Our Philosophy
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Keep it simple. For any application, if cutting tool condition can be determined reliably by monitoring machine power consumption, then power monitoring is the best solution for that application.
This has been the guiding principal in Digital Way’s product development since 1992. It’s the reason we have invested so much time and effort in the development of Digital Way’s proprietary, resistive-shunt power measurement technology and patented signal processing algorithms. These technologies are unique in the tool condition monitoring industry and they allow Digital Way’s WattPilote products to provide laboratory-grade power measurement performance in industrial environments.
Since the sensors are installed in the machine’s electrical cabinet, this tool monitoring solution is easy to retrofit, maintain, and service. WattPilote won’t increase cycle time, it has the best possible MTBF (45,000 hours) and MTTR (two hours) ratings, and it accommodates machine re-tooling / re-tasking.
Keep it simple – because it works. A vibration sensor positioned on the machine spindle, outside the machining envelope, is the simplest, least-expensive means to minimize the cost of crashes on a machine tool.
In 2013, Digital Way introduced SafePilote – a triaxial accelerometer-based machine tool crash protection system. This product addresses a limitation of all power-based crash protection systems : the spindle must be turning (or the monitored axis must be in motion) for power-based systems to detect a crash. This isn’t a limitation for SafePilote.
At the start of an impact or excessive vibration condition involving the tool, the spindle, or the part fixture, SafePilote immediately halts all machine motion. And because the sensor is located on the spindle tail (not on the spindle head as are most vibration sensors used for tool monitoring or machine condition monitoring), it’s still in a protected environment. SafePilote is easy to retrofit, maintain, and service. It won’t increase cycle time, it has the best possible MTBF and MTTR ratings, and it accommodates machine re-tooling / re-tasking.
Do it yourself. Digital Way has the in-house expertise and capabilities to create and maintain our products with only minimal reliance on outside sub-contractors. This self-sufficiency allows us to quickly incorporate the experiences of our customers into our product upgrades and our new product developments.
Electronics design, sensor manufacturing, software development, documentation, enclosure fabrication, assembly, test and repair, are all done at Digital Way’s Saint-Étienne facility.
The people who design our products also evaluate them in the field. It’s not uncommon to find our company’s founder doing applications studies on a customer’s shop floor.