Understanding Energy Consumption in a Machine Tool through Energy Mapping

Understanding where energy is consumed in a machine tool is an important step to reduce energy consumption. Much of the energy consumption is not due to material removal, deformation, or joining, but is due to supporting processes. To better understand the energy flow and consumption of machine tools, it would be beneficial to develop an energy flow map. From this map, opportunities for improvement can be identified along with energy related features. After creating a map, models can be generated that will help predict energy consumption and allow for optimization of machine tools and a more sustainable design of machine tools. As a start, this study focuses on breaking down the total energy consumption by main components of a representative machine tool. In particular, a major focus will be on motors since they account for a large portion of the energy consumption.