More competitive companies and a healthier planet
Three factors of interest to the industry and of relevance to the above goals are enhanced cooling and lubrication methods as well as reduced process vibrations. The ‘Sustainable design of manufacturing systems’ (Sustain-MS) project was designed to evaluate the performance of cryogenic cooling, to investigate ways to minimise the quantity of lubrication required and to identify a method of controlling the dynamic vibration of a machine tool during the machining process. The researchers considered the technological advancements in light of conservation of energy, material and human resources. They also considered waste prevention and protection of the environment. Finally, the assessments took into account not only the manufacturing process but the lifecycle of the finished product when evaluating the impact on all of the above. The investigators determined that while cryogenic cooling (using liquid nitrogen) is economically viable for advanced materials manufacturing, there is a high energy cost associated with the liquefaction of nitrogen. Further, they found that minimum quantity lubrication using biodegradable oils is an excellent candidate for industrial application provided the lubricant properties are improved. In particular, they identified a need for development of nano-based lubricants. Finally, they developed a novel integrated identification system to evaluate the machine-process interaction with a focus on stiffness and damping parameters in order to decrease vibrations of the machining tools and the machining process. The Sustain-MS project led to valuable insight into ways of enabling sustainable high-performance manufacturing of advanced materials, with consideration of conservation of energy, material and human resources and decreased environmental impact. The results should enhance European manufacturing efficiency and thus competitiveness as well as lead the way to more environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
