Digitalization of broaching processes: a scalable approach to industry 4.0 in small and medium enterprises
Michele ABRUZZO, Gino DINI, Gualtiero FANTONI, Luca ROMOLI, Marko VUKOVIC
Abstract. In this work, the digitalization of a broaching process applied to polypropylene tubes for industrial use is proposed. Three different sized broaches are considered. Digital pressure sensors are used to replace analog gauges, integrating with the existing network infrastructure for real-time monitoring and cloud-based data storage for subsequent analyses. Pressure data, analyzed using polynomial regressions and hybrid techniques, enabled the creation of quantitative indices to assess process health, monitor tool wear, and establish predictive maintenance criteria. The proposed approach can be adopted to reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and minimize scrap rates due to tolerance degradation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how scalable digital solutions can drive the transition to Industry 4.0, even in small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Keywords
Monitoring, Performance Indicators, Predictive Maintenance
Published online 9/10/2025, 9 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Michele ABRUZZO, Gino DINI, Gualtiero FANTONI, Luca ROMOLI, Marko VUKOVIC, Digitalization of broaching processes: a scalable approach to industry 4.0 in small and medium enterprises, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 57, pp 539-547, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903735-63
The article was published as article 63 of the book Italian Manufacturing Association Conference
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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