A study on energy efficiency improvement for machine tools

Energy consumption reduction is critical in various industrial environments. Machine tool manufacturers could contribute to this matter by developing advanced functions for machines. Power consumption of machining center was measured in various conditions. The conclusion was that modifying cutting conditions reduces energy consumption. This applies for either regular drilling, face/end milling or deep hole machining. Also, a new acceleration control method is developed to reduce energy consumption by synchronizing spindle acceleration with feed system. Experiments were performed to verify these methods and promising results were achieved. (C) 2011 CIRP.