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Thin film thermocouples were embedded in vertically to the rake face of cutting tools for better durability in temperature monitoring during titanium alloy cutting processes. • Tools embedded with thin film sensors to monitor cutting temperature. • Thin film thermocouples are embedded vertically to the tool face for protection. • Annealing treatment improved the quality of laterally deposited films. • Good sensitivity and fast responses are validated by experimental tests. • The vertically embedded sensors show good performance and reliability. Smart tools instrumented with thin film thermocouples for online cutting temperature measurement are promising in intelligent manufacturing. However, the surface-mounted planar devices are easily damaged through delamination and abrasion due to the high temperature, great stresses and harsh friction. This paper reports a novel approach to embed the thin film thermocouples in vertical direction to the tool rake face for protection. Attention is also paid to improve the quality of the vertically deposited thin films on the lateral walls of the micro-grooves. Experimental tests have been done to obtain the sensitivity and response of the sensors in the tool. The embedded sensors function well in monitoring the cutting temperature in cutting tests of a titanium alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]