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C. Dorn, D. Berger, F. Bleicher, J. Bernreiter:
"Eco2Cut Ecological and Economical Machining";
Report for Cornet; 2009; 72 pages.

The increase of productivity was for decades the ultimate goal of the industrial engineering sector. Based on the Kyoto Protocol of the year 1997, the EU Directive 2006/32/EC calls for sustainable improvements in energy efficiency in manufacturing. Because of the additional demands, such as public pressure to minimize CO2 emissions and rising energy costs, energy efficiency has become an increasingly important topic in the manufacturing industry.
The main focus of this project is laid on small-medium enterprises (SMEs) active in the field of manufacturing. Due to economical efforts and enhanced environmental sanctions they are forced to improve their performance both under economical and under ecological aspects. The main goal of the project is the realisation of manufacturing processes with increased energy efficiency while enhancing environmental sustainability. This includes the determination and optimisation of energy consumption in manufacturing and surrounding processes in general, while a special focus is laid on the chipping process in detail. To reach this goal it is necessary to investigate manufacturing processes, machines and materials because all mentioned scopes have great influences on each other. First the energy demand of different processes, according to the participating companies, will be measured by the use of new measurement strategies and devices. Hence, under the assistance of simulation models, basic investigations and the use of different tool technologies, optimisation potentials are verified in several cutting and manufacturing tests. Additional to problem focused investigations, there will be carried out some basic tests to investigate the behaviour of different materials under different conditions to gain in-depth knowledge for planned simulation models. Then, special focus is placed on new materials fulfilling new ecological requirements concerning the so called "pollution alloying elements". Finally, there will be defined strategies and standards for an adequate assessment of machines, materials and processes to determine satisfying they are obtaining all economical and ecological needs. If a company is fulfilling all defined requirements, they will be granted the ECO2-award.
Environmental issues and the demand for resource- and cost-saving processes are essential for a highly-developed industrial community. Process efficiency is therefore a task for many key European industrial sectors like the automotive industry, aerospace, the machine tool industry or other metalworking industries. The ability to fulfil the requirements of a competing global market is highly connected with reliable, efficient and environmentally conscious processes. Manufacturing, especially in Europe, is facing high pressure due to the rising energy needs and costs. Furthermore, environmentally friendly regulations like the ban on lead and the limitations on the use of sulphur in steel oblige manufacturing companies to change the way they produce. Ecological and economical cutting processes offer a high potential and wide spread in the whole of the manufacturing industry.
The development of high performance processes is accordingly an important contribution to strengthen European competitiveness within the metalworking industry, to ensure jobs and to improve the situation on the labour-market sector.
A special ECO2-award will be developed, promoted and implemented to reward companies that implement machining processes with a lower energy footprint. Besides the lower production costs of the new machining process companies can use this ECO2-award to emphasise their `green´ image and thereby enlarge their economical value.
In the course of this project a knowledge database based on data and information from the SMEs and the R&D partners will be generated. This data will be collected by running a systematic series of cutting tests (in the R&D laboratories) using a pre-defined selection of (ecologically advanced) materials, cutting tools and geometries of the cutting edge with analysis of the cutting processes at the members of the using group. The different processes will be analysed (form to cutting process through the material to the whole machine tool) and a value for used energy per machined material (e.g. J/mm³) will be developed. The actual value of processes for the participating companies will be determined and compared with a calculated theoretical minimum value. Thus the companies can see there saving potentials and actions for reducing their energy consumption will be defined.
These developments require a close co-operation between the three R&D partners because different areas of expertise (materials science, production engineering, measurement technique, etc.) are important for such a fundamental technical contemplation. The generated data will serve as reference data for the new EN16001 (see annex). Also measuring methods of the processes are the basis for a monitoring system of the new EN.

Industrial Manufacture, Steel / Metalwork