Energy-efficient laser system, vertical lathes

Saving energy in the metal processing industry isn’t just a question of protecting the environment. For years, energy consumption has been a decisive cost factor capable of surpassing even the investment costs of the machine over the long-term. Moreover, energy costs are always becoming more important. Two current examples from EMAG illustrate some efficient mechanical engineering solutions poised to counter this trend: the ELC 250 DUO welding system and the Platform 2 vertical lathes. They are dramatic examples of the  enormous potential savings that can be achieved in a wide range of applications.

Many users pay most attention to the lifecycle costs of a machine when they want to modernise a production area – and with good reason: if users consider only the initial purchase investment, they will later have to deal with unnecessarily high energy consumption. Experts continue to estimate that the energy costs of a machine tool account for more than 20 percent of total costs incurred over its entire lifecycle.

“To ensure economical production, many factors regarding use of the systems must be taken into account,” explains Dr. Guido Hegener, Managing Director of EMAG Salach Maschinenfabrik. “The factor of energy consumption is becoming increasingly important because we have toexpect energy prices to rise significantly in the future and exert an even greater effect on overall costs than currently,” he added.

Laser welding: an example of efficient design

What technologies can counter these spiraling costs? An area of application with especially high energy consumption yields a dramatic answer: welding. To meet this challenge, EMAG mechanical engineers developed the ELC 250 DUO, a system solution with extraordinarily low energy consumption. At its core is EMAG’s trademark design. Workpieces are picked up by special spindles and moved with high precision during welding while the welding head inside the machine stays fixed in place.

“This has a range of advantages. For instance, additional work processes can be integrated into the system. It also provides very high-precision welding. The design also directly improves energy efficiency,” says  Dr. Andreas  Mootz, Managing Director of EMAG Automation GmbH. It starts with the suction system to remove welding smoke. Since the laser is always located in the same place, smoke is only produced in that one place. This means it can be precisely sucked up and removed with little effort–the first advantage.

Less energy consumption, identical performance

The process itself is responsible for most of the savings – EMAG relies on solid state lasers. Compared to traditional CO2welding, welding with solid state lasers ensures remarkably energy-efficient production processes. While conventional carbon dioxide lasers are rated at only eight percent efficiency, the technology developed by EMAG specialists achieves efficiency of around 20 percent.

In other words, considerably less power is required to achieve the same optical performance. This massively cuts production energy costs by up to 50 percent. This advantage can be further compounded thanks to the intelligent system  design which allows multiple welding modules to be easily arrangedin sequence, which in turn enables rapid production of very high unit quantities. They all share the same laser beam source, which is modified along its path as necessary. This increases the service life of the laser while cutting production costs as well. As welding gas isn’t required, this represents yet another efficiency and energy factor.

“The solid state laser requires no protective  gas for mKobe AD EP Shoes