Heidenhain TD 110 Is Fast, Reliable In-Process Gage for Checking Tools

The TD 110 tool breakage detector is a maintenance-free sensor for reducing nonproductive time for breakage inspection. Photo Credit: Heidenhain Corp.

Heidenhain’s TD 110 Tool Breakage Detector is specially designed for quickly sensing tool breakage during use within a machine tool. Providing contact-free inspection of drill bits and end mills, it can determine whether a tool is broken off by more than 2 mm as it passes within a machine tool, yielding significant time and money savings, the company says.
 
The TD 110 tool breakage sensor can be placed in the work envelope so that it is fast and easy to reach during the tool change. The inductive sensor can detect tools as they pass by while they are spinning at their operational speed. Thanks to its rapid scanning technology, even very small tools made of HSS steel and carbide are detected.
 
The breakage sensor can then generate either a floating or an HTL switching signal and the machine control can evaluate it via standard instruction sets. These signals/outputs can be used to connect to a Heidenhain TNC control or a PLC, or to any other IOs of nearly every CNC control manufacturer. In addition, an LED signals whether a tool has been flagged.
 
Overall benefits of the tool breakage detector include a maintenance-free sensor for reducing nonproductive time for breakage inspection. It also tolerates cooling lubricant and lightly contaminated tools. In addition, it is universally retrofittable due to standard interfaces for tool touch probes.