Transitioning to sustainable production – Part I: application on machining technologies

This two part paper presents general issues, methods and a case study for achieving production sustainability on a machining technology level. In order to tackle these issues, the paper promotes sustainable production via the alternative machining technologies, namely cryogenic and high pressure jet assisted machining that have a high potential to cut costs and improve competitiveness by reducing resource consumption and thus creating less waste. The general issues of sustainable technologies pointed out with a comparative case study life cycle assessment performed for alternative machining processes are covered in part I of the work, concluding that future of sustainable production is going to entail the use of alternative machining technologies to reduce consumption rates, environmental burdens, and health risks simultaneously, while increasing performances and profitability. As an upgrade to this part, overall cost evaluation is covered by a case study in part II of this work.     

Transitioning to sustainable production – part II: evaluation of sustainable machining technologies

This paper presents a case-study that highlights the importance of sustainable machining technologies in achieving sustainable development objectives. A technology evaluation was undertaken to understand the likely impacts of the use of technology on sustainability performance measures. The evaluation is more than an experimental method for supporting the design of technology and an instrument for supporting decision-making. It is also a tool for supporting technology policy and for encouraging its adoption and application in industry. More specifically, a sustainability evaluation of cryogenic and high pressure jet-assisted machining in comparison to conventional machining is examined. Sustainability performance measures refer to environmental impact, energy consumption, safety, personal health, waste management, and cost. The case-study refers to the machining of high-temperature Ni-alloy (Inconel 718). It is shown that tooling costs represent the major contribution to the overall production cost, which contradicts previous analyses, and that sustainable machining alternatives offer a cost-effective route to improving economic, environmental, and social performance in comparison to conventional machining.