Modeling and analyses of energy consumption for machining features with flexible machining configurations

Quantifying the machining feature energy consumption (MFEC) is a prerequisite to enhance energy efficiency during a workpiece’s development. The MFEC highly relies on the machining configurations related to toolpath strategy and machining sequence. However, existing research focused on modeling the MFEC under a specific toolpath strategy or machining sequence, which ignored the influence of flexible machining configurations on MFEC. Consequently, these models are not effective to predict the MFEC, where the toolpath strategy and machining sequence are flexible. To this end, an energy modeling method for estimating the MFEC under flexible machining configurations is developed in this paper. This method includes two phases: toolpath generating phase and energy consumption modeling phase. In the former phase, the toolpath for each feature is generated considering the effect of flexible machining configurations. In the latter phase, the energy model is developed based on hierarchical objected-oriented Petri net (HOONet) to analyze and represent the energy consumption behaviors related to the generated toolpath. The developed modeling method is demonstrated by a case study delivered to predict the MFEC of a typical tray workpiece. This method can help manufacturers to select optimal energy-efficient machining configurations for performing workpieces, and provide designers with knowledge of energy consumption to conduct energy-saving design of features.