SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REAL-TIME MONITORING OF MICROMILLING TOOL WEAR

The wear status of a micro-endmill tool may be inferred by monitoring the chip production rate of the tool in operation. Chips may be extracted from a work area, captured on an adhesive surface, imaged, and counted to determine the chip production rate. When the rate of chip production falls, the feed rate of the micro-endmill may be increased to a level suitable for the current state of tool wear. In this manner, costly and inconvenient work stoppages to evaluate the wear status of a tool are eliminated.