Requirements for flexib le manufacturing have been increasing in the last years. In order to insure effective operation of expansive manufacturing equip ment, wh ich has to run automatically and unattended, tool monitoring is important. Therefore, the essential problem to be overcome to achieve the full potential of un manned mach ining is the development of effective and reliable sensors system to monitor the process and corrective actions in case abnormal operation. The ultimate goal of the develop ment of such production equipment is to enhance the overall economic of the manufacturing process. Even when there are at present many monitoring systems co mmercially available in the market for turning processes, serious difficulties still remain to be solved to apply monitoring systems successfully in machining centres. Being these difficult ies main ly related with the limited accessibility to the rotating tool for sensing purposes in tool driven machin ing processes. Therefore, the primary objective o f this paper assess the feasibility of using force signal analysis as means for monitoring tool condition in drilling