A Smart Spindle Component concept as a standalone measurement system for Industry 4.0 Machine Tools

The increasing diffusion of high performance, low cost sensors and processors has encouraged their integration in several automation devices. Their interconnection and exploitation are supported by the Industry 4.0 paradigm. The paper elaborates on the Smart Component approach, referring to the case of a Smart Spindle for machine tools, considering in particular a spindle designed for robotic machining applications. A Smart Component must be able to perform acquisition locally, sensor fusion, information extraction and data presentation, with a bi-directional data transmission between the Machine Tool and other network nodes. Potential applications and persisting limitations are discussed.