International Journal of Environmentally Conscious Design & Manufacturing 

Volume 11, Number 2, 2003

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Contents
Contents 

Economical and Ecological Cryogenic Machining of Low Carbon Steel, by M. M. BROOMER AND S.Y. HONG

    Applications of environmentally-safe cryogenic machining of difficult-to-cut materials such as titanium, nickel based super-alloy and stainless steel have been well studied and significant tool life increase and machineability improvement have been reported. However, little research has been published on cryogenic machining of high volume, easy-to-machine metals, such as low carbon steel. Driven by industries’ quest for greater metal cutting productivity, profitability and environmental safety, this study investigates the effect of applying super-cold liquid nitrogen (LN2) to a carbide-cutting tool in place of soluble oil coolant when machining AISI 1018. Using an economical approach, this research established that plain low carbon steel could be more efficiently machined using LN2 than with soluble oil coolant. At the efficient speed of 5.2 m/s, tool life increased by 26%. Correspondingly, profit rose 14.72% and productivity increased by 6.47%. The economical cryogenic approach described offers a profit enhancing and environmentally responsible alternative.

Sustainable Manufacturing System for Printing Processes, by A.C. CAPUTO, P.M. PELAGAGGE, AND F. SCACCHIA

    The printing industry is often characterized by low process efficiency, in terms of throughput time and productivity, and limited environmental sustainability witnessed by relevant energy and materials consumption (paper, ink, additives, etc.), pollutants emission and generation of a high waste quantity. Such problems are intrinsically related to several limitations of the actual manufacturing technology characterized by small printing cylinders surfaces, low efficiency of the cylinders regeneration phases, slowness of the cylinders engraving process, and inefficiency of logistics management in manufacturing plants. In order to overcome such limits, in the present study a re-engineered printing process has been proposed, based on an environmentally conscious design and manufacturing (ECD&M) approach. Also, innovative pieces of equipment are presented and specific interventions based on intense rationalization and integration efforts are examined. Main results may be quantified as follows: productivity increase of 40%, throughput time reduction of 30%, waste production and material and energy consumption decrease of 50%. Furthermore the proposed manufacturing system is characterized by a better plant layout, an improved logistics management efficiency and an enhanced process control. The overall cost of the project is about $20 million.
In the paper, both a detailed description of actual process technology and a complete analysis of related main problems have been carried out. Consequently, innovative solutions focused on process efficiency improvement, productivity increase, operational safety enhancement and environmental compatibility achievement, have been proposed and discussed. Finally, considering as a reference scenario a big company, costs and benefits related to the proposed project have been shown.

Limiting Design Criteria of a Production Planning Process for Waste Minimization in Automotive Instrument Panel Manufacturing, by F. J. ESTRADA AND R. QUINTANA

Waste minimization/pollution prevention became a strategic approach to industrial waste management in the 1990's. This research addresses the generation of production waste from a production planning perspective using existing resources by identifying limiting design criteria and determining the combination of these criteria that will meet customer requirements and minimize production waste. The limiting design criteria for waste minimization in automotive instrument panel manufacturing from a production planning perspective are identified as production sequence (type of machine changeover), unit load size and number of jobs in a production run. An integrated production planning methodology was then developed that considers industrial waste with the same degree of importance as throughput, inventory levels, equipment capacity, etc., during the planning stage. The environmentally conscious planning methodology, which was validated in an automotive instrument panel manufacturing facility, is divided in four parts: clustering, planning, sequencing, and simulation. Results indicated that the type of machine change over scheme, unit load size and number of jobs in a production run are significant with respect to waste generation. Further, the limiting design criteria factors that minimize waste generation while complying with customer requirements in automotive instrument panel manufacturing are change over by color method, a high unit load size (80 hour production runs), and a small number (6) of job types in the production run.