Electric Load Management on Machine Tools

Today, the need for a more economic handling of energy in the production context is urgent. Moreover, structural changes in the energy market are taking place due to a growing share of renewable energy sources in power generation. These circumstances require solutions to reduce and flexibilize the electric load demand of production facilities. Machine tools are subject to a wide range of applications. Besides, they integrate diverse cross-sectional technologies. Therefore, research results regarding the optimization of the load demand of machine tools can serve as a basis for the optimization of the power intake of numerous production machines. In this context, the paper at hand presents a two-step approach to optimize the electric load demand of machine tools in productive state. In a first step, a potentials analysis is carried out to identify modules suitable for load demand control. Additionally, the amount of achievable peak load reductions through managing the load for a specific use case (primary process and designated machine tool) is determined. The potentials analysis considers the load demand of auxiliary modules of a machine as well as the module-specific control mode and internal operational concept. If a sufficient potential can be detected, the actual optimization of the load profile of the machine in productive state is carried out in a subsequent step. The optimization process seeks to incorporate the independently controlled auxiliary units into a global control concept. The aim of the optimization is to find an operating schedule for the considered auxiliary units leading to a cumulative load profile featuring desired load objectives. These load objectives can be peak minimization, flexibilization, or smoothing