Sustainability of unconventional machining industry considering impact factors and reduction methods of energy consumption: A review and analysis.

The unconventional machining (UCM) processes are usually energy-intensive and mainly used to process materials with characteristics of high-quality requirements and complex geometries, etc. In response to the policy of energy-saving and emission reduction in the UCM, this paper reviews the relative literature over the last decade with a focus on Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM), and a structured analysis of the impact factors is adopted in terms of the WEDM machine parts, workpiece, processing parameters, human resources consumption, and production management. On this basis, the prediction and reduction methods of energy consumption in WEDM are systematically summarized.