According to the Federal Statistical Office, the price of industrial electricity in Germany rose by a whopping 25 percent within a year from 2021 to 2022. The price is currently quoted at 26.64 cents per kilowatt hour. If you look back ten years, the price has even increased by 86 percent compared to 14.33 cents/kWh in 2012. Price increases for industrial metals such as copper or aluminum pose additional challenges for manufacturers. In view of these developments, the subject of energy saving is increasingly becoming the focus of machine and system manufacturers. Electric drives in particular offer great potential here.
High efficiency brushless motors and stepper motors
To save energy costs, brushless motors are recommended as a replacement for asynchronous motors. When used 12 hours a day, 300 days a year, an asynchronous motor with an output power of 60 W consumes around 472 kWh. If a brushless motor with a nominal output of 60 W is used instead, consumption drops to 274 kWh – a saving of around 200 kWh. In a larger system with several axes, this quickly adds up and brings significant cost advantages.
In the area of stepper motor drives, similar savings can be achieved by using high-torque stepper motors or highly efficient stepper motor-driver combinations from the AZ series. The latter also serve as a drive in various linear and rotary actuators.
Material savings through compact systems
Further savings are possible with the material used. Compact drives keep the overall application small, which has a positive effect on material costs. Instead of a three-phase asynchronous motor with an output power of 90 W and a flange size of 90 mm, a brushless motor with a nominal output of 120 W can be used as an alternative. This has the same flange dimensions, but a motor length that is around 85 mm shorter. In addition, the brushless motor weighs two kilograms less.
The development of efficient drives with the most compact possible sizes has been a focus at Oriental Motor for many years. In 2008, for example, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) awarded the AR stepper motor series an award for outstanding energy-saving performance.