A Mathematical Programming Model for Minimizing Energy Consumption on a Selective Laser Melting Machine

TL;DR

This paper presents a mixed integer linear programming model to optimize nesting and scheduling in selective laser melting, aiming to minimize energy consumption by considering part placement, batch assignment, and build orientation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mathematical model that integrates multiple decision variables to effectively reduce energy use in SLM additive manufacturing.

Findings

The model significantly reduces energy consumption compared to baseline methods.

Build orientation choices impact energy savings notably.

Numerical experiments validate the model's effectiveness.

Abstract

The scheduling problem in additive manufacturing is receiving increasing attention; however, few have considered the effect of scheduling decisions on machine energy consumption. This research focuses on the nesting and scheduling problem of a single selective laser melting (SLM) machine to reduce total energy consumption. Based on an energy consumption model, a nesting and scheduling problem is formulated, and a mixed integer linear programming model is proposed. This model simultaneously determines part-to-batch assignments, part placement in the batch, and the choice of build orientation to reduce the total energy consumption of the SLM machine. The energy-saving potential of the model is validated through numerical experiments. Additionally, the effect of the number of alternative build orientations on energy consumption is explored.