Semiconductor strain gauges as potential replacement to metal foil for cutting force measurement in machining process

This study presents a comparison of the cutting force measurement performance using two types of strain gauges, namely metal foil and semiconductor, installed into a low-cost dynamometer. Static measurements were first conducted to study signal behavior prior to cutting. Then, turning operations were set for cutting AISI 4340 alloy steel using carbide tools. The results revealed that semiconductor strain gauges were up to 20 times more sensitive than metal foil strain gauges in three cutting force axes. Nevertheless, span drift error was very much present especially after a 60 second period. The machining study conducted showed that semiconductor strain gauges initially yielded lower resultant forces before gradually increasing to a similar trend as the metal foil strain gauges. This study highlights the potential of semiconductor strain gauges to be used for cutting force measurements in machining due to its greater sensitivity and accuracy. However, for prolonged and continuous machining operations, especially for industrial applications, metal foil strain gauges are still favorable due to their measurement consistency and stability.