Reduce energy consumption with the adaptive system pressure reduction from Netstal. With the retrofittable option, you can reduce manufacturing costs and lower your company's CO2 footprint.
Initial situation:
This case study is about a 26/22 cap for carbonated beverages (GME 30.38), which is produced with a 96-cavity mold on an CAP-Line 4500-2900 (Elios). The HDPE cap weighs 1.46 grams and the cycle time is 2.95 seconds.
Solution from Netstal:
With active system pressure reduction, the energy consumption of the machine was reduced by 14.6 % in our comparative test. Due to the reduced adaptive system pressure, which is always based on the optimum operating point, only as much hydraulic energy is provided as is necessary for the product (see information box below).
In the test run, we were able to impressively demonstrate that production becomes more energy-efficient without any loss of stability and reliability. The system pressure reduction leads to lower operating costs, more sustainable production and is quickly amortized.
Chart legend:
- p2 = upper system pressure (today 250bar)
- p1 = lower working pressure or system pressure
- p0 = precharge pressure
Adaptive system pressure reduction
The hydraulic system of Netstal injection molding machines is designed for a maximum operating pressure of 250 bar in order to be able to cope with peak loads without any problems. Depending on the application requirements, a lower pressure would also be sufficient. In this case, this was an operating pressure of 170 bar, which ensured an optimum effect with the still high basic dynamics of the injection unit. This is where Netstal comes in with the new system pressure reduction and optimizes energy efficiency. In automatic mode, the adaptive control system determines the optimum point at all times and adjusts the system pressure accordingly. The energy consumption for providing the system pressure is reduced to a sensible minimum while maintaining the same level of productivity. This saves electricity costs, improves economy and reduces the CO2 footprint of your production.