Improving the Energy Efficiency of Machine Tools using a Thermal Storage Unit based on a Phase Change Material

Today there are many ideas investigated to find ways for industries to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable. To reduce the energy consumption of machine tools and thus increase the efficiency of production, this paper discusses the idea of a heat accumulator based on a phase change material (PCM). In the context of biologisation in production technology, this work is based on the principle of heat storage in equi-warm organisms.
Since machine tools deform under thermal influences and thus affect the machining process, they are often operated in idle mode before the work process to reach a thermally stable state and reduce thermally induced deformation during the production process. The machine is actively tempered using the cooling circuit to keep the temperature plateau constant.
The idea of the PCM unit presented in this paper is to store this excess and otherwise dissipated energy. This can be used before the machines next process cycle to induce heat into the machine and reach the stable temperature plateau without operating the machine. The conditions under which the energy consumption can be reduced using this method and thus making the operation more sustainable are discussed and first simulations show that the goal is achievable.