Environmental Impact of Desktop-Sized Five-Axis CNC Machine Tool Estimated with LCA

Abstract

Recently, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has attracted attention in the manufacturing field. Some consumer devices have been designed with consideration of LCA. However, there have been very few reports on consideration of LCA with machine tools. Using LCA, we attempt to estimate the environmental burden of a desktop-sized five-axis Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tool. We focus on the concept that small parts should be machined with small machine tools. A comparison of the manufacturing loop using a conventional machining center with that using a desktop-sized machine tool demonstrated that use of a smaller machine tool is an effective method to reduce the environmental burden in small part manufacturing.