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FEATURE


LINEAR MOTION


sponsored by Feature wrapper energy consumption


Energy prices are rising at an alarming rate, resulting in concerned manufacturers worldwide looking for solutions that can reduce the energy consumption of their facilities. To help, at this year’s PPMA


Show, IMA ILAPAK introduced what is described as a ground-breaking innovation: the world’s first all-electric flow wrapper


W


ith energy costs a major concern, engineers at IMA ILAPACK have succeeded in building an all-electric


flow wrapper that uses on average 37% less power than a conventional machine. “From conversations with our customers it


is clear that rising costs are their number one concern. All manufacturing sectors are facing crippling input costs and pressure to reduce their environmental footprint. Our new all-electric flow wrapper responds directly to both of these challenges,” commented Tony McDonald, sales and marketing director at ILAPAK UK. So how has the machine been designed to


save energy?


HigH efficiency actuators Sustainability has long been a priority and fundamental value at IMA, prompting the launch of the IMA ZERO sustainable development programme in 2019. This group- wide sustainability initiative, coupled with rising costs faced by all manufacturing sectors, provided the context for the development of the new all-electric flow wrapper. So, on the new Delta WW OF-HSX, the most


energy-intensive pneumatically driven functions – pressing, gusseting and cutting – are driven by highly efficient linear actuators. The result is that the engineers at IMA ILAPAK have succeeded in designing a flow wrapper that uses on average 37% less power than a conventional machine. Users of this revolutionary full-electric flow wrapping platform can therefore expect to


see a return on their investment within 18 months (at today’s prices) through a combination of energy savings and improved performance, the company states. Driving these functions electrically and


eliminating the use of compressed air has resulted in a massive 94.5% reduction in the amount of energy required for air usage. As an example, on a 170ppm line operating two-shifts per day for 300 days a year, the Delta WW OF-HSX consumes just 1500kWh compared with 27,400kWh for a conventional flow wrapper to perform these applications. Non-energy intensive functions remain


pneumatically actuated, as the cost of replacing the pneumatic cylinders with electric components would not be justified by the minimal energy savings accrued. To this end, the Delta WW OF-HSX has a small on-board high efficiency compressor, eliminating the need for an external compressed air source.


improved performance


Of further benefit, being full-electric has made a considerable difference to the machine’s overall performance and efficiency – the speed limitations of a standard flow wrapper stem from the pneumatic response, which starts to become unreliable at speeds of above 120 cycles per minute. The Delta WW OF-HSX, however, runs comfortably at 170ppm, which is over 40% faster than its conventional counterpart. Changeover times are also reduced as no mechanical or manual adjustment is needed. By operating at a


higher speed, the flow wrapper uses less energy to produce the equivalent volume. In addition to speed, quality of the pack has


also been improved. The machine’s electrical actuators mean its movements are precision controlled, giving greater repeatability and accuracy over operations such as gusseting and film cutting. In comparative testing, over one year (300 days


of two-shift production), the energy consumption of the electric machine was calculated at 43,000kWh compared with 69,500kWh for a conventional machine. When the higher capital cost is taken into account, the electric machine will pay for itself in less than 18 months. Nicola Ragno, R&D and technical director for


IMA ILAPAK, commented: “This has been one of the most exciting projects to come out of IMA’s Sustainable Development Programme. When we set out on this journey to build an all-electric machine, we knew that switching to electric actuators would reduce energy usage but we weren’t sure whether the costs of an all-electric platform would be recouped through the savings. The solution that we have ended up with has surpassed our expectations in terms of how quickly it pays back through reduced energy consumption and improved performance – and interestingly, the higher the operating speed, the shorter the payback period.”


IMA ILAPAK T: 0208 797 2000 www.ilapak.com


How electric actuators dramatically cut flow


4 DESIGN SOLUTIONS NOVEMBER 2022 0


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