FOOD & BEVERAGE
WAREHOUSING, HANDLING & STORAGE
REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND COSTS THROUGH EFFICIENT AIR USE
I
n recent years, the topics of energy generation, energy efficiency and sustainability have been prominent as industry continued its drive to achieve a greener future and make a tangible contribution to the objectives of “Net-Zero.” Today, we are now in a world where these same businesses, which were already not only striving for energy efficiency, but also working to mitigate multiple logistics and commercial challenges, are now facing stratospheric increases in the cost of the energy needed to power their manufacturing facilities. Whilst government has indicated that there will be assistance for businesses, there is also an urgent and renewed focus on reducing and optimising energy consumption wherever possible. Whilst businesses with energy intensive manufacturing processes will no doubt have already defined and implemented strategies over the years to optimise their energy consumption, there are many other industry sectors where multiple factors contribute to the total energy use.
The generation and use of compressed air by the vacuum gripping systems used in packaging and palletizing in the FMCG sector is just one example where energy consumption can be reduced, and efficiencies and cost savings realised, through the introduction of latest generation vacuum technologies. Aside from addressing leaks within compressed air lines, which are obvious contributors to unnecessary additional costs, in many cases, unless there are failures, little attention is given to the gripper and its associated vacuum cups and technologies. It is in these areas however where a small investment in new and efficient vacuum components will deliver not only tangible cost savings, but also contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the business. When viewed individually, the air used by a single vacuum gripper system may seem somewhat insignificant in the overall scheme of things, but in the FMCG sector, there are generally multiple lines, each with multiple handling devices and each of which consumes air for every operational cycle.
GENERATING A RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Schmalz UK Limited’s Technical Sales Specialist Andy Foreman explains how businesses can achieve significant savings by reducing the quantity of air required for each product handling cycle. “A conventional vacuum gripping system will continue to use air for the full duration of the handling cycle. If we use the example of a product handling cycle where vacuum is required for a duration of 4 seconds, in the overall 7.5 second cycle time, we can quickly see how the costs add up. With 480 cycles per hour, and 3,840
cycles over an 8-hour shift, there will be a total of 256 minutes when vacuum is being generated. A vacuum generator will use around 105 litres of air per minute, so over a full shift a total of 26,880 litres of air will be used. With compressed air estimated to cost £0.04 per 1,000 litres, the cost is £1.08 per shift. If this cost is then extrapolated over the course of one year – 52 weeks, 6 days per week and 2 x 8-hour shifts per day, the cost of the air used equates to £673.92 per vacuum generator. Manufacturing companies with significant assembly and packaging process can unlock huge potential savings once their processes is audited and solutions implemented.”
Andy Foreman continues: “Using the same operational criteria, but this time making the calculations based upon using Schmalz Air Saving Technology, which holds vacuum once reached, the time air is being used drops from 4 seconds per cycle to just 0.5 seconds, this being the time needed to achieve a safe vacuum level of -700 mbar. With just 0.5 seconds of air required per cycle, the total time air is being used in the 8-hour shift reduces to just 32 minutes. Running the same calculations, the cost of the air being used by a single vacuum generator over the period of one year drops to just £81.12. This results in an annual saving of £592.80 per vacuum generator.” With such a saving for each vacuum generator, it is easy to see how Schmalz Air Saving Technology can deliver a significant return on investment when applied to the multiple gripper units being used across several production lines in a typical FMCG manufacturing environment. In addition to reducing air consumption by up to 80%, this technology allows air consumption to be monitored, with a condition
monitoring function, and predictive maintenance is also possible with the diagnostic function. These Industry 4.0 compatible features will assist maintenance teams in achieving the highest levels of productivity by reducing the number of unplanned stoppages.
ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR COMPRESSED AIR
With the continued growth of collaborative robots and mobile robots within industry Schmalz have developed the ECBPi/ECBPMi series of electrically operated vacuum grippers. These use small electric pumps which can be mounted to the robot wrist and the range is targeted at robots with payloads of less than 3.0kg. These systems are ideally suited to automated handling applications on small parts, e.g., bin-picking with a single suction gripper, and one bellows suction cup is included to provide a complete vacuum gripping system.
These systems offer simple and fast plug & play commissioning on lightweight robots thanks to intelligent software support, and a speed control function also minimises motor power consumption, delivering a highly efficient and environmentally friendly vacuum gripping system with an Integrated IO-Link and RS485 interface.
Andy Foreman concludes: “The examples detailed here represent just a few of the opportunities where both efficiencies and subsequently cost savings can be made by looking closely at and investing in the latest vacuum gripping technologies.”
Schmalz
www.schmalz.com
20 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
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