Journal of Cleaner Production 19 (2011) 699e711

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Evaluating the use phase energy requirements of a machine tool system

Oliver Ioan Avram*, Paul Xirouchakis
Institute of Mechanical Engineering, EPFL, Station 9, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history: Received 14 June 2010 Received in revised form 15 October 2010 Accepted 15 October 2010 Available online 31 October 2010 Keywords: Machine tool End milling Energy Sustainable manufacturing

a b s t r a c t
This paper has an energy consumption reduction perspective by considering alternative machining strategies and system components interactions translated into variable and constant power ows with respect to various use phase regimes of a machine tool system. The methodology is able to estimate the mechanical energy requirements of the spindle and feed axes with respect to 2.5D machining strategies by taking into account steady-state and transient regimes. In addition, the specic amount of xed energy drawn by a machine was determined based on a careful monitoring of the energy share amongst the auxiliary equipment that supports the accomplishment of the machining tasks. The numerical results were experimentally validated and the good agreement between them led to the conclusion that the proposed methodology can be used effectively for the calculation of the total energy required by a machine tool system for the milling of a part. This enables a straightforward comparison of different milling part programs with respect to their energy consumption levels. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction A machine tool system (MTS) can be conceived as a collection of equipment needed to perform several steps in order to complete a machining task. The performance of an MTS is highly dependent on the cooperative interactions between the spindle and the feed axes on the one side and the peripheral equipment on the other side. The most general level of such interactions is their energy level, so that they can be thought of as power ows within the entire system. The environmental impact in the use phase of active products such as MTS which generates other products is more important than that from other life cycle phases and resides mainly in the amount of energy consumed (Dahmus and Gutowski, 2004). Across their entire use phase, the MTSs require various processes and enormous amounts of energy for the act of physically transforming raw materials into nished products. Use processes are performed by executing functions of the MTS. Careful selection of the technology available, intelligent process design and effective integration of the process within the machining system are all areas that can contribute to energy consumption minimization. 2. Energy-related issues in machining In order to comply with a stricter environmental legislation, the manufacturing community should be able to nd solutions to
* Corresponding author. Tel: 41 216937335; fax: 41 216933509. E-mail address: oliver.avram@ep.ch (O.I. Avram). 0959-6526/$ e see front matter 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.10.010

reduce the consumption of resources deployed for the transformation process from input into output. Energy is an essential resource for machining processes and the reduction of its consumption should be motivated not only by the increasing operating expenses of the manufacturing systems but also by a proportional reduction of the production of greenhouse gases. The dependence between the carbon emissions related to the energy available at a power grid and the primary energy source used was discussed by Jeswiet and Kara (2008). They introduced a carbon emission signature (CES) as a simple way to nd the carbon emitted during the manufacturing of a part. One of the rst studies identied in the literature addressing the energy efciency issues in numerically controlled (NC) machine tools was carried out by Filippi and Ippolito (1981). They gathered together data from 10 different NC machine tools involved in various operations. It was concluded that the installed power was never fully exploited because the mean power was quite less than half the power available and due to a rate of 60% of the total time spent as a productive time. Akbari et al. (2001) provided a qualitative representation of the machine tool standby and cutting energy for alternative machining strategies and summarized the probable effects on the energy consumption caused by running different machining strategies. In another study the cutting energy dissipated as heat and its repartition between workpiece, tool, cutting uid and environment was quantied for a gear milling process with respect to different cooling/lubrication strategies (Fratila, 2009). Although the transition from conventional to new cooling/lubrication strategies of the

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cutting area results in a signicant reduction in solid waste, water usage, global warming potential and acidication an increase in energy use was noticed (Pusavec et al., 2010a). Nevertheless, this difference can be greatly reduced due to the higher productivity and higher performance of sustainable machining alternatives such as cryogenic or high-pressurized cooling/lubrication methods (Pusavec et al., 2010b). The society awareness about the natural resource depletion and environmental degradation issues led to an increasing interest in exploring new ways to improve the environmental performance by using pollution prevention strategies and environmental management systems. One such technique is the life cycle assessment (LCA) which encompasses all processes and environmental releases across the entire product life cycle. The datasets pertaining to the electricity consumption of various machining processes provide distinct values for different materials (Steiner and Frischknecht, 2007). However, LCA tools usually provide only an average measure over time and location. Furthermore an LCA analysis is only valid as its data and is highly dependent on the completeness and accuracy of the datasets used. Nevertheless an LCA analysis can be also carried out by including accurate data about the power signature of a process derived from machining experiments (Fratila, 2010). The current need to improve the energy efciency of machining processes requires a careful selection of the boundaries of the system to be analysed. For instance the cutting speed employed in a turning process in order to meet the minimum energy criterion is highly dependent on the way the energy footprint related to tool production is accounted for (Rajemi et al., 2010). A modern machining center can include a wide variety of functions including work handling, lubrication, chip removal, tool changing, etc., all in addition to the basic function of the machine, which is to cut metal by plastic deformation. However, each function is performed with a specic regularity. In order to deal with this aspect Dahmus and Gutowski (2004) carried out an experimental research on machine tool energy consumption and categorized the total energy of the system in three main activities, namely Constant start-up operations, Run-time operations and Material removal operations. They concluded that the actual cutting energy can be quite small compared with the total energy required by the entire machine tool system during material removal and it is dependent on the automation level of the machine. This conclusion was supported also by another experimental work which addressed the use phase of production machines by following an LCA-like systematic approach (Devoldere et al., 2007). Herrmann et al. (2009) addressed the energetic consumption of the machine tools and extended the perspective by considering the ecological aspects beyond the economic input and output ows. Moreover a statistical model able to dene the dynamics between process parameters and the specic process energy as well as the conversion of the electrical energy into heat and its transfer to the coolant though the pumping process were discussed with the main focus on grinding processes. Dietmair and Verl (2009) introduced a generic method to model the energy consumption behavior of machines based on a statistical discrete event formulation. The parameter information required to characterize the discrete events can be obtained with a small number of simple measurements or with a degree of uncertainty from the machine and component documentation. An evaluation system of the environmental burden generated in machining was developed by Narita et al. (2004). Formulated in agreement with the LCA policy the system can estimate the impact generated due to the electric consumption in terms of global warming potential. It was observed that the environmental burden varies under different cutting conditions even though the same

product is machined and the electric consumption of the peripheral equipment is the most important amongst the factors evaluated. 3. Research aim and scope This work proposes an analytical approach for the estimation of the variable mechanical energy requirements of an MTS with experimental verication. The model takes into account the machine tool layout, moving masses and spindle and feed axes specications, the cutter location data and the cutting force values in end milling as well as the process time calculated based on feed kinematic proles and command variables control. The novelty lies in accounting for the energy consumed by the spindle and the feed axes of an MTS with respect to both steadystate and transient regimes. Furthermore, an experimental work is carried out in order to establish the xed energy share amongst the MTS peripheral equipment components. In this respect the methodology is able to support more environmentally friendly decisions to be taken prior to perform any 2.5D milling operation on a machine tool system. 4. Model structure The methodology for the estimation of the variable energy requirements of an MTS is implemented into a software tool (GREEM e Global Reasoning for Eco-Evaluation of Machining) based on Visual Basic for Application (VBA) and contains several steps which will be detailed in the following sections. Step 1: The rst step consists in the importing and reading of an automatic programming tool (APT) le which can be generated by CAD/CAM software, e.g. CATIA V5 R15. The APT le is read line by line and the cutter location data together with the spindle speeds and feed rate values corresponding to each milling operation listed in the process plan of a part are extracted and interpreted. Step 2: At this stage the cutting force components for each milling process are computed by taking into account the effects of the cutter geometrical and machining parameters, namely the number of tool utes, helix angle, rake angle, side cutting edge angle, feed rate, cutting speed, axial depth of cut, radial depth of cut and the specic cutting pressure for a given tool-workpiece material combination. The cutting force components are calculated by using the mechanistic approach described and programmed according to Rai and Xirouchakis (2008). Step 3: In this step the load that must be overcome by each motor is estimated. In this respect the main characteristics of the MTS to be used for the milling of the part as well as specic calculation formulas able to predict the mechanical motor torque and the corresponding power during steady-state and transient regimes are provided for the feed axes and the spindle. Step 4: Finally, the predicted variable mechanical power requirements and the xed power derived from measurements are integrated with respect to the processing time and provide an overall estimation of the energy required by the entire MTS to complete the machining of a part. The general overview of the methodology is presented in Fig. 1. 5. Assumptions and considerations The interpretation of the APT le and the calculation of the power requirements of the feed axes and the spindle of an MTS as

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Fig. 1. General overview of the methodology.

well as the estimation of the total energy consumed by the MTS for the completion of a part program are subject to the following assumptions and considerations: - the model is applicable to milling process plans for 2.5D part geometries - the entire MTS is considered perfectly rigid - the friction coefcient in the guideways is assumed to be constant regardless of the feed speed value - a trapezoidal velocity prole was used everytime a feed axis was put in motion with the option for transformation into a triangular prole if the distance to be travelled was too short - the motion time with respect to various use phase regimes is estimated by considering that the maximum acceleration value available for each axis has been reached - the energy calculation for the approach/retract and linking segments of the tool path has been neglected due to their small length - the tool engagement is considered constant along a linear tool path and its variation around convex and concave corners is not taken into account - the maximum values of the forces in feed and axial directions are used in the estimation of the power requirements of the feed axes while the average force in cutting direction is used for the calculation of the power required to cut the material (force values are estimated for a given set of cutting parameters with respect to one complete rotation of the tool) - the variation of the rated viscosity of the oil used for the spindle bearing lubrication does not take into account neither the effect of the quantity of the oil nor the amount of heat generated in the bearing

- the spindle and feed axes drives are capable of electrical braking (during deceleration the kinetic energy of the spindle is converted into electrical energy and returned to the power supply)

6. APT reading and interpretation The APT (Automatically Programmed Tool) le brings together different machining information constituting the main input of the evaluation model. This text le is uploaded in the GREEM (Global Reasoning for Evaluation of Eco-Machining) software which after an initial ltering keeps only the necessary data. Basically, the cutter location data together with the spindle speeds and feed rates corresponding to each machining operation are the data retained from the APT le for further processing. The algorithm developed reconstructs the tool path as a sequence of segments based on the coordinates of the successive points retrieved from the APT le and determines the total length of each segment as well as the distance covered by each feed axis with respect to this value. Based on the displacement values, the displacement type (i.e. linear or circular) the programmed feed speed, the feed kinematic prole assigned (i.e. trapezoidal or triangular) and the maximum acceleration value, the individual speed and the displacement time of each axis are calculated. 7. Load cycle Usually a general-purpose of MTS is not submitted to a periodic load cycle during its use phase. Due to the multitude of shapes to be generated, materials to be machined and machining requirements to be met the tool paths and the cutting parameters employed might be

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very different even though very similar features are to be produced. However, a repeated load cycle does exist which is followed by the cutting subsystem regardless of the operation to be performed. The simplest forms of load cycles for applications which require abrupt and frequent torque changes (i.e. servo motors) are the triangular and trapezoidal motion proles. A given distance can be also covered by employing a parabolic kinematic prole but usually at the expense of a higher computational load (Yeung et al., 2006). The feed prole is used to calculate the instantaneous feed rate which inuences directly and indirectly the drive motor torque necessary to move one axis. The trapezoidal feed velocity prole is simple to implement and suitable for most machines. The triangular prole, although it requires more power per move, is the fastest way of moving a load a given distance. If it is considered that the parabolic feed velocity prole is 100% efcient with respect to the energy dissipated during a particular motion then a trapezoidal prole with equal acceleration, constant speed and deceleration times is 89% efcient whereas a triangular prole is only 75% efcient for the same motion (Tal and Kahne,1973). Generally, the load can be seen as a specic amount of torque opposing the rotary motion of a motor. For an MTS adequate torque values must be supplied in order to overcome the load applied on the spindle and feed motors while they perform the cutting and feeding motions required by a machining task. The regeneration of the tool path from the displacement coordinates ltered out from the APT le is a prerequisite for the calculation of the load torque. For convenience the loading cycle is discussed in terms of a generic tool path for the machining of a planar face while the spindle is involved in the accomplishment of both cutting and feeding motions (i.e. the table of the machine does not perform any linear displacement), as shown in Fig. 2. The loading cycle can be

described as a sequence of activities performed in order to complete a machining operation. Without loss of generality, the activities performed by the spindle and feed axes from the start to the nish of a 2.5D geometry are as follows: - spindle acceleration to the programmed speed after the tool change has been completed (path X-X0 ) - rapid displacement of the feed axes for positioning the tool to a commanded position nearby the material to be cut (path X-A) followed by the approach of the material (path A-D) - displacement at the programmed feed rate for material cutting (path D-K) and, if required, rapid displacement between two consecutive cutting levels (not represented in Fig. 2.) - displacement for retracting the tool from the material (path KN) followed by rapid displacement to the tool change reference point (path N-X) - spindle deceleration (path X-X) } Along all these activities the spindle and feed axes pass through both steady-state and transient regimes. The steady-state regime addresses the load to be overcome by a motor at a given speed while the transient regime deals with the change in the load when a speed modication occurs. Generally speaking, the torque required to accelerate a motor will be substantially greater than the torque required to keep it running once it has started. In consequence, the power amplitudes corresponding to the transient phases prevail against the power requirements of the steady-state activities. Nevertheless, a sound conclusion pertaining to the energy dissipated by a motor while driving a load cannot be drawn based only on the comparison of power amplitudes as each activity requires a specic time to complete.

n
n

vrap

vrap

va r

Y
X

vf

va r

Fig. 2. Generic tool path for a face milling operation.

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8. Energy consumption assessment The assessment of the energy consumption of the spindle and feed axes will be explained with respect to the tool path depicted in Fig. 2. The MTS is idle before proceeding to the actual machining of the feature that is to say that the spindle and feed axes are at standstill. As soon as the tool change routine has been completed the rst activity performed by the MTS is to accelerate the spindle to the programmed speed and to approach the tool to the material to be machined in rapid mode. During cutting, the X and Y axes are alternately involved in feed motions and the feed rate can vary along the corresponding segments with respect to triangular or trapezoidal velocity proles. The torque depends on the velocity prole which is imposed by the length to be travelled. The motors of the feed axes are repeatedly accelerated, decelerated or run at a constant speed for a certain amount of time. As a consequence, the torque corresponding to each phase changes also its value and so does its power requirement. The spindle motor maintains the same cutting speed along the entire tool path to be followed between two successive tool changes, if not otherwise specied in the part program. It is worthwhile mentioning that at the beginning and the end of the entire tool path the spindle needs a specic amount of time in order to perform the acceleration and deceleration respectively; this time duration is determined empirically. For high rotational speeds, the accelerations/decelerations of the axes and spindle can overlap within } a short distance (i.e. tool path segments X-X0 and XX respectively in Fig. 2.). The motion diagrams, torque and power proles used for the estimation of the energy consumption of the spindle and feed axes with respect to various steps are depicted in Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b respectively. 8.1. Spindle power requirements The spindle acceleration process starts prior to any axis motion and depending on the value of the rapid feed speed it may be completed by the time the spindle, linearly displaced in rapid mode, reached the position X0 . During the acceleration time the spindle motor outputs the torque:

Ta TA

sp

Trun

(1)

where TA sp is the torque required to accelerate the total spindle mass moment of inertia by a specic speed difference during a specic amount of time and Trun represents the torque required to overcome the mechanical losses. Factors that govern the power requirements of a motorized spindle are its inertia, the type and size of bearings as well as their lubrication technique, and its electrical drive and control. For a motorized spindle not all the electrical power from the power grid emerges as mechanical power. Although the output power is zero when no cutting or acceleration takes place, the spindle wastes power due to the mechanical and electrical losses. The modeling of the electrical losses is beyond the scope of this research. The mechanical losses can be estimated as a function of the friction in spindle bearings as well as the friction due to the viscous shear of air surrounding the spindle shaft:

Trun Tfr

fb

Tfr

rb

Tshear

(2)

where Tfr fb and Tfr rb represent the friction torque in the front bearings and rear bearings respectively and Tshear represents the torque required to overcome the power loss due to viscous shear of air. The torque due to viscous shear of air and the total friction torque in angular contact ball bearings, which are the most common bearings used for high speed spindles, can be estimated using the approach of Bossmanns (1997). The value of each component of the torque required to overcome the frictional loss in bearings, mainly caused by three phenomena (i.e. rolling of imperfect mechanical bodies under load, viscous shear of lubricants between solid bodies and the superimposed boring motion of the balls on the raceway surfaces), can be calculated with corresponding formulas and coefcients which can be found in Harris (2001). The acceleration power PaS and the power required to run the spindle at constant speed Prun are estimated through the two following equations:

PaS Ta $u Prun Trun $u

(3) (4)

Fig. 3. (a) Motion diagrams, torque and power proles for spindle. (b) Motion diagrams, torque and power proles for X and Y axes.

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where u 2pn and n(rpm) is the rotational speed of the spindle shaft. The mechanical power at the output shaft of the spindle represents the power available for acceleration and for material removal. As long as the spindle removes material, the power drawn will increase in accordance with the formula:

Pcutting Prun Pc

(5)

where Pc is the power required to cut a specic amount of material estimated as the product between the cutting force and the cutting speed:

Pc Fc $vc

(6)

The variation of the cutting force required to remove a specic amount of material for an intermittent cutting process such as milling can be estimated from the instantaneous values of the feed and feed perpendicular forces which are plotted by the cutting force milling module for one complete tool rotation. For an end mill with two utes engaged in a slot milling operation, which corresponds to the case depicted in Fig. 2, each ute removes the same amount of material in one half tool rotation and cuts air for the other half. Due to the continuous translation and rotation of the tool the uncut chip thickness varies with the tool rotation angle. The feed and feed perpendicular forces can be resolved at each tool rotation angle in cutting and cutting perpendicular directions. These two resolved components are maximum at a tool rotation angle of 90 since at this angle the uncut chip thickness is at its maximum value which is equal to the feed in mm/tooth. In consequence the force in the cutting direction which is used in the calculation of the cutting power varies from zero to a maximum value and then back to zero for every half rotation of the tool. Although the value of the cutting force can be determined at tooth passing frequency only the average value is of interest for our study as our goal is to estimate the energy required to remove a specic amount of material through a milling process (and not an estimation of the instantaneous cutting power). At the end of the machining process and before depositing the tool in the tool magazine, the spindle is brought to standstill by applying a deceleration torque which is equivalent with the acceleration torque but the motion direction of the motor is reversed. The value of this torque reduced by the mechanical losses of the spindle will generate a deceleration power assumed to be returned to the power supply. It can be estimated as:

By following a trapezoidal feed velocity prole along the tool path segment DE the Y axis covers the total segment length a within Dt t3 t0 s. The distance b along the segment EF is covered by the X axis by following a trapezoidal prole similar to that followed by the Y axis. For identical servo motors installed on both feed axes, their corresponding angular acceleration values are equivalent aY aX and so are the acceleration and deceleration time durations. However, due to the length of the segment EF (i.e. b < a), the time the X axis travels in the constant speed zone is reduced. In contrast the torque to be supplied by the X axis motor during the transient phases is greater than the torque exhibited by the Y axis in the same conditions as a result of the increase in the mass to be linearly displaced along this direction (i.e. the translational axes of the machining center employed for the validation of the model build one on top of the other in the sequence X-Z-Y). Before changing the direction in the tool path the Y axis servomotor applies a deceleration torque TdY estimated with the equation:

TdY TtotY TFR Y

(9)

Td TA

sp

Trun

(7)

8.2. Feed axes power requirements As far as the motion along two consecutive segments of the tool path in the XY plane is concerned, the motion diagrams for both X and Y axes have identical shapes but may differ in terms of amplitudes. It is assumed that in point D the Y axis is at standstill. The entrance/exit of the tool into/from the material to be cut along the Y axis is delimited by two points for the rst tool path segment } DE (i.e. entrance point D0 and exit point D). The cutting length described by these two points is identical for every subsequent linear tool path segment along the Y axis. The cutting tool does not perform any material removal along the linear segments oriented in the direction of the X axis as they are mainly intended to support the linkage between two consecutive cutting passes. During the acceleration, the Y axis servomotor must supply the torque TtotY, estimated through the equation:

where the torque due to friction and losses TFRY reduces the value of the torque needed to bring the axis back to standstill. Generally the sources of static loads (i.e. loads to be overcome by the feed axis motor during steady-state regimes) are the friction losses in the guideways, bearings and gears and the cutting forces acting in the feed direction of the axis. For a feed drive with ballscrew, which is probably the most common type of rotary to linear translational mechanism, additional frictional losses are generated in the ballscrew nut. In addition the inuence of the gravity on the load torque reected on the motor of a vertical axis must be accounted for. It is obvious that the gravity will oppose any upward displacement but, in contrast, will support any downward movement. Motor and transmission inertias as well as speed and acceleration characteristics of the feed axes serve for the determination of the torque value required during transient phases. The details concerning the estimation of the static and dynamic motor loads for a ballscrew feed drive are presented in various books (Altintas, 2000; Gross et al., 2001). The torque values and the angular speed of each servomotor serve for the determination of the corresponding power values. The energy consumed by the spindle and feed axes during different steps can be determined by integrating the power values with respect to the time duration of each step. A brief account of the calculation of the total energy consumed EDE by the spindle and the feed axes along the DE tool path segment with respect to the motion and power diagrams provided in Fig. 3a and b is shown below (the energy for spindle acceleration EaS was consumed before reaching the point D and therefore it is not included in this equation):

EDE EaY ESY EdY Erun Ecut Zt1

t0

Zt2 PaY dt
t1

Zt3 PSY dt
t2

Zt3 PdY dt
t0

Zt2 Prun dt
t1

Pc dt

9. Experimental analysis and validation In order to validate the numerical power/energy consumption estimations of the MTS cutting subsystem, an experimental analysis with respect to different use phase scenarios under no-load and various cutting conditions was carried out. In addition an extensive monitoring of the power share amongst auxiliary

TtotY TTY TSY

(8)

where TTY is the acceleration torque and TSY is the steady-state torque.

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705

Face milling
110

Contour milling

Pocket milling
60

6
5

170

2200/ 3900 (mm/min)

2200/ 3900 (mm/min) R 22 19.6

2200/ 3900 (mm/min)

11000 / 19500 (rpm) 3

11000 / 19500 (rpm) 25

11000 / 19500 (rpm)

Z X
Fig. 4. Tool paths and cutting parameters assigned to the milling operations.

components, which accounts for the xed energy consumption of the MTS, was performed. The basic strategy adopted for the variation of the cutting speed, depth of cut, width of cut and feed per tooth was the one-factor-ata-time approach. The tests were grouped in such a way that several 2.5D part programs were generated and executed on a machining center (C.B. Ferrari A152) under dry, mql and wet cooling/lubrication conditions. A 20 mm diameter, 2 utes end mill was employed for the cutting of aluminum blanks (Al-7022) with the dimensions 170 110 40 mm. In order to identify stable cutting conditions a modal analysis was performed. Based on the frequency response function of the machine tool the stability lobe diagrams are developed using the Cutpro software (2008). This can ensure that during the acquisition no oscillation behavior or any other undesired effects occur, which may affect the cutting force and power signals, monitored by

a Kistler dynamometer (type 9255B) and a power cell (Load Controls PPC-3) respectively. Cutting energy costs by means of efciency and the systematic use of new technologies is of increasingly central signicance in the production industry which is one of the major energy consumers. By running alternative cooling/lubrication strategies such as dry, mql or wet the overall estimation of the energy consumed by an MTS requires specic information considered at both process and system levels. At the process level the cutting power required to remove a specic amount of material is strongly dependent on the tribological interaction between the material to be cut, the cutting tool and the cutting uid. At the system level the power required to run the auxiliary equipment responsible for the delivery of the cutting uid is the main concern. Obviously, the operational energy cost of a pump for cutting uid delivery is highly superior to the alteration of the cutting power due to the tribological phenomena

Table 1 Cutting conditions for low and high spindle speed part programs. Test number T100-1 T100-2 T103-1 T103-2 T200 T203 T300-1 T300-2 T303-1 T303-2 Cutting speed [m/min] 691 691 1225 1225 691 1225 691 691 1225 1225 Spindle speed [rpm] 11,000 11,000 19,500 19,500 11,000 19,500 11,000 11,000 19,500 19,500 Feed/tooth [mm] 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Axial depth [mm] 3 3 3 3 25 25 3 3 3 3 Radial depth [mm] 19.6 12 19.6 12 5 5 20 10 20 10 Cooling/Lubrication alternative Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Dry Material removal rate [cm3/min] 129.36 79.2 229.32 140.4 275 487.5 132 66 234 117 Number of axial levels 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 5 5

120 15

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Fig. 5. Front panel of the Analysis VI for the comparison of two distinct power proles.

when performing dry and wet cutting with identical cutting parameters. Besides the avoidance of the use of energy intensive components (i.e. pumps) a signicant improvement of the energy efciency in machining could be achieved by reducing the machining time. Starting from these premises two part programs performed under dry conditions are discussed for the purpose of validating the model. They employ identical tool paths and cutting parameters except the spindle and feed speeds, as depicted in Fig. 4. The full description of the cutting conditions for low and high speed part programs is described in Table 1. The overall incoming power monitoring of the machine requires a consecutive set of measurements for the determination of the individual power share of each machine tool system component. In this regard, the measurements were performed with respect to three scenarios:  Cutting e implies material removal to reach the nal shape of the part

 AirCutting e implies the following of the tool path dened in each part program without material removal  NoCutting e implies the following of the tool path dened in each part program without spindle rotation These scenarios are particularly useful for the experimental determination of the power required by cutting and feeding motions of the machine. LabVIEW was used as development platform for both signal acquisition and interpretation. The relevant machining information was acquired and saved through the Online Monitoring VI in technical data management-streaming les (i.e. TDMS). These les represent the main input for the Analysis VI which allows a comparative interpretation of the acquired signals. Two versions of the Analysis VI were developed, namely one enabling the direct comparison of two distinct power proles and another one for the interpretation of the power and cutting force signals recorded for the same machining test. The front panel of the VI corresponding to the former version is shown in Fig. 5.

Table 2 Use phase regimes and the status of the energy consuming components for C.B. Ferrari MTS. MTS Regime Idle (Continuous) Component Control and operating electrical elements PROFIBUS modules, CNC and Control panel Spindle chiller (pump, compressor, fan) Hydraulic pump Air conditioner of the electrical cabinet Spindle and feed axes (linear motions) Automatic Tool Changer Cutting uid pump Exhaust aspirator MQL solenoids Spindle and feed axes (linear motions) Status Energize On Load cycle Load cycle Load cycle Transient and steady-state Load cycle Load cycle Load cycle Energize Load cycle Power (measured) 654 W 1346e1846 Wa 1100 W 650 W Constantb 1200 W 600e980 Wc 1000 W 300e360 W Variable

Idle (Intermittent) Runtime

Cutting
a

This power range was calculated with respect to the range of the idle power values (i.e. 2e2.5 kW) by subtracting the power value of the CNC and control and operating electrical elements. b For a specic acceleration/deceleration value and cutting/feed speed the spindle and the feed axes Respectively draw a constant amount of power. c During the cutting tests the power of the cutting uid pump was subject to uctuations (might be caused by the chips clogging in the lters, changing of the uid viscosity, etc.).

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retrieval of the power amplitudes of the corresponding components of the peripheral equipment add up to the overall energy consumption of the MTS required to complete the machining tasks. 10. Results and discussions An overview of the use phase regimes and the status of the electrical equipment inuencing the overall energy consumption of the machine are presented in Table 2. Perhaps the most penalizing component from the point of view of energy consumed is represented by the idle continuous power of the machine which is drawn constantly as long as the MTS is on. The idle power can easily be increased on an intermittent basis by other two components, the hydraulic pump and the air conditioner. As the component with the largest installed power, the spindle has a real potential for energy saving opportunities. Three aspects are of main concern in the evaluation of the spindle power requirements, namely the transient phases and energy recovery capabilities, the steady-state power under no-load conditions and the power uctuations due to various cutting loads. The C.B. Ferrari machining center is provided with a high speed spindle that outputs a maximum power of 12 kW in S1 duty cycle and can go up to a maximum speed of 30,000 rpm. The spindle acceleration/deceleration is considered as a runtime operation that requires always the same amount of power and time duration to complete for a specic speed difference. Based on the spindle moment of inertia, angular acceleration, windage friction and the mechanical losses in the spindle bearings and the acceleration/deceleration time values derived from experiments the theoretical model can predict the energy consumed/generated during transient phases. An overview of the measured and predicted transient energy is depicted in Fig. 6. During the acceleration the energy calculation includes the effect of the idle power whereas the steady-state power level is considered as the starting point for the estimation of the deceleration energy. While running at a certain speed under no-load conditions almost all the current drawn by the spindle represents magnetizing current. Any torque-producing current is only required to overcome the mechanical losses. Load refers essentially to the torque output and corresponding speed required. An induction motor can supply the rated motor torque up to the speed where the voltage

Fig. 6. Low vs. high spindle speed transient power and energy values.

The comparison between the numerical and experimental data addresses exclusively the variable energy consumption of a machine tool system. This consumption is related to the activities performed by the spindle and feed axes under no-load and various load conditions during both steady-state and transient regimes. The power requirements of the peripheral equipment, which support the accomplishment of various machining strategies, can be identied through a careful monitoring and inventoried in a database. Generally, these power requirements account for the xed energy which has a signicant share in the overall consumption of an MTS. For instance by running the aforementioned low and high speed part programs the energy related to non-cutting activities represents 55% and 44% respectively from the overall consumption of the C.B. Ferrari machining center. We have to mention that both part programs employ high material removal rates and the reduction of the xed energy consumption when passing from low to high speed machining is mainly due to the decrease of the machining time. Insignicant cutting loads and long machining times will inevitably result in an increase of the energy share related to not directly value-adding activities. Whenever a new overall assessment of the energy consumed by the same machine with respect to a different use phase scenario is to be performed the variable energy consumption can be determined through a reiteration of the model with respect to the new cutting conditions. The estimation of the xed energy based on the

Fig. 7. Steady-state spindle power under no-load conditions in Wye connection.

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Table 3 Measured vs. predicted cutting power values (low speed vs. high speed part program). Values Facing cutting power [kW] T100-1 1.75 1.82 3.8 T103-1 3.53 3 17.6 T100-2 1.09 1.04 4.8 T103-2 2.08 1.76 18.1 Contouring cutting power [kW] T200 4.5 3.98 13.06 T203 7.61 6.83 11.4 Pocketing cutting power [kW] T300-1 2.04 1.9 9.09 T303-1 3.79 3.22 17.7 T300-2 1.08 0.92 17.3 T303-2 1.83 1.56 17.3

Low speed Measured Predicted Error (%) High speed Measured Predicted Error (%)

required by the motor matches the line voltage, which is known as the base speed. Any attempt to increase the speed beyond the base speed needs a technique called eld weakening. Since the motor speed is increasing while the torque is decreasing the spindle enters the constant power region, which can be extended up to about two and a half times base speed. In order to increase speed further, the spindle motor can use a dual winding conguration (i.e. Wye and Delta). The C.B. Ferrari spindle switches between connections at 15,000 rpm while the base speed is reported at 5700 rpm. All these aspects have a major signicance in the validation of the power model. Generally, the efciency of an induction motor can be determined from generic graphical representations which can be found in literature (Barnes, 2003). The efciency can also be determined as the ratio between the predicted mechanical power output and

the electrical power input. Fig. 7 shows graphically the steady-state power and efciency values at various speeds while the spindle motor was Wye connected. We notice that up to 6000 rpm, which is in the close vicinity of the base speed (i.e. 5700 rpm), both power curves show a linear ascending trend and a good agreement between the efciency curves has been established. Consequently, it can be inferred that the difference between the predicted mechanical power and the measured electrical power is totally due to electrical losses. Above the base speed the mechanical power continue its increasing trend as a function of speed while the electrical power tends to become constant. Moreover, the electrical power amplitude is subject to a slight decrease as the spindle is operated in the constant power region, which is most likely due to the reduction of the magnetizing current. As a direct effect, the efciency curves become dissimilar and their comparison is not adequate anymore since the values derived from the generic AC induction motor efciency diagram do not take into account the reduction of the iron losses yielded by running the motor in the eld weakening region. Moreover this generic representation of the efciency is plotted by assuming the same connection of the stator. The output torque and electrical power of the spindle motor are ultimately dependent on the inverter current rating and the output voltage. A control scheme yielding the possible torque per ampere ratio over the entire spindle speed range could provide various subtle aspects pertaining to the energy consumption prole of the spindle. However, in our case, such control scheme was not available. Since the motor runs more efciently close to the rated power it is good practice to operate the spindle in the range 75e100% of the

Fig. 8. MTS energy share for low and high speed part programs.

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Fig. 9. Total energy consumption per kg material removed.

full load rating. In this respect the power required to cut the material was estimated with respect to various cutting conditions as described in Table 1. The numerical and experimental cutting power values are shown in Table 3. Fast rotational spindle speeds are meaningless for high speed machining unless they occur with fast feed axes movements which in effect can drastically cut the machining time. Based on the total sum of friction and losses the analytical model estimates 5.2 Nm of load torque that should be overcome by the servomotor of the X axis. At a feed speed of 3900 mm min1, which corresponds to the tests performed with a spindle speed of 19,500 rpm, the steadystate mechanical power was estimated at 106 W whereas the electrical power measured was 230 W. The estimated mechanical power is highly dependent on the friction dynamics of the guideways which can be described by the Stribeck curve (Yeung et al., 2006). Nevertheless, in this work the friction phenomenon was described as a Coulomb friction. By integrating in time the individual power values of the spindle and feed axes, the corresponding amount of energy consumed can be determined. The energies consumed by various components of the C.B. Ferrari MTS, as derived from experimental measurements, are also plotted in Fig. 8. For convenience all the values pertaining to a deceleration phase are represented on the positive side of the chart although they represent energy generated during braking.

The main conclusions which can be drawn from the analysis of the MTS energy share for the low and high speed part program are listed below: - the machine idle power generates the highest energy consumption for both part programs - the energy required to accelerate the spindle increases as the speed difference becomes more important; however, in this case, the acceleration is performed only once at the beginning of the part program and an important amount can be recovered during deceleration by electrical braking - the motions of the feed axes do not yield appreciable energy consumption - the energy consumed to overcome the spindle mechanical losses is proportional with the speed - the lower spindle speed employed for part program machining is 32.12% more energy demanding than the machining in the higher speed range Fig. 9 emphasizes the energy use efciency of the machine with respect to both part programs. A comparison is made with the electricity consumption derived from measurements as well as from Ecoinvent datasets which provide a constant value of 600 kJ for the removal of 1 kg of aluminum. This representation shows

Fig. 10. MTS energy use efciency in dry milling.

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clearly that the high speed level outperformed its low speed counterpart with respect to all the three milling conditions. Unlike the facing operation, the contouring and pocketing operations were subject to a simplication of the tool path on the account of the assumptions made. Consequently the total machining time for each of these operations is underestimated which unquestionably will affect the estimations of the energy consumption. Nevertheless, the predicted energy values show a good agreement with the numerical ones and demonstrate the inaccuracy of the constant gure provided by the Ecoinvent for specic milling applications. The utility of the model presented can be highlighted through the plot of the total specic energy of the machine across various spindle loads, as can be seen in Fig. 10. The cutting power represents the power drawn by the spindle from the power grid for two purposes: to cut the material and to overcome the mechanical losses (i.e. steady-state power). Nevertheless, this amount cannot be treated as a stand alone value and the idle power and any other power required by the auxiliary component of the machine must be accounted for. Several material removal rates corresponding to various cutting conditions employed for the milling operations served for the determination of the total spindle load. It is obvious that the cutting becomes more efcient with the increase of the load. As soon as a noncutting component of the total specic power is subject to an increase, the efciency decreases (i.e. during the passage from the third material removal rate to the fourth one an increase of the total specic energy is noticed due to the increase of the steady-state power of the spindle e rst three material removal rates correspond to 11,000 rpm whereas the remainder corresponds to 19,500 rpm). By a reiteration of the model, a similar representation can be generated for wet milling. The total specic energy required to remove the same amounts of material becomes more important mainly due to the power needed to run the cutting uid pump. Based on these gures the user can evaluate milling alternative strategies and decide which ones are appropriate for the machining of a part on an energy efcient fashion. 11. Conclusions In this paper a methodology for the estimation of the variable energy requirements of a machine tool system for part machining was presented. The energy estimations, based on cutter location data and speed values extracted from an APT le as well as on specic characteristics of the spindle and feed axes and a cutting force module, were experimentally validated with respect to various use phase regimes. The numerical and experimental results were found to be in a good agreement, which shows the capability of the methodology developed to provide realistic estimations of the total energy consumed by a machine while various machining strategies are employed for the milling of 2.5D part geometries. Moreover, this methodology is able to provide more accurate energy estimation for specic milling operations than LCA tools which generally rely on a constant gure for each process and material respectively. Through its use, energy efcient machining strategies can be readily perceived by the manufacturers while simulating various use phase scenarios. During material removal, the most important step in realizing energy savings is perhaps to match the productivity requirements with the capabilities of the machining system. The key considerations here are the duration of use and magnitude of use. Energy waste may occur in many forms including excess operating time or an inefcient loading of the electric drives and in this regard the idle power value and the usage prole of the spindle are the major concerns. Good machining practices should be dened in order to limit as much as possible the energy requirements for each motor. In this respect, is has been shown that high speed machining can offer real potential for the reduction of the overall energy consumption of

a machining center. However, if this is not correlated with an appropriate cutting load, most of the energy consumed by the spindle will be wasted due to mechanical and electrical losses instead of being transformed into useful work. The drastic reduction of the non-cutting activities as well as the modication of characteristic parameters of various components of the machine (i.e. the reduction of the tool-to-tool time will decrease the energy consumed by the automatic tool changer during the tool change) or the replacement of a component with an appropriate alternative (i.e. cutting uid pump can be replaced with a minimum quantity lubrication) can be considered as recommendations with high potential for energy saving during part machining. Acknowledgments The authors would like to convey their sincere thanks to Dr. Basile Kawkabani for assistance in interpreting the power signals. The partial nancial support from the EU FP6 project NEXT (Next Generation Production Systems) under Grant No. NMP2-CT2005-011815 is also gratefully acknowledged. Nomenclature

cutting force (N) Fc n rotational spindle speed (rpm) spindle acceleration power (W) PaS spindle power to cut material (W) Pc Pcutting total spindle power during cutting (W) spindle steady-state power (W) Prun spindle torque during acceleration (Nm) Ta spindle acceleration torque (Nm) TA sp torque during deceleration (Nm) Td friction torque in spindle bearings (Nm) Tfr feed axis torque due to friction and losses (Nm) TFR total friction torque in spindle bearings (Nm) Trun torque due to the motor viscous shear of air (Nm) Tshear feed axis steady-state torque (Nm) TS feed axis acceleration torque (Nm) TT cutting speed (m/min) vc u angular velocity (rad/s) References
Altintas, Y., 2000. Manufacturing Automation e Metal Cutting Mechanics, Machine Tool Vibrations and CNC Design. Cambridge University Press. Akbari, J., Oyamada, K., Saito, Y., 2001. LCA of Machine Tools with regards to their secondary effects on quality of machined parts. In: Proceedings EcoDesign 2001: Second International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing. Tokyo, pp. 347e352. Barnes, M., 2003. Variable Speed Drives and Power Electronics, rst ed. Elsevier, Oxford. Bossmanns, B., 1997. Thermo-mechanical modeling of motorized spindle systems for high speed milling. Thesis (PhD). Purdue University. CUTPRO 8.0: PC Based Milling Simulation, Manufacturing Automation Laboratories, 2008 Dahmus, J.B., Gutowski, T.G., 2004. An environmental analysis of machining. In: Proceedings of IMECE 2004, November 13e19, Anaheim, California, USA. Devoldere, T., Dewulf, W., Deprez, W., Willems, B., Duou, J., 2007. Improvement potential for energy consumption in discrete part production machines. In: Proceedings of 14th CIRP International Conference on Life Cycle Engineering (Advances in Life Cycle Engineering for Sustainable Manufacturing Business), Waseda, Tokyo, Japan, 11e13 June, pp. 311e316. Dietmair, A., Verl, A., June 2009. A generic energy consumption model for decision making and energy efciency optimisation in manufacturing. International Journal of Sustainable Engineering 2 (2), 123e133. Filippi, A.D., Ippolito, R., 1981. NC machine tools as electric energy users. Annals of the CIRP 30/1, 323e326. Fratila, D., 2009. Evaluation of near dry machining effects on gear milling process efciency. Journal of Cleaner Production 17 (9), 839e845.