Tool Tech: Machining intelligently the green way

The growing tendency of companies to list their environmental accreditations alongside their management and quality standards illustrates manufacturers’ desire to reduce their impact on the environment and to minimize the use of the earth’s natural resources.

Rather than being an expensive policy to pursue, ISCAR finds that the use of greener strategies, such as recycling and the pursuit of reduced energy consumption, increases profitability.

In addition, the kudos gained by adopting more sustainable methods raises potential customers’ perceptions and often leads to improved levels of business.

To help support the global manufacturing industry’s search for ‘greener’ means of production, suppliers such as machine tool companies and tooling manufacturers have introduced a wide range of impressive innovations. Led by Germany’s mechanical engineering association, schemes such as the Blue Competence Machine Tools initiative focus on sustainability. Under the Blue Competence initiative, machine tool companies agree to meet pre-determined ecological, economic and social values and principles, while implementing sustainable production solutions in their production plants, products and business services, with the aim of achieving greener manufacturing.

Increasingly, major machine tool manufacturers are introducing advanced energy saving features to their ranges, such as reduced machine warm-up times, drive modules with lower power ratings, electric motors that are optimized to the machines’ specific requirements and standby features such as spindle deactivation. In addition to being ecologically beneficial, these advantages considerably reduce users’ costs whilst ensuring high levels of productivity and quality.

Ecologically sound production methods are in use throughout our high-tech manufacturing plant, and a policy of continuous improvements is practiced within this area.

Through the work of the company’s R&D department, we have launched a wide range of advanced cutting tools that help users to dramatically reduce a machine tools’ energy needs by speeding-up metal cutting processes. Many cutting tools are multi-functional, enabling users to minimize their tooling inventories.

ISCAR's HIGHQLINE is typical of the many energy saving, highly efficient cutting tool lines.

ISCAR contributes to green machining with innovative tool geometries that demand less energy and reduce machine power consumption. One of our milestone innovations, the HELIMILL (Fig.1), reduces machining forces by the use of helical cutting edges, while our fast feed milling and turning inserts were designed for efficient, high volume metal removal, thus reducing machine power consumption. (Fig.2)

The SPINJET coolant-driven HSM spindles (Fig. 3) recycle lubricants, which in return promote a greener environment by utilizing the machine tool’s existing coolant supply driven by a high pressure pump as an energy source to rotate a turbine.

Another environmental and efficiency program includes the recycling of used carbide inserts and tools. To make the collection of used carbide a highly efficient process, we introduced the automated MATRIX RECYCLE Solution.

Participants in the scheme simply deposit their used carbide inserts and tools into an ergonomically designed receptacle. The weight of the carbide scrap is automatically calculated and displayed every hour. When the contents of the container reach a pre-set maximum weight, an LED warning light turns red and an email alert is sent prompting collection.

Eran Salmon is IMC Quality Assurance Manager with Iscar.

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