THIS PAPER PRESENTS A MACHINE VISION SYSTEM FOR MONITORING WEAR AND DETECTING BREAKAGE IN SINGLE-POINT CUTTING TOOLS. THE NEWLY DEVELOPED SYSTEM EXTRACTS FIVE FEATURES FROM A TWO-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE OF A TOOL (FLANK VIEW) WHICH ARE THEN USED IN A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME. RESULTS OBTAINED FROM TESTS ON A LABORATORY CNC LATHE CORRELATE WELL WITH THOSE OBTAINED USING CONVENTIONAL METHODS.
