An investigation into reducing the spindle acceleration energy consumption of machine tools

Machine tools are widely used in the manufacturing industry, and consume large amount of energy. Spindle acceleration appears frequently while machine tools are working. It produces power peak which is highly energy intensive. As a result, a considerable amount of energy is consumed by this acceleration during the use phase of machine tools. However, there is still a lack of understanding of the energy consumption of spindle acceleration. Therefore, this research aims to model the spindle acceleration energy consumption of computer numerical control (CNC) lathes, and to investigate potential approaches to reduce this part of consumption. The proposed model is based on the principle of spindle motor control and includes the calculation of moment of inertia for spindle drive system. Experiments are carried out based on a CNC lathe to validate the proposed model. The approaches for reducing the spindle acceleration energy consumption were developed. On the machine level, the approaches include avoiding unnecessary stopping and restarting of the spindle, shortening the acceleration time, lightweight design, proper use and maintenance of the spindle. On the system level, a machine tool selection criterion is developed for energy saving. Results show that the energy can be reduced by 10.6% to more than 50% using these approaches, most of which are practical and easy to implement

Accelerated Life Testing to Predict Service Life and Reliability for an Appliance Door Hinge

Appliance manufacturers have traditionally performed physical testing using prototypes to assess reliability and service integrity of new product designs. However, for white goods where service lives are measured in years or decades, the use of endurance testing to analyze long time reliability is uneconomical. As accelerated life testing (ALT) is more efficient and less costly than traditional reliability testing, the methodology is finding increased usage by appliance manufacturers. In the present study, a simulation-based ALT approach was used to predict the service life of a polyacetal hinge cam from a consumer refrigerator. A predictive life stress model based on cumulative surface wear under accelerated stress conditions was developed and used to predict time to failure under consumer use. Results show that the life stress model demonstrated good agreement with performance testing data and reasonably predicts hinge life

Enabling electronic prognostics using thermal data

Prognostics is a process of assessing the extent of deviation or degradation of a product from its expected normal operating condition, and then, based on continuous monitoring, predicting the future reliability of the product. By being able to determine when a product will fail, procedures can be developed to provide advanced warning of failures, optimize maintenance, reduce life cycle costs, and improve the design, qualification and logistical support of fielded and future systems. In the case of electronics, the reliability is often influenced by thermal loads, in the form of steady-state temperatures, power cycles, temperature gradients, ramp rates, and dwell times. If one can continuously monitor the thermal loads, in-situ, this data can be used in conjunction with precursor reasoning algorithms and stress-and-damage models to enable prognostics. This paper discusses approaches to enable electronic prognostics and provides a case study of prognostics using thermal data.Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions (http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions

Effects of space environment on composites: An analytical study of critical experimental parameters

A generalized methodology currently employed at JPL, was used to develop an analytical model for effects of high-energy electrons and interactions between electron and ultraviolet effects. Chemical kinetic concepts were applied in defining quantifiable parameters; the need for determining short-lived transient species and their concentration was demonstrated. The results demonstrates a systematic and cost-effective means of addressing the issues and show qualitative and quantitative, applicable relationships between space radiation and simulation parameters. An equally important result is identification of critical initial experiments necessary to further clarify the relationships. Topics discussed include facility and test design; rastered vs. diffuse continuous e-beam; valid acceleration level; simultaneous vs. sequential exposure to different types of radiation; and interruption of test continuity

Development programs for one-shot systems using multiple-state design reliability models

Design reliability at the beginning of a product development program is typically low and development costs can account for a large proportion of total product cost. We consider how to conduct development programs (series of tests and redesigns) for one-shot systems (which are destroyed at first use or during testing). In rough terms, our aim is to both achieve high final design reliability and spend as little of a fixed budget as possible on development. We employ multiple-state reliability models. Dynamic programming is used to identify a best test-and-redesign strategy and is shown to be presently computationally feasible for at least 5-state models. Our analysis is flexible enough to allow for the accelerated stress testing needed in the case of ultra-high reliability requirements, where testing otherwise provides little information on design reliability change. --development programs,one-shot systems,multiple-state design reliability,test,redesign,optimal programs,dynamic programming,accelerated testing

Research Towards High Speed Freeforming

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods are currently utilised for the manufacture of prototypes and low volume, high cost parts. This is because in most cases the high material costs and low volumetric deposition rates of AM parts result in higher per part cost than traditional manufacturing methods. This paper brings together recent research aimed at improving the economics of AM, in particular Extrusion Freeforming (EF). A new class of machine is described called High Speed Additive Manufacturing (HSAM) in which software, hardware and materials advances are aggregated. HSAM could be cost competitive with injection moulding for medium sized medium quantity parts. A general outline for a HSAM machine and supply chain is provided along with future required research