Design of a smart workpiece holder (SWH) to extend the useful life of micro-tools

Micro-tools have been widely used in industry primarily by biomedical and electronic equipment manufacturers. The wear and tool breakage mechanism of the micro-tools are very different than conventional tools. The life of these miniature cutting tools is extremely unpredictable and much shorter than conventional tools. Smart structures have monitoring, decision making and response capabilities. The response time of smart structures can be extremely shortened by using piezo-electric actuators. In this study, a smart structure was developed by using a piezo-electric actuator to extend the tool life in micro-machining applications. The structure measures the cutting force by using a dynamometer and moves the tool according to a selected pattern to remove the small chips from cutting area. The main advantages of the system are very fast responses and the accuracy of the generated displacement pattern.