The Fine Line between Savings and Damage

During milling, the tool substrate, the coating, and the geometry of the cutting edge are decisive for high machining quality with low cutting forces. Tool wear leads to unstable processes that cause defects in the component or even lift the component out of its clamping and do damage to the machine. Nonetheless, at this point in time indexable inserts are only being inspected and replaced in an analog fashion, resulting in unnecessary waste. Hence, Fraunhofer IPK is developing PoWer, a digital, automated inspection and replacement system for indexable inserts, which not only evaluates the condition of the tools but also carries out the replacement.