Study of energy efficiencies in rapid prototyping: EBM and CNC-RP

With growing emphasis on green manufacturing and energy consumption by the manufacturing sector, it is vital to characterize the efficiency of modern manufacturing processes like Rapid Prototyping (RP) technologies. RP processes such as Electron Beam Melting (EBM) has demonstrated capabilities to fabricate parts with complex geometries with near as-cast properties. Analysis of energy efficiency of individual RP processes correlated with the geometrical and surface properties of the fabricated part is vital to employ such processes for mass customization and production. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of overall energy consumption of a subtractive-RP in CNC-RP, additive-RP in EBM and a novel integrated-RP in AIMS (Additive manufacturing Integrated with a Subtractive Manufacturing System; EBM and CNC-RP). A cost function based on discrete steps involved in each process is developed. Further, correlation between the costs of energy consumption to geometrical and surface properties of the final product in EBM and the combination of EBM and CNC-RP is developed. Results from this study will help in identifying the most cost-effective process/combination of processes to manufacture parts based on specific applications.