Abstract
Monitoring of Cutting tool wear is a critical issue in automated machining system and has been extensively studied for many years. An austempered ductile iron(ADI) exhibits the excellent mechanical properties and the wear resistance. ADI has generally the poor machinability due to the characteristic. This paper presents the in-process detection of flank wear of cutting tools using the acoustic emission sensor and the digital oscilloscope. The amplitude level of AE signal(AErms) is mainly affected by cutting speed and it is proportional to cutting speed. There have been the relationship of direct proportion between the amplitude level of AE signals and the flank wear width of cutting tool. The flank wear with corresponding to the tool life is successfully detected with the monitor-ing system used in this study.