Exergy efficiency optimization model of motorized spindle system for high-speed dry hobbing

High-speed dry hobbing (HSDH) has been regarded as an environmentally benign gear machining technique. Current research on energy efficiency of machine tool focuses on the energy efficiency for workpiece material removal but rarely involves the energy consumption required to control thermal stability. Due to the fact that thermal effect dominates the machining accuracy and accuracy consistency, especially in the dry machining process, the energy consumption for thermal stability control should be taken as useful energy consumption. In view of this, by taking the motorized spindle system (MSS) as the study objective, which is a core subsystem of machine tool enabling HSDH and characterizes intensive and inefficient energy consumption, an exergy-based method is proposed to evaluate the comprehensive energy efficiency of MSS. Furthermore, an exergy efficiency optimization model is proposed to maximize total exergy efficiency and minimize average temperature of MSS. A solution method integrating Pareto Dominant-based Multi-objective Simulated Annealing (PDMOSA) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is proposed to search the best solution of the optimization model. A case study is introduced to validate the proposed model and a final optimal solution is obtained at the total exergy efficiency of 53.5% with balanced temperature of 35.4 °C. The cooling water in MSS is identified to be a dominant factor that affects total exergy destruction. The presented model can give a reference to select appropriate process parameters of MSS for green and precision machining.