Preliminary study of phase-shifting strobo-stereoscopy for cutting tool monitoring

Monitoring cutting tool quality in the machining process is essential to the success of part manufacturing. To directly monitor the information of cutting tools under the drilling or milling operations, this paper presents a novel 3D imaging technique to enable direct cutting tool geometry measurement. This method combines stroboscopy and stereoscopy, this strobo-stereoscopy, which synchronizes the stroboscopic illumination system with the spindle control system and enables in-situ reconstructing 3D images of cutting tools. For the phase-locked mode, this technique can lock the image of the cutting tool while in motion. On the other hand, for the phase-shifting mode, all facets around the cutting tool will be scanned by shifting the phase of the light signals while collecting dimensional target information. Experimental studies of phase-locked and phase-shifting modes for monitoring an end mill tool and a wood rolling pin were presented. The directly measured maps and whole 3D images on the target tools verify the capability of the geometry identification of the proposed strobostereoscopic imaging technology. Lastly, the potential applications of the proposed technology were discussed.