Method for estimating tool life in a cutting machine

A method for estimating the tool life of a cutting machine comprising the steps of:

• installing a sensor on a cutting machine for sensing the cutting thrust of a tool on the cutting machine during cutting of a workpiece;
• establishing basic data by establishing different cutting rate settings for the cutting machine, and operating the cutting machine to cut the workpiece with the cutting tool according to each of the cutting rate settings, measuring the cutting thrust of the tool with the sensor at each cutting, defining the maximum cutting thrust of the tool measured at each cutting as a characteristic signal, and recording the type of the tool, the material of the workpiece, and the length of the workpiece cut at each cutting;
• processing numerically the characteristic signal corresponding to each cut in the step of establishing basic data by factorization processing and inverse processing to obtain a complex value, which is defined as the complex remaining life index of the tool on the workpiece;
• and
• processing graphically by using the cutting rate as the horizontal axis, the greater the cutting rate to the right, and using the remaining life index as the vertical axis, the greater the value to the top, the plural remaining life index and its corresponding cutting rate in step of processing numerically are plotted and connected to form a line graph according to the values of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis.