Warm forged components have better surface properties and higher dimensional accuracy than hot forged components. Diamond-like-carbon (DLC) coatings can be used as wear protection coatings, which are anti-adhesive and extremely hard (up to 3500 HV), to increase tool service life. In the first funding period of the research project at the IPH – Institut für Integrierte Produktion Hannover gGmbH and the Institute for Surface Technology (IOT) of the Technical University of Braunschweig in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films (IST), the influence of different coating types and process temperatures on tool wear was investigated. The result is, that DLC coatings can reduce tool wear in some cases significantly, but that their service life is strongly dependent on the temperature. Coating-integrated temperature measurement could not be realised at that point, due to adhesion challenges. During the second funding period, the effect of multilayer DLC coatings on tool wear was investigated. Also, an additional method of the temperature measurement on the engraving surface using thin film sensors was developed in order to correlate the local process temperature and local layer wear. In this work, the development of and the results gathered by the thin film temperature sensors are presented, which enable for more accurate temperature measurements than commonly used thermocouples. Their functionality and durability under high loads were investigated and showed to be promising.

Effective in-process control mechanisms are vital for the future development of production processes and ask for reliable monitoring of process variables. For this, new tool-integrated sensor systems for measuring cutting forces and temperature for machining of hardened steel are proposed. Thin-film technology is used to apply a thermoresistive temperature sensor in the chip-workpiece contact area for the first time on industrial cutting inserts with chip breaker geometry. Complementary piezoresistive thin-film sensors based on diamond-like carbon (DLC) and manganin layers were developed and deposited on a washer. It was placed beneath the indexable insert to measure the cutting forces. Turning experiments were conducted to study sensor life and accuracy. All sensors showed an adequate lifetime for laboratory purposes. Temperature compensation methods were investigated for force measurement and results compared to forces recorded by a dynamometric platform. While temperature compensation for the DLC-based sensor needs further optimization, results of the manganin-based sensor compared well with the expected cutting forces. The manganin thin-film sensor exhibited rapid responsiveness and great reproducibility, underscoring its prospective utility for real-time monitoring of cutting forces in machining operations.

Advanced digitalization and automation of production processes as well as the predictive maintenance of machine elements, require reliable sensors to collect in situ data as input for control processes. The quality and reliability of these data are crucial for the successful implementation and acceptance of such solutions. Therefore, sensors that can be integrated and measure as close as possible to the signal origin are of high value. In many applications, force or pressure is a key variable. Precise measurements often need effective temperature compensation, which can be challenging when high and locally concentrated temperature gradients occur (e.g., in cutting tools of machining operations). Therefore, a new thin-film sensor design is presented with a diamond-like carbon (DLC)-based temperature sensor placed directly beneath a manganin-based force sensor to enable in situ temperature compensation of the force sensor. The setup and manufacturing of the thin-film system on steel washers are presented. Temperature compensation is successfully demonstrated in an industrial environment by integrating the sensory washer beneath a cutting insert. Calibration and measurements of the cutting force in a turning process are performed, and a process-control use case is implemented.