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1. Study the environmental footprint of manufacturing processes with energy consumption/CO2 emission as first priority. Scope limited to discrete part manufacturing. 2. Develop a methodology that allows to provide data in a format useful for inclusion in LCI dbases. 3. Identify opportunities for improved process design in close cooperation with machine tool developers. Derive design rules and guidelines in support of eco-design of machine tools. 4. Draft a proposal for an eco-label system for machine tools
In contrast with material production, manufacturing processes, as used for discrete part manufacturing, are poorly documented in terms of environmental footprint. Accordingly LCI-dbases are very incomplete when it comes to process documentation and the data they contain are often crude and not based on an in-depth study of the underlying processes. This lack of thorough analysis of manufacturing processes has as a consequence that optimisation opportunities are often not recognised and that improved machine tool design in terms of ecological footprint has only been targeted for a few common processes (mainly material removal processes such as milling). At the same time a trend can be observed towards more energy intensive processes (e.g. the evolution in sheet metal cutting from energy efficient guillotine cutting, over punching, nibbling, oxyfuel and plasma cutting, up to laser cutting as dominant solution today). The energy consumption impact of the manufacturing sector is in consequence growing steadily. At the same time the intensifying use of non-conventional processing techniques, such as electro-chemical and laser based processes, results in the generation of emissions that have hardly been investigated from an environmental perspective. These undocumented and hard to control material flows are likely to imply significant potential human health hazards. As a result of these observations, a coordinated effort to document the emissions linked to a wide range of processes and to identify potential improving measures on a machine design level is proposed. Recognition of the need for such a coordinated effort has emerged in the context of the CIRP Working group on Life Cycle Engineering (STC-A). Workshops, organized in the framework of the CIRP General Assembly (Paris, 23-25/01/08) and the CIRP LCE2008 Conference (Sydney, 17-19/03/08), revealed a wide interest in this domain and a willingness to contribute to a joint effort, driven by a generally recognised need to lower the environmental footprint of manufacturing processes. A special interest in CO2 emission reduction could be noticed. However, this does not reduce the scope of the recognised research need to energy consumption only. Although an important contribution to the environmental footprint, the Global Warming Potential of manufacturing processes exceeds the CO2 emissions linked to power requirements of production facilities. Objective of the CO2PE! initiative is to cluster forces in different continents, involving machine builders as well as academics, to analyse existing and emerging manufacturing processes for their ecological impact in terms of direct and indirect emissions. Possible measures for systematic reduction of the footprint of a wide range of manufacturing processes will be identified in the process. A better knowledge of the impact caused by different manufacturing unit processes, will contribute to a more systematic quantification of the production impact associated with a given product design and corresponding process plan. As such the proposed coordinated effort will contribute to LCI data as required for systematic LCA studies, covering the production stage of individual products. The involvement of a large number of parties will assure an appropriate, statistical approach, covering multiple machine types and process-material combinations for every studies manufacturing process. As such the credibility of the outcome of the effort will be high. Taking into consideration that the machine tool market is situated at a truly global level, an international cooperative effort, as facilitated by the IMS framework, forms a prerequisite for systematic progress in this domain. An important target of the initiative is to derive ecodesign guidelines for machine tool builders and best practice reference specifications for future generations of machine tools. Case studies performed by the initiative takers of CO2PE! prove that significant improvements in terms of, for example, CO2 emissions can be achieved, sometimes with fairly simple design measures. Based on these experiences, a 20% reduction seems a reasonable target for a wide series of processes. As such the CO2PE! initiative will provide a direct return of investment to the involved companies by providing clear insight in design improvement opportunities with consequences both in terms of environmental impact and life cycle costs. Specific targets are: 1. LCA knowledgeable analysts, in close cooperation with domain specialist in different manufacturing process categories, will conceive parametric emission estimation models for a wide range of processes. Towards product developers this will provide a tool to assess the influence of choices made during the manufacturing stage on the impact of products. 2. Towards machine builders the underlying process analyses will provide insight in achievable emission reducing measures. Case studies have demonstrated that intelligent control of peripherals can already lead to significant CO2 emission reductions through systematic energy savings. When taking into account the idle time during which the principal process-material interaction is absent, systematic transition to power saving modes during stand-by periods can also contribute to substantial savings. Towards machine developers, the availability of detailed knowledge of the impact share linked to different machines modules, allows quantification of the possible consequences of the implementation of innovative technologies in the core process (e.g. fibre laser substitution of CO2 laser sources). 3. As an output to be widely spread, eco-design recommendations for different machine types will be derived from the analysis. Reference energy consumption levels and best practice checklists will be compiled that can be used for the creation of an eco-label system for machine tools. The international cooperation between machine builders and academics from a wide range of countries will facilitate the acceptance of the results of the co-operative effort by different governmental institutions and the final implementation of the envisaged eco-label system. |
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Copyright © Katholieke Universiteit Leuven | Comments on the content:
Realisation: Joris Van Ostaeyen | Most recent update: 06/25/2010 URL: http://www.mech.kuleuven.be/co2pe!/objectives.php |
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