With rising prices and ever stricter legal regulations have made energy a key cost factor of industrial production, Schuler group presents its new sustainable and efficient systems solutions for the metalforming industry. Sustainability and energy efficiency are also becoming increasingly important topics for press shops, as forming systems account for a major proportion of a company’s energy costs. With its new Ecoform program, Schuler is now presenting sustainable and efficient systems solutions for the metalforming industry.
“Resource efficiency is one of Schuler’s innovation drivers,” says Chief Technology Officer Joachim Beyer. “Our Ecoform sustainability program brings together all our efforts for raising energy efficiency: from analyzing and optimizing existing machinery to developing new processes, components and system solutions. Our aim is to conserve all resources and reduce energy consumption, while at the same time maintaining maximum productivity.”
Schuler already boasts numerous successful projects in the field of sheet metal forming, forging and automation. Its EHF (“Efficient Hydraulic Forming”) technology, for example, offers energy savings of up to 60 percent compared to conventional hydraulic presses. The latest generation of servo press lines has reduced energy consumption by up to 50 percent: in contrast to conventional mechanical high-speed press lines, they now have their own DC power supply (Schuler Smart DC Grid), variable-speed and regenerative drive systems, intelligent stand-by and pause switching, as well as energy-efficient components like Schuler’s Energy Saving Cushion. This reduces consumption to three million kilowatt hours per year – the equivalent of 750 to 800 four-person households.
The new MSC 2000 automatic blanking press also offers 50 percent energy savings compared to previous lines – thanks to its innovative drive system with two electrically coupled, freely programmable pressure points without gear transmission. As well as shedding half its former weight, the intelligent energy management system and integrated energy recovery of the new Crossbar Robot 4.0 for automating press lines also make it 50 percent more energy-efficient than the previous model, according to recent studies. A new linear hammer featuring servo technology enables savings of 20 percent compared to conventional forging hammers. By retrofitting existing equipment, Schuler Service can quickly tap considerable energy savings potential.
The energy costs of a press are not only restricted to electricity consumption, however, but include resources such as air and cooling water. “As a systems supplier, we take an holistic approach,” explains CTO Joachim Beyer. “We are capable of improving the energy requirements of all important metalforming processes and systems solutions. Ecoform lays the foundation for sustainability and energy efficiency in the press shop.”