2008 International Seminar on Business and Information Management
Research of Cutting Tool Life-cycle Information Management Platform
Sheng Jing
Mechanical Section
HuBei Automotive Industries Institute
Shiyan, Hubei
shengqqqqjing@163.com
Abstract—To improve manufacturing capability of national
defense industry, the paper brings forward cutting tool life-
cycle management problem. And then studies its key
technology, including Cutting tool resource classification and
code technology, etc.. Further more, The paper lastly analysis
and designs cutting tools life-cycle management system
through IDEF methodology and then gives the key page of
TLMS according to J2EE mode.
Keywords-cutting tool; life-cycle management; classification
and code technology; direct marking technology
I. INTRODUCTION
Traditional cutting tool management focuses on
warehouse-management problem, and its manufacturing,
purchasing, maintenance and status information is not
considered. With development of enterprise information
technology, the shortcoming of traditional management
method has become increasingly prominent. The paper
discusses how to manage cutting tool from its life
commencement to termination (cutting tool life-cycle
management, CTLM[1]) for the problem above, and
constructs cutting tool life-cycle management system
(CTLMS) to support cutting tool information share on the
basis of J2EE framework by its key technology research and
system analysis. Cutting tooling life-cycle is made up of four
stages: initial stage, preparing stage, usage stage and
maintenance stage.
II. THE KEY TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH OF CTLM
A. Cutting Ttool Resource Classification and Code
Technology
Hybrid classification is usually applied in cutting tool
management, and it is form of combining linear
classification and face classification. In face taxonomy,
given object is divided into series of faces with no affiliation
according to its inherent property, and each face includes a
group of items. Linear classification is also hierarchy
taxonomy, and it divides initial object to be classified into
several hierarchy items step by step on the basis of selected
property. In terms of technics equipment navigation standard
and OO technology, Cutting tool resource discussed in the
paper is polymerized by aiguille class, reamer class, counter
bit class, etc., and each class can be divided into series sub-
class.
TABLE I. CUTTING TOOL RESOURCE CODING VALUE ASSIGNING TABLE
978-0-7695-3560-9/08 $25.00 © 2008 IEEE
DOI 10.1109/ISBIM.2008.81
Fang Yadong
The Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineer
Xi'an Technological University
Xi'an, P.R.C
tomfangok@126.com
In order to manage cutting tool information in various
stages, each cutting tool need Unified and standardized logo
(cutting tool information code). There are Coding without
meaning and meaning coding in information coding method.
The first one is made up of sequence coding and disorderly
coding, and the last one includes abbreviations coding,
hierarchy coding, matrix coding, combination coding and so
on[2]. According to Chinese Standard about good bar code
and Shop barcode, cutting tool resource is encoded by
classification and sequence coding, and its coding method is
show as Figure 1.
Figure 1. Cutting tool resource information coding structure
• No.13 and No.12 items are material class to meet
expansibility requirement of resource coding.
Cutting tool resource material class coding is 04, and
the other is assigned to remaining enterprise resource
except for cutting tool.
• No.11 item represents main class of cutting tool
resource. 0 is traditional cutting tool, and 1 is NC
cutting tool.
• No.10 and No.9 items represent medium class, and
its partly assigned value is shown as Table.1.
• No.8 and No.7 items represent small class, and its
partly assigned value is shown as Table.1.
• No.6 item denotes cutting tool purpose. 0 is military
product, and 1 is civilian product.
• The sequence code of cutting tool is decided by
No.2, No.3, No.4 and No.5 item.
• The first item is check code, and its value can be
gotten by the algorithm, the range of value is 0-9.
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 Cutting tool main class Cutting tool medium class Cutting tool small class
Material class
Coding Meaning Coding Meaning Coding Meaning
00 center dirll
00 aiguille … ...
15 composite aiguille
00 face milling cutter
01 milling cutter … …
0 traditional tool
19 thread milling cutter
… … … …
00 lathe tool
04 10 cutter … …
10 planner tool
00 Mohs cutter shank
00 cutter shank … …
09 tap cutter shank
1 NC tool 01 extension rod … …
02 boring head … …
… … … …
17 … …
It's easy to cause input errors, when the code as data is The process of cutting tool direct marking and identification
input to computer or other equipment. In order to reduce is shown as Figure 2:
input errors, coding experts invent various methods of 1) Encode the information of the tool to form 2D
checking wrong, and set up check code based on the method. barcode.
The paper set check code of cutting tool resource coding in 2) Mark it on the surface of the tool to form permanent
terms of calculation Method about ENA-13, and its image, this step should use laser marking machine.
calculation steps are shown as following:
3) Scan and decode the barcode through barcode
1) Start from the second place, the sum of even item of
identification equipment.
the coding is calculated according to coding
6
4) The data are transported through serial interface（
structure, Seven = ∑ X 2i . RS232 or USB）to computer for storage.
i =1
2) sum by step is multiplied by 3,
6 Figure 2. Cutting tool direct marking process
Sodd = ∑ X 2i +1
i =1 .The sum of all odd items is calculated, Figure 3 is example of cutting tool one dimension and
6 two dimension barcode by direct laser marking technology.
Sodd = ∑ X 2i +1
i =1 . (a) 1D barcode of code 39
3) The result of step Ⅱ and step Ⅲ are added up,
S=Seven+Sodd.
4) Let S is calculation result of step , and let P is a
(c) 1D Barcode marked on tool surface
whole-number multiple of 10, which is greater than or equal
to S. The difference of P and S is the value of check code,
T=P-S (P mod10=0, P≥S).
B. Cutting Tool Resource Classification and Code
Technology
Synthesize reference literatures in the field of direct
marking, we considered that, because of the minor marking
surface, curvature of tool’s surface and the intensive
reflected light of metal surface, Direct laser marking has
been proved an exclusive method to guarantee image quality. (b) 2D barcode of data matrix (d) 2D Barcode marked on tool surface
The combination of Direct Laser Marking and 2D barcode
have supplied a new method on tool’s direct marking. Figure 3. Cutting tool laser direct marking technology
The equipments of cutting tool direct marking and
identification include laser marking machine, handhold or III. CTLMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
fixed barcode identification equipment, computer for data
process, tools-hold frock and auxiliary illuminate equipment. Top-level functional model of CTLMS constructed by
IDEF0 diagram is shown as Figure 4. From the figure, the

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function of CTLMS is to integrate information of product
technics, production plane and provider. What's more,
CTLMS provides cutting tool requirement information,
purchasing information and status information according to
cutting tool business management rule.
In order to further discuss the relation and constraint
among modules, the paper analyzes each module of top-level
function module in detail, and process analysis of cutting
tool life-cycle management is shown as Figure 5:
1) Cutting tool requirement management
According to instructive technics file, technology staff
sets up production file, and puts forward requirement of
cutting tool type and quantity in terms of information about
plant manufacturing capability, production plan and cutting
tool storage.
2) Cutting tool planning management
Technology staff and cutting tool keeper divides cutting
tool into general and special class. General cutting tool need
to be set up purchasing planning, and special cutting tool
should be established design and manufacturing planning.
Lastly, cutting tool design, manufacturing and purchasing
task are respectively assigned to cutting tool design dept.,
manufacturing dept. and material provider after production
preparing dept. adjust and approve.
3) Cutting tool providing management
Cutting tool designer, manufacturer and material
providing dept. executes respectively business activity
according to cutting tool month planning, and feeds back the
process to cutting tool preparing department. What's more,
Figure 4. Cutting tool top-level functional model
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the module generates basic data, such as cutting tool
technology parameter.
4) Cutting tool inventory control
Cutting tool is identified, managed and controlled, after it
manufactured or purchased, and its borrowing and lending
business is realized by barcode identification device.
5) Cutting tool using management
In order to meet requirement of tracking cutting tool
status information, its coding information is acquired by
barcode identification system, and its status information is
gotten in the process of DNC data collection. The geometry
parameter of cutting tool can also be acquired by integrated
with tool setting guage.
IV. CUTTING TOOL LIFE-CYCLE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM REALIZATION
On the basis of key technology, analysis and design
above, CTLMS is realized operation between client and
server by JSP and EJB. The system database is Oracle9i, and
its web serve is Apach1.3 within Oracle 9i. The realization
process of cutting tool life-cycle management system is
introduced by taking the role of tool stock controller for
instance.
The operation of tool keeper by CTLMS includes cutting
tool information search, import and export management,
borrowing and lending management, costing management,
stock taking, and inventory management. Figure 6 is cutting
tool borrowing and lending management module, cutting
tool resource can be filtered by name, code, using time and
so on.
 Figure 5. Cutting tool life-cycle management function model diagram
CONCLUSIONS
Cutting tool is the costly consumptive resource for
advance manufacturing mode, and it plays the significant
role for flexibility, efficiency and correctness of enterprise
production. At present, it is required urgently that cutting
tool should be managed in its life-cycle process with the
development of digitallization production line and workshop.
According to above requirement, the paper researches the
key technology of cutting tool life-cycle, and discusses
CTLMS analysis and design process. Lastly, the realization
and typical interface of CTLMS is introduced. The author
expects that it’s useful to realize enterprise information
construction for our national defense industry on the theory.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Figure 6. Cutting tool life-cycle management system inventory management web page
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