Analysis of Power and Specific Cutting Energy Consumption in Orthogonal Machining of Al 6061-T6 Alloys at Transitional Cutting Speeds

Recent researches in machining have revealed that electricity consumption of machine tools accounts for 90% of their environmental impact. Therefore, minimization of energy consumption will not only enhance its economic viability but will also reduce CO₂ emissions. Most energy consumption studies present in literature focus on machining at low speeds (up to 500 m/min), whereas the specific cutting energy and power consumption trends at higher speeds have not been thoroughly investigated. This study analyses energy consumption in the machining of aluminium alloy Al-6061 T6 at high cutting speeds (up to 1000m/min and feeds up to 0.4 mm/rev). Full factorial experiments with three replicates were performed for orthogonal machining of AL-6061 T6 alloy which is one of the widely used materials in aerospace, automobiles, defence, sports and biomedical industries. A strict power measurement protocol was followed in accordance with CO2PE! (Cooperative Effort in Process Emission) proposed taxonomy. All the experiments were performed by unused inserts, therefore tool wear effect was not considered for power and energy calculations. The results were analysed using ANOVA and the contribution of speed and feed on energy consumption were quantified. Energy consumption map was prepared for varied speeds and feeds that revealed the presence of the optimum energy zones.