Control of machining parameters for energy and cost savings in micro-scale drilling of PCBs

Over the past half-century, numerous concerns pertaining to energy consumption and environmental factors have emerged, together with a strong demand for energy conservation in the industrial sector. The aim of this research is to develop new models and methodologies to control the energy consumption and manufacturing costs in the micro-drilling process for printed circuit board manufacturing. In micro-scale machining, the energy involved in material removal is negligible compared to the energy consumed by the machine modules. A set of experiments was performed to collect data on the energy consumption of the machine modules and their tool life. The results clearly identified the energy consumption and manufacturing cost trends in terms of the process parameters. Faster machining can reduce the energy consumption, but increases the cost. Considering only the cost aspect of the drilling process, 35% of the manufacturing cost can be saved. Using the proposed model, operators can select the appropriate process parameters by considering the conflict between minimum energy and minimum cost criteria, as well as local conditions.