The Automated Evaluation of the Energy Efficiency for Machining Applications based on the Least Energy Demand

This paper presents the Least Energy Demand as a comprehensive reference value to evaluate energy efficiency. An objective evaluation and calculation of the energy efficiency of production processes represents a substantial challenge with regard to the state of the art. The reason for this is the lack of appropriate reference values. A comprehensive comparison of the energy efficiency is not possible without consistent reference values. First, in order to calculate such a reference value for different production processes, the basics to describe a closed system energetically are defined. Initially, several energy states and the various energy terms are defined to describe a production process as an energetic system. In a second step, the model for the activation energy based on chemical laws is introduced and its basic idea is transferred to the operations of the production processes of DIN 8580. For this purpose, appropriate general conditions have to be defined in order to be able to derive, finally, the existence of a Least Energy Demand for the execution of a production process according to DIN 8580. Based on this information to describe the Least Energy Demand for a specific process, the calculation of this crossbench reference can be automated evenly. By integration of CAD files it is possible to realize a pre-calculation of the Least Energy Demand for a specific product. Even through the interruption between machines controlling data, the crossbench calculation can be realized directly on the tool machine for further evaluation of the energy efficiency during the manufacturing process.