Cutting tool manufacturing: a sustainability perspective

Part of: Seliger, Günther (Ed.): Innovative solutions : proceedings / 11th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Berlin, Germany, 23rd - 25th September, 2013. - Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2013. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2609-5 (online). - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus4-40276. - pp. 252-257.Over the last few years, sustainability has become a major challenge for manufacturing systems, due to the rising awareness of energy consumption and to the associated environmental impact of processes. In order to measure the sustainability of a specific process, metrics for sustainable manufacturing were developed and proposed in the scientific literature. The research activities presented in this paper aim to apply a structured sustainable approach to a tool manufacturing process. More in detail, the production of a tap, starting from the raw material up to the finished product, is investigated. The process, divided into the various stages of the manufacturing route, is evaluated from a technological and sustainable point of view. Results provides a basis for decision-making, and are expected to be incorporated into the business strategy development processes