) 72,000 75,000
Flexural strength (MPa) 12,8 16.9
Abrasion resistence 0.95 0.52
Impact resistance (cm) 32 61
Knoop hardness (MPa) 2,001 1,463
X
Y
Z
Z
Y
X
CMS
Dynamometer
Workpiece
Diamond disk
Change amplifier
PC with DAC
Junction Box
Coupler
Accelerometer
Fig. 3 A schematic diagram
of the adopted multi-sensors
system
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 457
been identified by measuring the protrusion height of the
considered 20 diamond grits on disk surface is reached, the
disk is carried to execute a linear cut on the slab of Coreno
Perlato Royal once again. This sequence was repeated five
times, since the diamond disk wear was monitored in five
steps distributed along the whole disk life. The disk life
corresponds to the time during which the disk shows
cutting performances, i.e., the grit passes from a whole
crystal to a fragmentary particle.
3.2 Cutting force signal analysis in the time domain
A monitoring strategy has been adopted based on time-
domain characteristics. Figures 5ac, 6ac and 7ac show
typical time-domain signals monitored in the X(traverse to
feed), Y(feed) and Z(vertical), directions, respectively, at
different time interval inside tool life.
As can be seen in the figures, average and maximum
values of force signals increase with the progress of disk
wear. The minimum value of force signal is near to 0
when the disk is new. This is due to the fact that the cut
is interrupted. In fact, the diamond grits on the sector
surface protrude by bond with different heights; this
means that only the higher grits engage the stone for
cutting. When a grit exits the stone it is possible that the
following grits do not engage the stone, since it protrudes
not enough by bond, causing the force on the stone to
reduce to zero.
After the signal is stored, a feature extraction program in
Labview analyses the data. Previous works have identified
RMS as the time-domain feature that feels the main effects
of diamond mill wear during stone cutting [19]. Therefore,
RMS feature has been extracted for the three force signals,
F
x
, F
y
and F
z
, respectively.
The RMS value of a function x(t) over an interval of T is
equal to
X
rms

R
T
0
x t
2
dt
T
v
u
u
u
t
1
The analysis of variance (ANOVA) proved that both the
diamond mill wear and the two considered process
parameters, feed speed and depth of cut, significantly
influence the RMS parameter characterising the F
x
, F
y
and
F
z
signals. The interaction between feed speed and disk
wear seems to significantly influence RMS values, too.
Figure 8 shows the influence of these three factors on RMS
values extracted from the F
z
signal. The same effects have
been observed for F
x
and F
y
signals. Figure 9 shows the
effects of the interaction between feed speed and disk wear
on RMS values of the F
z
signal.
Plots of the RMS feature vs. diamond disk wear have
been produced for the three components of the cutting force
(see Fig. 10). The x-axis shows the five stages of diamond
mill wear distributed along disk tool life. The five stages of
wear have been put into relationship with the protrusion
height of the diamond grits by bond observed on disk
surface, as shown in Fig. 11.
Vt
Va
Fy, Ay
Fz, Az
Fx, Ax
Fy, Ay
Stone
diamond
disk
Stone
diamond disk
Cutting
groove
Fig. 4 Experimental scheme
Table 2 Experimental plan
Factors # Levels Levels
Cutting depth (mm) 3 1.01.5
Feed speed (mm/min) 3 200400
Spindle speed (rpm) 1 3,000
Replications 3
458 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
Inspection of Fig. 10 shows that the RMS of the x and y
components of the cutting force are very low and that their
values stay low with the increase of tool wear (from 5 to
20 N). The values of RMS related to the z component
increase considerably with the increase of tool wear, from
about 35 to 110 N. This is due to the fact that disk cutting
proceeds along a line parallel to the y-axis; the contact
between disk and stone takes place in the y-z plane (see
Fig. 1). Moreover, the ratio between the depth of cut and
the disk diameter is very low, thus involving a low value of
force along the y-axis. The RMS feature along the x- and y-
axes may be neglected with regards to the z-axis.
Figures 12 and 13 show the changes in the relationship
between RMS feature related to F
z
signal and disk wear
with the increase of the feed speed (u) or of the depth of cut
(d). RMS increases significantly with the disk wear, with
the feed speed, and with the depth of cut.
Regression analysis underlined that the analytical rela-
tionships among RMS feature, mill wear T, feed speed u,
and depth of cut d is given by the following expression for
the F
z
signal:
log RMS
F
z
k
1
k
2
d k
3
u k
4
T k
5
u T 2
where k
1
, k
2
, k
3
, k
4
and k
5
are constants equal to 1.04,
0.619, 0.00478, 0.579 and 0.000938, respectively. The
adjusted coefficient of determination is about 96.5%, while
the hypotheses (normality and homogeneity of variance)
about the residuals are satisfied. The predictive capability
of the regression model is given by the value of the
predictive error sum of squares (PRESS) statistic, 96.2%,
respectively. The lack of fit test confirms that Eq. (2) may
be considered linear. Equation (2) may be written as:
Fig. 6 Time domain force signal monitored in Y direction: a at 1
wear stage; b at 3 wear stage; c at 5 wear stage
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 200 400 600 800
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
F
x

[
N
]
F
x

[
N
]
F
x

[
N
]
(a)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 200 400 600 800
(b)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 200 400 600 800
(c)
Fig. 5 Time domain force signal monitored in the X direction: a at 1
wear stage; b at 3 wear stage; c at 5 wear stage
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 459
RMS
F
z

e
k
1
e
k
2
d
e
k
3
u
e
k
4
T
e
k
5
uT
3
3.3 Acceleration signal analysis in the time domain
Figures 14ac, 15ac and 16ac show typical acceleration
signals in the time domain that are monitored in the X
(traverse to feed), Y(feed) and Z(vertical), directions,
respectively, at different time interval inside tool life.
As can be seen in these figures, the average values keep
constant to 0 with the progress of disk wear, while the
dispersion of the signals increases significantly.
RMS feature has been extracted for the three accelera-
tion signals, A
x
, A
y
, and A
z
, respectively.
The analysis of variance (ANOVA) proved that both the
diamond disk wear and the two considered process
parameters, feed speed and depth of cut, influence
significantly RMS parameter characterising A
x
, A
y
, and
A
z
signals. The interactions between feed speed and disk
wear seem to significantly influence RMS values, too.
Figure 17 shows the influence of these three factors on
RMS values extracted from the A
z
signal. The same effects
200
400
1 2 3 4 5
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
T [#]
u [mm/min]
a
v
e
r
a
g
e
o
f
R
M
S
o
f
F
z
[
N
]
Fig. 9 Interaction plot of RMS feature extracted by F
z
signal vs. feed
speed (u) and disk wear (T)
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
400
0 200 400 600 800
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
F
z

[
N
]
F
z

[
N
]
F
z

[
N
]
(a)
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
400
0 200 400 600 800
(b)
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
400
0 200 400 600 800
(c)
Fig. 7 Time domain force signal monitored in Z direction: a at 1
wear stage; b at 3 wear stage; c at 5 wear stage
T [#] u [mm/min] d [mm]
5 4 3 2 1
4
0
0
2
0
0
1
.
5
1
.
0
100
85
70
55
40
a
v
e
r
a
g
e
R
M
S
o
f
F
z
[
N
]
Fig. 8 Main effect plots of
RMS feature extracted by F
z
signal vs. feed speed (u), depth
of cut (d) and disk wear (T)
460 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
have been observed for A
x
and A
y
signals. Figure 18 shows
the effects of the interaction between feed speed and disk
wear on RMS values of the A
z
signal.
Plots of the RMS feature vs. diamond disk wear were
produced for the three acceleration signals (see Fig. 19).
Inspection of Fig. 19 shows that the average value of RMS
of the A
x
and A
z
signals increases much more than that of A
y
(0.50 vs. 0.20). Moreover, the standard deviation of the A
z
signal increases considerably with disk wear (about 0.11),
while that of both A
x
and A
y
remains approximately constant
with wear increasing. Therefore, A
z
is the acceleration signal
most critical and it has been deeply investigated.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stage T [#]
R
M
S

o
f

F
z

[
N
]
Fx - average-sigma Fx - average Fx - average+sigma Fy - average-sigma Fy - average
Fy - average+sigma Fz - average-sigma Fz - average Fz - average+sigma
Fig. 10 The RMS feature of F
x
, F
y
and F
z
vs. diamond disk wear (T)
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stages [#]
p
r
o
t
r
u
s
i
o
n

h
e
i
g
h
t

[
m
m
]
Fig. 11 Average protrusion
height of the diamond grits
vs. wear stages
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 461
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stage T [#]
R
M
S

o
f

F
z

[
N
]
d=1 mm - average-sigma d=1 mm - average d=1 mm - average+sigma
d=1.5 mm - average-sigma d=1.5 mm - average d=1.5 mm - average+sigma
Fig. 13 RMS feature of F
z
vs. diamond disk wear (T) for different values of the depth of cut (d= and 1.5 mm)
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
140
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stage T [#]
R
M
S

o
f

F
z

[
N
]
u=200 mm/min - average-sigma u=200 mm/min - average u=200 mm/min - average+sigma
u=400 mm/min - average-sigma u=400 mm/min -average" u=400 mm/min - average+sigma
Fig. 12 RMS feature of F
z
vs. diamond disk wear (T) for different values of the feed speed (u=200 and 400 mm/min)
462 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
Figures 20 and 21 show the changes in the relationship
between RMS feature related to A
z
signal and disk wear with
the increase of the feed speed (u) or of the depth of cut (d).
Regression analysis underlined that the analytical rela-
tionship among RMS feature of A
z
, mill wear T, feed speed
u and depth of cut d is given by the following expression:
log RMS
Az

h
1
h
2
d h
3
u h
4
Th
5
u T 4
where h
1
, h
2
, h
3
, h
4
and h
5
are constants equal to 2.66,
0.419, 0.0028, 0.331 and 0.000332, respectively. The
adjusted coefficient of determination is about 93.4%, while
the hypotheses (normality and homogeneity of variance)
about the residuals are satisfied. The predictive capability
of the regression model is given by the value of the
predictive error sum of squares (PRESS) statistic, 92.7%,
respectively. The lack of fit test confirms that Eq. (4) may
be considered linear. Equation (4) may be written as:
RMS
Az

e
h
1
e
h
2
d
e
h
3
u
e
h
4
T
e
k
5
uT
5
3.4 Correlation between force and acceleration signals
RMS feature of F
z
signal may be put into relationship with
RMS feature of A
z
signal by means of the following
regression equation:
RMS
F
z
j
1
j
2
RMS
A
z
6
where j
1
and j
2
are constants equal to 11.4 and 133,
respectively (see Fig. 22). The adjusted coefficient of
determination is about 90.6%, while the hypotheses about
the residuals are satisfied. Equation (6) shows that it is
possible to estimate the average value of the cutting force,
once the average value of the vibrations on the workpiece
during the manufacturing process is known and vice-versa.
A summary of the variations of the cutting-process
parameters under different cutting conditions is shown in
Table 3 for the two considered sensors. The arrows denote
the tendency of variation of the above cutting process
parameters with changing machining conditions. The
upward arrow indicates that the monitored parameter
increases with an increase in that cutting variable, while
the other cutting conditions are kept constant. Similarly, the
downward arrow implies that the monitored parameter
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
A
y

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
A
y

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
A
y

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
(a)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
(b)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
(c)
Fig. 15 Time domain acceleration signal monitored in Y direction:
a at 1 wear stage; b at 3 wear stage; c at 5 wear stage
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
A
x

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
A
x

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
A
x

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
(a)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
(b)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
(c)
Fig. 14 Time domain acceleration signal monitored in X direction:
a at 1 wear stage; b at 3 wear stage; c at 5 wear stage
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 463
decreases with an increase in that cutting condition while
the other cutting conditions are kept constant.
The models (3) and (5) allow to determine disk wear by
knowing the values of the RMS features, feed speed, and
depth of cut. In this way, it is possible to control in-process
disk wear on the basis of RMS feature measured, once the
feed speed to use for machining is fixed.
Once it is demonstrated that the force or acceleration
sensors may be alternatively used to control the diamond
disk wear, the choice of sensor depends on economic
factors. Generally, the acceleration sensor is cheaper than
the force sensor and, therefore, may be preferred in sawing
applications.
4 Conclusions
The system developed and used in this investigation uses the
capability of acceleration methodology and force methodol-
ogy for the monitoring of stone cutting by a diamond disk.
With information from the force and acceleration signals
acquired during the machining processes, the characteristics
of the cutting activity may be determined and these will
provide a means of monitoring the tool wear. In the stone
cutting by diamond disk, RMS feature of acceleration and
force signals along the z-axis are more sensitive to tool wear
and process parameters. Thus, this would lead to the de-
velopment of progressive tool wear monitoring on-line. The
force and the acceleration signals may be put into relation-
ship in order to foresee the average values of force and
vibration on the workpiece during cutting. The choice of
200
400
1 2 3 4 5
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
T [#]
u [mm/min]
a
v
e
r
a
g
e
R
M
S
o
f
A
z
[
m
/
s
^
2
]
Fig. 18 Interaction plot of RMS feature extracted by A
z
vs. feed
speed (u) and disk wear (T)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
Time [ms]
A
z

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
A
z

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
A
z

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
(a)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
(b)
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
0 200 400 600 800 1000
(c)
Fig. 16 Time domain acceleration signal monitored in Z direction:
a at 1 wear stage; b at 3 wear stage; c at 5 wear stage
T [#] u [mm/min] d [mm]
5 4 3 2 1
4
0
0
2
0
0
1
.
5
1
.
0
0.68
0.56
0.44
0.32
0.20
a
v
e
r
a
g
e
R
M
S
o
f
A
z
[
m
/
s
^
2
]
Fig. 17 Main effect plots of
RMS feature extracted by A
z
vs.
feed speed (u), depth of cut (d)
and disk wear (T)
464 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stages T [#]
R
M
S

o
f

A
z

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
u=200 mm/min - average-sigma u=200 mm/min - average u=200 mm/min - average+sigma
u=400 mm/min - average-sigma u=400 mm/min - average u=400 mm/min - average+sigma
Fig. 20 RMS feature of A
z
vs. diamond disk wear (T) for different values of the feed speed (u=200 and 400 mm/min)
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stages T [#]
R
M
S

o
f

a
c
c
e
l
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
s

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
Ax - average-sigma Ax - average Ax - average+sigma Ay - average-sigma Ay - average
Ay - average+sigma Az - average-sigma Az - average Az - average+sigma
Fig. 19 RMS feature of A
x
, A
y
and A
z
vs. diamond disk wear (T)
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 465
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
1.20
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
wear stages T [#]
R
M
S

o
f

A
z

[
m
/
s
^
2
]
d=1 mm - average-sigma d=1 mm - average d=1 mm - average+sigma
d=1.5 mm - average-sigma d=1.5 mm - average d=1.5 mm - average+sigma
Fig. 21 RMS feature of A
z
vs. diamond disk wear (T) for different values of the depth of cut (d=1 and 1.5 mm)
RMS of Az [m/s^2]
R
M
S
o
f
F
z
[
N
]
1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Fig. 22 Regression equation of
RMS feature of F
z
vs. RMS
feature of A
z
466 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467
sensor depends on economic factors. Generally, the acceler-
ation sensor is cheaper than the force sensor and, therefore,
may be preferred in sawing applications.
Acknowledgement This research work was financed by the Italian
M.I.U.R. (Ministry of Instruction, University and Research) under the
project entitled Intelligent sensor monitoring of stone machining
(MIUR-PRIN 2002).
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Table 3 The tendency of variation of the monitored process
parameters under different machining conditions
Investigated
parameters
Feed speed u
(mm/min)
Depth of cut d
(mm)
Disk
wear
RMS of Fz
RMS of Az
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2007) 35:454467 467