GREEN PRODUCTION SUPPLEMENT SYSTEMATIC APPROACH AND COMMUNICATION


Systematic approach T


he systematic approach taken by the JTEKT group (www.jtekt.co.jp), which includes machine tool brand Toyoda, is illustrative. The company has defined its JTEKT Group Environmental Vision and its 2015 Environmental Action Plan (http://is.gd/FvWSwf). A company-wide approach, part of it is to ‘Develop and design environmentally friendly products’, including machine tools. To help in that, it established methods to measure this. For machine tools, it applies the JTEKT Eco-Scale, which includes 12 items, including power requirement, standby mode power consumption, footprint, machine mass and so on. In that sense, it is a holistic approach, not simply focused on energy consumption. This analysis results in a number of between 1 and 100, with a low number signifying a better outcome. The product is then compared to a


previous product’s values of some eight years earlier to give an ‘environmental load reduction ratio,’ expressed as a percentage improvement. So, for its latest FH800SX-i, 800 mm pallet horizontal machining centre, it claims an Eco-Scale figure of 68.2 and a reduction ratio of 14%. In performing the Eco-Scale assessment,


items were rated by Toyoda in four distinct categories: Reduction, Environmental Maintainability, Energy Saving and Information Disclosure. For each area, it was rated against assessment points through the life cycle of the machine. ‘Reduction’ involved its manufacture,


packing, transportation and equipment application, while ‘Environmental Maintainability’ covered procurement and disposal, which also involved the use of hazardous/toxic properties, or any elements that could prove dangerous. ‘Energy Saving’ covered all aspects of equipment application and its manufacture, and Information. ‘Disclosure’ concerns the


www.machinery.co.uk May 2013


provision of information at the time of product disposal. Clearly, the machine delivered savings,


but, in overall terms, the new machine development saw the number of parts reduced by 20% – a more simple structure not only saves resource, but would also contribute to higher overall reliability in service.


The reduction in coolant consumption created savings of 40%, helped by the development of a centre trough method for chip evacuation, which was sited directly below the cutting area. According to builder Toyoda, swarf disposal puts a high demand on fixed energy, the supply of hydraulic pressure, lubricant and pneumatics to accommodate the vast amount of coolant required to move large volumes of material. And coolant pump power requirements


were reduced by half, due also to the centre trough system. As a result, the power of pumps could be reduced and, by optimising piping and layout, pressure losses were reduced by 10%.


Andrew Allcock highlights one particular example in the machine tool industry that, he suggests, is unusual in its systematic approach and communication of such


The number of bolts used in the build


was reduced by 15% and a 32% cent reduction in cabling was achieved. Furthermore, by changing the material in the tool magazine socket from phenol resin to Type 66 nylon, which can be recycled, this contributed to an annual material saving of 4.8 tonnes. Many machine tool builders are making


such savings, it must be admitted, but JTEKT seems to be an unusual example of a company applying a published systematic approach and underlining this with simple-to- understand, visible numeric values. Of course, the details underpinning the numeric value calculations are less visible and simple, which, perhaps, brings us back to CECIMO’s statement that “the machine tool industry does not support labelling, due to its complexity”. But in the race to impress end users and comply with customers’ Corporate and Social Responsibility statements, not to say EU directives, such easy-to-understand headline information could become more common. ■


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