Application of methods for ecological optimization of crank shaft forging process

The manufacturing process of forged parts is usually conducted by different subsequent process steps. According to various technological as well as economical and ecological requirements, different and often opposing objectives have to be fulfilled. A representative example for this conflicting situation is the requirement of high product qualities on the one hand and low processing costs on the other hand. A third important factor influencing the process in addition to quality and cost-efficiency is the ecological aspect that is focused more and more in recent years. Material shortage, high energy costs and increasing intensification of statutory regulations lead to the necessity of ecologically optimized processes. Nevertheless, an economic-based evaluation of forging processes is not easy to carry out due to a versatile process chain from raw material to final product. Within the framework of the Joint research project ‘‘Holistic process chain optimization for forging production of automotive parts in terms of manufacturing efficiency and saving operation energy’’ an entire evaluation and optimization with special regard to ecologic aspects will be conducted on the example of a crank shaft forging process (Denkena et al. in ZWF 4:224–228, 2013; Int J Precis Eng Manuf 14(7), 2013).