Intelligent Operation Monitoring of an Ultra-Precision CNC Machine Tool Using Energy Data

Ultra-precision CNC machine tools play a significant role in the machining of precision dies and molds, optics, consumer electronics, etc., Due to the nature of ultra-precision machining, a subtle change in process condition, machine anomalies, etc. may significantly influence the machining outcome. Hence, continuous monitoring of the equipment's operation is required to better understand the variations associated with the process and the machine. The conventional monitoring platform requires comprehensive data analysis using multiple sensors, and controller data to detect, diagnose, and prognose machine and process conditions. This increases the cost and complexity of installing a monitoring platform. The energy consumption data contains valuable information that could be potentially used to identify machine and process variations. The information can also be used to develop potential energy-saving strategies in an effort towards Green Manufacturing. This paper proposes an intelligent energy monitoring method using a 1-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) to effortlessly and accurately obtain the working status information of the machine with minimal retrofitting. The 1D-CNN uses the energy consumption data to determine the equipment's operation status by identifying the working components and the feed rate of the moving axis. The hyper-parameters of the developed model were optimized to improve the prediction accuracy. The paper also compares different Deep Learning and Machine Learning algorithms to gauge their effective performance in this application. Finally, the model with the highest accuracy was validated on a 5-axis ultra-precision CNC machine tool. Results show that 1D-CNN performs better than multi-layer neural networks and machine learning algorithms in processing time-series datasets. The classification accuracy of 1D-CNN on the detection of operation status and feed rate of each axis can reach 95.7 and 91.4%, respectively. Further studies are currently in progress to improve prediction accuracy of the model, and to detect subtle changes in energy consumption which would enable identification of the machine and process anomalies.