The 30-page document, focuses on energy saving in the drive train, i.e. motors, drives and gearboxes. With more than 33% of the generated electricity across Europe being used by electric motors, the importance of energy saving is clear, says the company. Designers need to promote their machines with details of the running costs and particularly the energy consumption. Incorporating energy-saving technology can give a competitive edge in the market for their machines.
The Design Guide begins by looking at electric motors with the current EU regulations, the changes in 2015 and 2017 and predictions for changes that will happen from 2018 to 2022. Other types of motor are discussed that are currently outside the scope of the regulations, but nevertheless offer significant saving potential. Selection of an efficient gearbox attached to the electric motor can yield significantly greater savings, in extreme cases by as much as 50%, says the company.
Further reductions in energy costs are made possible by the use of variable speed drives. This is application-dependent, but savings of 30 to 50% are possible. The options are described in the areas: Adjusting the motor speed to match demand; Optimising the speed/position travel profiles; "Eco" software to reduce motor currents under partial loads; and Re-use of braking energy
The final section looks at the savings from accurate dimensioning of the drive.Dimensioning software aids the selection process and is particularly effective with machines that have multiple drive axes and field experience indicates that energy savings of 10 to 35% are usually possible. The software will also generate an Energy Certificate that details the electrical energy running costs of the machine for a year.
The new Design Guide is available as a free of charge download on the Techdrives website. Machine designers and specifiers in the UK can also request a free paper copy by post.
