Mechanical Engineering Department, Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia; Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria; School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University
Mulyadi, I.H., Mechanical Engineering Department, Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia; Balogun, V.A., Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria; Mativenga, P.T., School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Limited availability of natural resources and the negative environmental burden of industrial processes are driving environmental awareness and resource efficiency improvements in manufacturing. Issues of concern in mechanical machining arise from the significant use of electrical energy and oil-based coolants/lubricants. Process innovation through high speed machining has enabled manufacturing cycle times to be reduced and in some cases promoted dry machining or the use of minimum quantity lubrication. However, the environmental assessment of these innovations has hardly been explored. In this study, the environmental benefits of minimum quantity lubrication environments in machining tool steel at transition speed regime through electrical energy consumption were evaluated and compared to its competitors. The work then assessed the energy using a customized electrical energy model proposed in this study and hence the environmental performance in the process level. Tool life might be of concern in selecting between MQL, dry machining and flood machining, however, this study found that in respect to total energy requirement and environmental benefits, MQL is more promising than flood machining. The work is fundamentally important in assessing the direct energy consumption and the environmental credentials of machining processes. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
Energy utilization; Environmental impact; Environmental management; Floods; Lubrication; Machining; Manufacture; Milling (machining); Steel; Tool steel; Tools; Electrical energy consumption; End milling; Environmental burdens; Environmental performance; Environmental performance evaluations; Minimum quantity lubrication; Tool life; Total energy requirement; Cutting tools