Preparing the published article.
Tooling Wear Monitoring
Tooling wear shows up as quality problems before it shows as a fault.
What to monitor
| Component | Sign to watch |
|---|---|
| Gripper pads | Slippage, marking and increased force needed |
| Vacuum cups | Leak rate and deformation |
| Blades and abrasives | Cycle counts and finish quality |
| Couplings | Play and repeatability after change |
| Springs and compliance | Loss of travel or force |
How to manage it
- Set replacement intervals from measured data, not from intuition.
- Track consumable usage per thousand cycles.
- Keep a small stock of wear items at the machine.
Wear rates depend on the material and the duty cycle. Establish intervals from your own records.