Energy efficient machine tools

TLDR

Industrial energy demand drives ecological and economic costs, prompting growing research into energy‑efficient machine tools and machining processes. The paper reviews machine‑ and process‑related measures to improve energy efficiency of metal‑cutting machine tools. The authors analyze component energy use to propose design measures, review operational methods, and discuss industry developments for energy‑efficient machine tools. The paper concludes with recommendations and future research questions for more energy‑efficient machine tools.

Abstract

The growing global energy demand from industry results in significant ecological and economical costs. Aiming to decrease the impact of machining operations, an increasing number of research activities and publications regarding energy efficient machine tools and machining processes can be found in the literature. This keynote paper provides an overview of current machine- and process-related measures to improve the energy efficiency of metal cutting machine tools. Based on an analysis of the energy requirements of machine tool components, design measures to reduce the energy demand of main and support units are introduced. Next, methods for an energy efficient operation of machine tools are reviewed. Furthermore, latest developments and already available energy efficiency options in the machine tool industry are discussed. The paper concludes with recommendations and future research questions for more energy efficient machine tools.