f f i f f i ENERGY MANAGEMENT: AII-electr ic machines

he cost of energy hasconventionally been between4 and 5 per cent of the costof a moulding, but this is

s-Epar excelfenc€Rising TeW prics$-i$ a srucial issus with the plastiepruoessills ierdu*try. As a resurt, the necd to *onitl,,nJreduce sn*rgy consumptinn rras [eccmrlnor* impcrtantthan ever. Ttris has given rise to n** i***lopments irthe tniectien moutding indusrry, iid ;,L;;_d uffi ;;mculding machines. Avani Jain inalyses trre enectiven*ssof these m*ehines in acfrieving un*rgr *#*iency.

increasing rapidly with rising energ.yprices. To remain competitive, a businessmust have an effective e:process. Thus, the ffiyf'ff:nTenerg.y efficiency, which has led topopularisation of electric iniectionmoulding machines.

Earlier, hydraulic injection mouldingmachines ruled the market, but witfrthe advancements in technolog;,,, variousnew developments are now taking place.Currently, all-electric machines aremaking inroads into the Indian market,with a 4-5 per cent share oftotal injectionmoulding machinery sales. Their demandis expected to increase in the nearfuture due to their energ.y efficiency,greater-deanliness, quick start_up, betterrepeatability and noiseless operations.

fltltxilf;t#ffi:'j"t* iniection injection moulding machines are said to

rh. ;;;;.*;;b1v;en the two is H"itr i,l.#_?r'r..ffTfl" ;the use of servo motors in electric injection on trr. ,.rouang and the machine.moulding machines as against the use ofpumps in hydraulic injection moulding lhe plus polntsmachines. Rohan Shrikant Shahani Ail_"t..rrl. machines have severalRegional Director - South E*t A;i;; .Jrrrrrr.r., over hydraulic machines.Machine Point Consutt*t, st, ..f, ,lih.

,.*o motor used in an electric"Energy consumption in drfferent inlection ,*"t rrr. only drives ,h. Ji required forfflI::tchinestepends

on how the th. *o.r.irrg process, crearing a directorrvesarepowered'Theproduct type,size exchange oi..r"rgy and ensuring ressand material can be a large contributor to enelthe dirf.erence. i,' .,,.,sv consumprion. A,".i3;'ilyJir"-fi:;J".i:lJl*conventional hydraulic machine ur., orr" the electric machine eriminates the needor more pumps as a central unit to drive for hydraulic

"ri; ;;;;;;; the need tothe machine' Two of-the

-*, ,""*firr ,lor", airpo.., miintain

"rrd .oor the oir.aspects of a hydrauric machine are the All-erectric machines eriminate the needarchitecture of the s;ntem and the wasted . fol cooring the hydraulic system, besidespump power when there is no demand. In the associated equipment requirementscontrast, all-electric machines reduce losses andby using htsh;;;;;;;

-:io,. to d,ive -"u.',T?"T"i

',1,::::#:t"ir%:injection moulding processes." Al-elssu'... hydraulic machines. All_electric machines

! *o*"rr: pla**i*e & F*tym*rs I November 2011

WAll-electr ic machines

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Rohan Shrikant ShahaneRegional Director - South East Asia,Machine Point Consultants SL

&* m*rc'xp*rmd &* $md$m, tfum**r*xmmd f*r m*$"*$e**r$*€m$***&mm rwmm$dF*rg snwsfu $ss*Fs fuEgtu $m m€fu*r *maxsx*r$es $$k*$epe* wken* Sffi pcn *srt* w$&fue mc**$s&sB&$ ffitr# $m$**€$wnxmww*d*rag swms$x$sles.

V RameshChief Executive Officer, Negri Bossi SACMIEngineering (lndia) Pvt Ltd

produce less noise as it does not havepumps. The plumbing piping to theplant can be greatly reduced for newconstruction. Moreover. these machinesare more precise and good for repetitiveoperations," notes Shahane.

All-electric machines allow machinemovements to be integrated direcdy withthe control system. This greatly improvesmachine set-up, adjustment and processcontrol. These machines use less water,and, depending on the product, waterconsumption can be reduced by up to 65per cent. Generally, all-electric machinesrequire less maintenance as compared tohydraulic machines. Overall, all-electricmachines have a relatively lower risk offailure and are easy to maintain thanconventional machines. Thus, all-electricmachines can significantly reduce energyconsumption and production cost formany mouldings. These machines are usedin applications that require high precision,eS, engineering and pharmaceuticalapplications.

DemeritsDespite the many advantages of all-electric machines, these do have certaindisadvantages, which might hampertheir demand. Shahane observes. "Themarket barrier of accepting all-electricmachines is the cost differential betweenhydraulic and all-electric machines, whichis almost 40 per cent. However, of late,this price has dedined by 70-20 per cent.Although all-electric injection mouldingsexhibit superior efficiency in the plasticsmanufacturing process, these cannot beused in applications that require highspeed and high damping forces."

Demand scenarioThe higher cost of electric injectionmoulding machines than the conventionalhydraulic systerrx' limits their usage. VRamesh, Chief Executive Ofiicer, NegriBossi SACMI Engineering (India) PvtLtd, says, "Of the total injection mouldingmachinery market in India, electricinjection moulding machine constitutesonly a small percentage. As compared toIndia, the demand for all-electric iniection

moulding machine is high in othercountries like Japan where 90 per centof the machines are injection mouldingmachines. As a result, the governments inthese countries have subsidised the priceof these machines for end-users."

Adding to this, Shahane says, "InIndia, people prefer to buy machinesthat are less costly and bear the highmaintenance cost throughout the year.Although the capital investment inelectric injection moulding machineappear to be huge in the beginning, thereare no further costs involved with them.Thus, despite being energy efficient, thescope of these machines in the Indianmarket seems limited at present." hecontinues, "But with the growth in auto,medical and electric & electronic sectors.the investment in all-electric machinesis expected to increase. This growth willbe fuelled by productivity improvement

initiatives due to manpower shortage, wageinflation and higher power availability."

New technologes for greaterefficienciesWith the rising focus on energymanagement, companies are lookingbeyond electric injection mouldingmachines. "For this purpose, new machineslike the Canbio VS series with electro-hydraulic system comprising servo-drivenmotor and variable displacement pump areproduced by Negri Bossi," says Ramesh.Through complete digital control, CanbioVS provides high moulding accuracy andimproved repeatability of the mouldedparts. The use of digital variabledisplacement pumps with integratedelectronic control of pressure and speedpermits higher energy savings.

"These machines are close to electricinjection moulding machines and cansave more energJr' & other costs. Thisgives them an advantage over electricinjection moulding machines, which areexpensive and have certain limitations,"details Ramesh. Thus, in future, energymanagement concerns are expected to risefurther and machines with higher outputand lower power consumption per unitwill lure customers worldwide. ffi

@ ruto*l*rn Fia**ios & Fofyru*rs I November 2011