An Energy Efficiency Tool Path Optimization Method Using a Discrete Energy Consumption Path Model

As the energy cost accounts for about one-third of the total manufacturing cost, there is great significance in evaluating and managing energy consumption in manufacturing processes. The energy consumption during multi-axis end milling, which represents a large part of the industrial energy costs, is usually extraordinarily large, especially for complex free-form surfaces requiring multi-finish-machining. To obtain the most efficient tool path, the tool orientation is adjusted to obtain the largest cutting stripe width at each cutter contact point. However, the use of excessive driving energy consumption and cutting energy to obtain the largest cutting stripe width may reduce the energy efficiency of the tool path. To solve this problem, the geometry features of the tool path are analyzed firstly, and the global energy consumption analysis, which includes a cutting energy analysis and driving energy analysis, is conducted. The discrete energy consumption path model is constructed to find the most energy-efficient tool orientation sequence for a tool path. Finally, contrast experiments are carried out to validate the proposed method.