Tooling systems with integrated sensors enabling data based process optimization

Sensor integration into machining equipment has become an important factor for gaining deep process insights mainly driven by increasingly smaller and cheaper sensors and transmitters. Due to advances in microelectronics and communication technology, a broader field of applications in production processes and machine tools can be addressed using sensing devices and their implementation potentials. Ensuring a sensitive but robust data stream from close to the actual process allows not only reliable monitoring but also process and quality control based on sensor information. This paper provides an overview of the utilization of sensor data for the purpose of condition monitoring, model fitting and real-time control coping with stochastic effects. Examples of sensor integration in fields of injection molding, roll forming and heavy-duty milling comprise the state of the art of sensor implementation, data evaluation and possible feedback loops in the respective application scenarios.