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“The objective of the alliance is to achieve energy
savings of up to 50% during the automotive
production process.”
Dr. Jan Bredau, Head of Development Systems, Festo
VDE GMA) as well as the Energy Saving
Services from Festo that are used by
many companies are helping to ensure
that there is more clarity with respect to
energy costs and are thus paving the
way for greater energy efficiency.
Green Carbody
The production process alone accounts
for 20% of a vehicle’s entire energy
consumption over its lifetime. To reduce
this percentage, 60 companies in Ger-
many joined forces to create the “Green
Carbody Technologies” innovation
alliance. “The objective of the alliance
is to achieve energy savings of up to 50%
during the automotive production pro-
cess,” says Dr. Jan Bredau from Solutions
Product Management at Festo.
In the “planning the efficient use of com-
pressed air” subproject, Volkswagen,
Boge Compressors, Festo and the Fraun-
hofer Institute for Machine Tools and
Forming Technology (IWU) aim to save
energy in compressed air applications.
Compressed air is used in these systems
primarily for welding tongs, grippers,
toggle lever clamps, pin pulling cylinders
and other cylinders. More is required for
the process, for example during laser
welding.
Analysing compressed air consumption
Energy consumption can be significantly
reduced through detailed analysis of
compressed air consumption in body
construction, better coordination be-
tween the generator and consumer sides,
simulation-based configuration as well
as energy monitoring and diagnostics.
Consumption data is recorded, solutions
for improving energy efficiency are de-
termined and losses due to planning and
operation are identified.
Tools for estimating compressed air con-
sumption during the planning phase help
to ensure optimum and energy-efficient
coordination between the generator and
consumer sides in compressed air appli-
cations. “Other automotive manufactur-
ers have now also expressed an interest
in these successful energy-saving tools,”
explains Werner Reichelt, Head of Auto-
motive Management at Festo.
50% less energy
Electric motors account for around 70%
of all industrial energy requirements.
However, there is no reliable differentia-
tion for the energy consumption of elec-
tric motors in handling technology, nor is
there precise data for the distribution of
compressed air technology.
The experts working on the joint project
“Energy Efficiency in Pneumatic and
Electric Production Systems” (EnEffAH)
expect savings of up to 50% for electric
motors and compressed air systems.
Supported by the Federal government,
EnEffAH is drafting energy-saving con-
cepts and plant optimisation procedures
for pneumatic and electrically driven
handling systems with companies such
as Kaeser Kompressoren, Cooper Tools
and Festo as well as institutes of the Uni-
versity of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer
Institute.
Blue Competence of the VDMA
The “Blue Competence” sustainability
initiative of the VDMA has already led to
significant improvements in efficiency
in plant construction and engineering.
Compared with the level of consumption
in 2000, the products manufactured
by the mechanical and plant engineer-
ing industry today are already allowing
energy savings to be achieved which are
equivalent to the electricity demand of
all 48 million households in Germany,
Austria and Switzerland.
According to the VDMA, the use of in-
novative machinery and plants will allow
these savings to be doubled in ten years.
The various trade associations of the
VDMA want to use Blue Competence to
raise public awareness of energy effi-
ciency and to highlight the savings being
achieved by the technology leaders in
industry.
The efficiency initiatives introduced by
German industry are being used both
individually and collectively to identify
savings potential. They can help compa-
nies to drive sustainable business prac-
tices and efficient use of resources. The
net result is an investment that is good
for the environment and the company
balance sheet.
www.eneffah.de
www.bluecompetence.net
www.vdi.eu
How does Festo
contribute to energy
efficiency?
Festo experts give
their opinion …
1.2012
trends in automation
Impulse
18 – 19