A new method for in-process measurement of the flank wear of cutting tools is contrived and examined experimentally. In this method, a fine electric resistor is printed on the clearance surface of the cutting tool which is insulated by thin layer of heat resisting paint. The length of this resistor will decrease with the progress of the flank wear and this decrease is measured as the change of the electric resistance continuously.
The performance of this method would be affected by following factors; (1) materials of the insulator and the resistor, (2) voltage imposed to the resistor and (3) the value of the electric resistance. In this paper, recommended combination of these factors are studied According to the experiment, it is shown that this method of in-process measurement is promising.