Low-Cost Piezoelectric Transducer for Ceramic Grinding Monitoring

This paper presents a performance assessment of the low-cost thin-disk piezoelectric diaphragm (PZT) for the surface integrity monitoring in the grinding operation. PZT diaphragms are flexible, low-cost, and smart devices, making them promising for applications in manufacturing fields, such as in the grinding operation. To accomplish this, experimental grinding tests were carried out on workpieces of ceramic material covering from slight to severe machining conditions. A low-cost thin-disk PZT diaphragm was assessed, which was attached to the workpiece holder using a cyanoacrylate glue. In addition, a commercial and consolidated acoustic emission (AE) sensor was used as a baseline for comparative purpose. Likewise, the surface roughness measurements were performed after grinding each workpiece to support the sensor monitoring system. Feature extraction using frequency spectrum and time domain analysis were applied to the sensor signals by means of fast Fourier transform (FFT), digital handpass filters, root mean square (RMS) value, and power deviation (DPO) metric. The results indicate a clear relationship between the thin-disk PZT diaphragm and the conventional AE sensor for surface integrity monitoring in grinding, which proves the effectiveness and reliability of an innovative sensing device for the present application. (AU)