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<p>To support the European Union’s 2050 climate neutrality goal and the 2019 European Green Deal, the industrial sector must reduce its environmental footprint, especially in high-energy manufacturing processes such as laser cutting. While fibre laser cutting is widely adopted for its efficiency, the literature remains focused on first-generation CO₂ lasers, and lacks multicriteria assessments integrating environmental, economic, and technical aspects. To address these gaps, this study proposes a framework based on an environmental analysis, which guides the identification and evaluation of concrete alternative production solutions. An environmental assessment of a fibre laser cutting process was conducted using the Product Environmental Footprint method. Results show that raw material consumption dominates climate change, followed by assist gas, electricity, and metal waste. Three alternative solutions were examined: internal nitrogen generation, compressed air, and a hybrid solution combining production with compressed air and nitrogen. Nitrogen generation doubled costs and was rejected. Compressed air offered the best environmental gain but had technical limits. The hybrid solution proved the most balanced. It reduced assist gas impact on climate change by 62%, lowered costs by 84% annually, and maintained superior cutting quality with a 0.01% scrap rate. This study shows that compressed air is a viable alternative for fibre laser cutting. Beyond this case study, the proposed framework can be applied to other manufacturing processes. Overall, the framework supports multi-criteria decision-making by ensuring that environmental performance guides the comparison of alternatives, which is then validated by technical and economic analyses.</p>

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Framework Guided by Environmental Analysis for Comparing Manufacturing Alternatives in Laser Cutting

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月28日

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  • Maria Ramard,
  • Mathieu Miroir,
  • Romain Laniel,
  • Olivier Kerbrat

摘要

To support the European Union’s 2050 climate neutrality goal and the 2019 European Green Deal, the industrial sector must reduce its environmental footprint, especially in high-energy manufacturing processes such as laser cutting. While fibre laser cutting is widely adopted for its efficiency, the literature remains focused on first-generation CO₂ lasers, and lacks multicriteria assessments integrating environmental, economic, and technical aspects. To address these gaps, this study proposes a framework based on an environmental analysis, which guides the identification and evaluation of concrete alternative production solutions. An environmental assessment of a fibre laser cutting process was conducted using the Product Environmental Footprint method. Results show that raw material consumption dominates climate change, followed by assist gas, electricity, and metal waste. Three alternative solutions were examined: internal nitrogen generation, compressed air, and a hybrid solution combining production with compressed air and nitrogen. Nitrogen generation doubled costs and was rejected. Compressed air offered the best environmental gain but had technical limits. The hybrid solution proved the most balanced. It reduced assist gas impact on climate change by 62%, lowered costs by 84% annually, and maintained superior cutting quality with a 0.01% scrap rate. This study shows that compressed air is a viable alternative for fibre laser cutting. Beyond this case study, the proposed framework can be applied to other manufacturing processes. Overall, the framework supports multi-criteria decision-making by ensuring that environmental performance guides the comparison of alternatives, which is then validated by technical and economic analyses.