Energy modeling and efficiency analysis of aluminum die-casting processes

Energy modeling and efficiency analysis are considered the foundation of manufacturing process optimization to improve quality and efficiency and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions during aluminum die-casting processes. This paper proposed an energy modeling method to connect gas and electric energy consumption with production rate of aluminum die-casting processes based on data collected at workshops with various combination of machines and products. The detailed modeling process involved the development of a data-acquiring system and the comparison of various kinds of nonlinear regression methods. The resulting models were validated with actual production data and were further used to improve production scheduling. It was found that if the modeling results are reasonably used and production is accordingly well-scheduled, 10 to 15% of energy savings could be realized without sacrificing profits.