Towards sustainability assessment of machining processes

Developing a detailed and general assessment model for machining processes is an essential requirement as it can be used in providing optimal cutting conditions and analyzing the flows of energy and materials. In this work, a general sustainability assessment algorithm for machining processes is developed and discussed. The four life-cycle stages (pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, use and post-use) are included in the proposed algorithm. Energy consumption, machining costs, waste management, environmental impact, and personal health and safety are used to express the overall sustainability assessment index. A list of indicators is employed under each sustainable metric and a measurement method for each indicator is defined. In addition, the proposed assessment algorithm has the flexibility to assign different weighting importance factors for each metric, indicator, and measured machining characteristic. In order to validate the proposed algorithm, three literature case studies have been implemented and results discussed.