[Species8472]

Been working with Fanuc's TLM. Seems to have only two ways of determining tool life. Number of cycles or time in cut. I'm thinking of something that detects spindle/axis load changes. But the load meters on machines don't seem sensitive enough to detect small changes like an end mill that just developed chip or lost a corner. Ever hear of anything like that?

[Xian_13]

Many manufactures have what you describe, it is known as "Adaptive Control".

The systems I have worked with profile the current draw on the motor (as one of the metrics). While the cutting tool stays with its parameter, the machine continues on.
If the Adaptive Control detects wear/breakage, the control is flagged.
On a Fanuc machine, if the machine is equipped with "Marco interrupt", the machine can now perform other functions. This could include, retracting and switching pallets, grabbing a replacement tool and resuming the cut or any other thing you can do with a macro.

There are stand alone systems as well, Caron Engineering has a "TMAC" system and I am sure there are other companies.

-X