An Acoustic Emission Chip-Form Monitor for Single-Point Turning

An acoustic-emission-based microcomputer chip-form monitor has been designed and built at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). The monitor implements algorithms based on research by the University of California, Berkeley. The ability to identify chip form in turning of three types of metal (aluminum, low-carbon steel, and an alloy steel) has been demonstrated at both institutions, each using different machine tools and different tooling. The monitor performs best for the soft, easy-to-machine metals where chip breaking is most difficult and disastrous tangles are most likely.