7. Two Practical Approaches to Assess the Energy Demand of Production Machines

Energy efficiency becomes an increasingly important quality attribute of modern machine tools. In order to stay competitive and in liability toward our environment, the energy consumption of machine tools must be significantly reduced without deteriorating the productivity and the quality of manufacturing. In line with the rising importance, the number of available energy efficiency solutions is increasing. However, a broad application of these solutions does not exist since the hypothetical saving potentials are hard to evaluate. This chapter presents two self-developed software solutions designed for different application levels. The presented assessment tool allows for a quick and easy assessment of the energy demand of a given production machine and is therefore intended for utilization in the procurement process of production machines. In contrast, the production machine simulation tool is designed for an assessment of the energy demand in the early product development stages by providing detailed energy and power demand information for all energy-relevant functional modules as well as for the entire production machine. For both approaches, no additional hardware measurements are required as input.