Patent US 7,010,386

A monitoring apparatus for monitoring one or more manufacturing machines having a plurality of component tools and engaged in repetitive machining of a part is provided. An input device detects occurrence of a machine cycle. A counter stores the number of detected machine cycles as a count value. A machine speed processor estimates a temporal rate at which the machine cycles occur. A data storage device stores a maintenance schedule indicating the number of machine cycles between recommended replacements for each tool. A tools processor estimates a remaining operating time for each tool before scheduled replacement. A machine viability processor estimates a remaining operating time for the machine before schedule replacement of each of the component tools. A display device displays the operating time for the machine before scheduled replacement of each of the component tools. A method for monitoring a cycling manufacturing machine includes detecting machine cycles of the manufacturing machine, estimating a machine operating rate based on the detecting step over time, and projecting tool change times for each of the plurality of tools based on the estimated machine operating rate and pre-selected tool cycle lifetime values for each of the plurality of tools.