Control Design Editor in Chief Mike Bacidore in his feature, "A new level of energy efficiency for machine builders, system integrators," details how machine builders and system integrators have found ways to bring energy savings to customers. As part of the feature, Schneider Electric also offered a list of ideas it says can help save energy.
Those ideas and tips are as follows:Â
Sizing of motors
All too often, machine actuators are over-sized (electrical motors, pneumatic actuators). This leads to machines that consume more energy than necessary, something which can easily be avoided through proper design.
- Small, simple motors are better than bigger.
- Better sizing brings cost reduction in the run-time with some impact in lowering machine costs.
- High-efficiency motors have proven their effectiveness and typically have a payback period of only 1-2 years.
Optimized motor control
- Use smaller motors in cascading when possible (pumps, compressors, ventilation), and adapt according to needs (up to 30% savings using synchronous motors).
- Use a motor with higher efficiency (up to 10% savings).
- Use a variable speed drive to control your motor (up to 50% savings).
- Use a servo drive and synchronous motor (up to additional 30% savings, compared to speed drives in positioning applications).
For applications with variable loads, the use of speed drives can bring immediate benefits and up to 50% in energy savings.
Mechatronics
Motion solutions enable the mastering of movement. Every time there is a transfer or a movement, motion technologies (servo motors, motion controllers) bring incredible advantages. When associated with synchronous motors, they bring significant energy advantages. Besides the key advantage of improved performance of up to 60% in energy savings, faster machine cycles increase output and their more precise positioning means fewer defects. Mechatronic machine designs offer the lowest total cost of ownership as they are the most energy efficient and most reliable machinery on the market.
Benefits for OEMs include:
- fewer mechanical
- fewer components
- optimized power and smaller control panel.
Benefits for end users include:
- more productive machines
- less waste
- more flexible production
- more compact machines
- less energy used.
 Read the full article here.Â
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