Driven by the high importance of resource efficiency the importance of lightweight construction rises across all industries. Due to their high lightweight construction potential, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are increasingly applied. But CFRP manufacturing often is an expensive small-scale production where it is necessary to use removable mold cores to manufacture hollow parts. To improve the complex process of mold core making future process chains including additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D-printing) can be used. This paper provides a proposal for a hollow CFRP reference part based on facts taken directly from the field of application. The reference part will allow the evaluation of economic and ecological impact of process chains in mold core making for the CFRP production. Therefore, representative parts from different industry sectors were selected and analytically examined regarding their geometrical features. Based on a scientific recomposition of these features the reference part was developed.

Milling operations are commonly characterized by high energy consumptions and should be in focus for optimizations aiming sustainable manufacturing processes. Research results show that within milling operations, especially in small and medium enterprises (SME), up to 80% of the applied milling cutters are solid end mills. The paper presents a design of experiments (DOE)-based optimization of the cutting edge geometry, to improve the energy efficiency and technical capability of solid end mills. Thereby the paper describes the fractional factorial design for the first-degree polynomial model as well as the subsequent set up of a central composite design (CCD) with its second-degree polynomial model for the optimization of relevant target parameter like cutting performance, tool wear and surface quality. Based on the results of more than one hundred machining tests this comprehensive approach shall contribute to the development of new cutting edge geometries of solid end mills and thereby lead to more energy-efficient machining operations in milling applications.