Green commitment A
number of companies have given more than a few details about their energy- saving endeavours. Tornos,
StarragHeckert and Finn-Power presented information on their efforts at the launch of CECIMO’s Blue Competence Machine Tools event last year (
www.machinery.co.uk/41251). German-owned, Switzerland headquartered cylindrical grinding machine specialist Fritz Studer is also a keen participant in the programme, even before CECIMO’s move (the Blue Competence initiative has its roots in 2008).
According to Fred Gaegauf, Studer CEO,
only a few customers are asking for energy efficient improvements on capital investment goods. “Mainly larger organisations, with a sense for saving resources, are starting to make up their mind. However, we feel that as
the discussion has been started on a broader base, we definitely need to get ready to provide the right answers. I am sure the sensitivity is increasing,” he says. But the challenge will be to create efficiency improvements without additional cost, he offers. “In the end, it is not just about saving energy; it is about saving money, too.”
SAVINGS STUDIED In a state-funded study, Studer, together with Inspire at ETH Zurich, identified all machine tool energy consumers in fine detail on different grinding machine types and prioritised them in order of importance. The grinding machine expends most energy in the grinding wheel drive, but this goes directly into the required grinding power, so there is little saving potential here, the company says.
For Studer’s grinding machines, there’s not much to be done, in terms of wheelhead power consumption; the opportunities lie
elsewhere, says Fred Gaegauf, CEO
Andrew Allcock runs through a few Blue Competence initiative companies’ energy reduction efforts and claims. It seems that much has already been achieved, although there is still promise held out for more
However, there are gains to be made in the areas of air, coolant and lubrication supply, Mr Gaegauf adds. And the research project highlighted that an energy saving of 14% was possible. Overall, the company suggests that a 25% saving in energy consumption is achievable in the future. Right now, the company’s StuderTechnology
software, which supports the creation of grinding programs, claims to save up to 50% energy, on average, versus a cycle generated without StuderTechnology. “StuderTechnology is not finished yet. The system is being further developed,” says the company. Elsewhere, motors controlled by frequency
converters and the use of regenerative technology are already applied. And at a recent press briefing in Switzerland, Mr Gaegauf said that Studer would soon be in a position to offer real benefits in the energy efficiency area, citing the area of coolant circulation and supply as one of these. But already last year, Studer’s CEO drew attention to other areas of energy saving. With its latest machine, the S41, the company boasts a reduced warm-up cycle. In a test set- up, a regulated active cooling system is now able to bring an S41 to a stable thermal level within 25 minutes, it said. Mr Gaegauf also highlights the energy-
saving credentials of its machines, prior to use in production. “Studer, for instance, is using machine beds made from a mineral casting. The total energy consumption for producing a Granitan machine bed is only one fifth of the energy required for the same bed in cast iron.” And even further up the process chain, the
company also announced this year that it would now only use electricity from renewable sources in its operations, this having commenced at the beginning of this year. Summing up, Studer’s CEO says: “No legislation is as strong as customer demand. I assume that, quite soon, the race will start. No one wants to be in the ‘offside position’. We are talking about more efficiency and
12 May 2013
www.machinery.co.uk
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