Energy Efficiency in Machining Systems Based on Power-Law Model for Specific Energy Consumption

Abstract

Energy and resource efficiency has become the core of manufacturing activities as more strict requirements for reducing the environmental burden. This paper deals with a policy to enhance the energy efficiency of manufacturing systems composed of CNC machine tools. We have proposed an empirical model to predict the power consumption of a machine tool based on a power function between specific energy consumption and material removal rate. This study extends our previous work and has two purposes. The first purpose is the theoretical grounds for the adequacy of our proposed model by observing power-law between material removal rate and specific energy consumption. Second, two energy efficiency criteria are derived: energy consumption effect and energy efficiency in machining, using the power-law model. It is demonstrated that a higher material removal rate provides lower electric energy demand and enhances energy efficiency through assessments using the proposed energy efficiency criteria.