Digital Way, Inc.

WattPilote is a cutting tool wear and breakage detection system. It can monitor tool condition on a wide variety of machines - including machining centers, lathes, grinding machines, and gear hobbing / honing / skyving / grinding / broaching machines. It can monitor large multi-tooth cutters and it can monitor extremely small-diameter drills and tools that remove very little part material.

The system's power sensor is unique in the machine tool industry. It uses no inductive components and is more accurate, more sensitive, and faster than competitors' power sensors that incorporate Hall effect devices. Then, the three-phase analog signals from the WattPilote's sensor are digitized at 50,000 Hz to ensure a precise reconstruction of motor power consumption.

WattPilote detects tool crashes in 5-milliseconds. In multi-tooth cutters, it detects individual tooth failures. If a machining process consumes at least 0.15% of the rated capacity of the motor, WattPilote can monitor that process. WattPilote can monitor continuous machining processes with durations that are as brief as 70-milliseconds and longer than 50-minutes. In parts composed of layered materials, it can detect material transition points in real-time and adjust machine tool speeds / feeds accordingly. In deep-hole drilling and rough milling applications, WattPilote can minimize tool breakages and cycle time via adaptive feed-rate control.

In addition to power sensors, WattPilote is also available with coolant pressure / flow sensors.

SafePilote is a machine crash damage minimization system. It can also assess machine condition (spindle bearing and cross-slide health) and determine if a cutting tool is out of balance.

The system detects impacts in less than 1-millisecond during manual, programmed, or rapid machine moves. During a crash event, the sooner machine motion is halted, the less damage is done and the less downtime is created.

When a machine health diagnostic cycle is initiated, SafePilote can assess spindle bearing and cross-slide health. It does more than just signal an excessive vibration condition. It diagnoses the source to the specific rolling element of the specific bearing. It directs limited maintenance resources directly to the problem and no vibration analysis expertise is required.

The system also detects tool imbalance as the rotating tool approaches the part, but before part contact. It can detect a 0.01-millimeter chip that is accidentally stuck in the collet of a quick-change tool holder and stop the machining process before an out-of-tolerance part is created.