Laboratory for Manufacturing and Sustainability

Strategies to reduce energy demand in manufacturing processes are becoming necessary due to the growing concern of carbon emissions and the expected rise of electricity prices over time. To guide the development of these strategies, the results of a life-cycle energy consumption analysis of milling machine tools are first highlighted to show the effect of several factors such as degree of automation, manufacturing environment, transportation, material inputs, and facility inputs on environmental impact. An overview of design and operation strategies to reduce energy consumption is thereafter presented including the implementation of a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), a process parameter selection strategy, and a web-based energy estimation tool.