The principal objective of the research programme was to develop a technique for monitoring the condition of power-press cutting tools using ultrasonics. The principle of the technique was based upon the reflection of Surface Acoustic Waves (SAWs) from the tooling's cutting edges, and the main aim of the research was to establish the relationship between reflected SAW amplitude and tool edge condition. Three approaches were used to establish the relationship, namely on-line experiments, off-line bench-top experiments, and mathematical modelling. The modelling work involved using Transmission Line Modelling. Three types of wear were observed on the punch: i. The formation of a wear radius on the cutting edge of the punch. ii. The beating back of the bottom face of the punch adjacent to the cutting edge. iii. The formation of an abraded region on the flank of the punch adjacent to the cutting edge. The research has shown that it is possible to monitor the radius that forms on the cutting edge of the punch using the amplitude of SAW pulses reflected from the edge. Also the work has indicated that the rate of radius formation is a function of the clearance between the punch and the die. However, the effects of the change in the cutting edge's condition on the propagation delay of the SAWs, which was also investigated, was not found to be significant. Whilst in principle it should be possible to automatically monitor the condition and predict the wearing out of press-tools, the development of a working tool-moni toring system capable of monitoring the complete cutting edge of a press-tool is presently being hindered due to the lack of a suitable transducer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:316614 |
| Date | January 1992 |
| Creators | Bathe, Martin J. |
| Publisher | Birmingham City University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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