An integrated model for predicting the specific energy consumption of manufacturing processes

Due to the soar of the energy price and the environmental problems are becoming more and more serious, the energy consumption and efficiency of processes are becoming the focus of academia and industry gradually. Some significant researches on the energy consumption of machine tools have been performed. In most previous studies, material removal rate is treated as a comprehensive variable. However, it cannot offer the energy footprint for a machining process and provide the support for process planning which needs the information of cutting speeds, feed rates, and depth of cut. This paper presents an integrated model for predicting the specific energy consumption (SEC) of manufacturing processes. The dynamic characteristics of material-cutting power and influence of the machine tools, material of workpiece, and cutting parameters on the material-cutting energy are both taken into account in the model. The case study indicates that the model can be used to predict the SEC of machine tools conveniently under various machining conditions. At last, the validation is carried out in different machining processes; the accuracy and feasibility of the model was verified by the experimental results.