On Friday, April 22, people around the world will celebrate the 46th annual Earth Day, with the theme, “Let’s get really big stuff done for our planet.” And while there are multiple ways for individuals to celebrate and participate, the biggest impacts to our environment come not from individuals, but from industry.
Fortunately, some of the largest industrial companies recognize this and have not only developed products and services that improve efficiency and eliminate waste, but have also implemented product development and application concepts that help engineers and designers maximize these benefits. So, to celebrate Earth Day from an automation perspective, here are four companies that supply tools and resources to help machine builders and engineers maximize energy efficiency in their equipments and facilities.
Bosch Rexroth 4EE
The Rexroth for Energy Efficiency (4EE) initiative applies not only to its own manufacturing plants and offices, but also to its products and their application. Rexroth 4EE combines four principals, or levers—energy system design, efficient components, energy recovery, and energy on demand—across all of its technologies, from linear motion and assembly to industrial hydraulics, to ensure that machines and plants are not only productive, but energy efficient.
Emerson Industrial Automation Energy Savings Advisor App
This app allows you to make a comparison between your current motor-drive system and a suitable Emerson solution. It currently allows the user to choose whether the prime mover is a fan, pump, or compressor, but it’s not hard to imagine the addition of ball screws, lead screws, belt drives, and conveyors to the list of systems that can be analyzed.
Festo EnEffAH
Energy efficiency in production in the drive and handling technology field, or EnEffAH, is a joint project funded by the German government, with the goal of “developing methods, tools and products to guarantee energy-efficient automation.” The project includes six partners from industry and academia, with Festo representing automation technology.
This report takes an in-depth look at energy use in automation, from both an academic and a practical standpoint. To avoid TLDR, I’ll refer you to section 3.2: Selection of Suitable Technology, and section 6: Overview of Measures (a summary and index of energy efficient measures outlined throughout in the report).
Schneider Electric Machine Control Solutions
Schneider Electric’s products and services touch many aspects of energy efficiency and sustainability. For example, one of their key objectives is to provide sustainable access to electricity to remote and isolated locations.
Here, their Machine Control group lays out four steps to machine energy optimization: measure, fix the basics, optimize, and monitor. And with their background in energy generation, management, and monitoring, Schneider is able to provide tools and resources for each step of the process.
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