Process Acceptability in Turning of Titanium Alloys Based on Cutting Force Sensor Monitoring

This paper reports on the activities of a joint research work carried out by two Laboratories: Machining Technology Laboratory at the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU), Chemnitz, Germany, and Laboratory for Advanced Production Technology (LAPT) at the Dept. of Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Italy. The joint research work comprised the generation, detection, and conditioning of cutting force sensor signals obtained during turning of Ti alloys with variable cutting parameters generating different process conditions. Advanced signal processing, feature extraction, and neural network based pattern recognition were carried out with the aim to achieve the reliable and robust identification of Acceptable / Not Acceptable process conditions for this type of difficult-to-machine alloy.