CNC optimize their machines with DAZOQ
CHALLENGES & GOALS
"We want to base our decisions on facts"
CNC, specialists in wood and sheet products, faced the challenge of understanding and optimizing their energy consumption in the production facility. The high energy prices the previous autumn were the initial driving force to start measuring and identifying the biggest energy thieves, as well as becoming more energy-efficient and sustainable in general. CNC also wanted to know how efficiently their machines were running throughout the day and saw a significant need for the machine availability feature. "It's challenging to streamline your production when you don't have facts as the basis for change. I tried to follow it up using the operators' estimations, but that's hard to gauge, and the numbers didn't come anywhere close to the actual situation. The estimations were close to 100% efficiency, which doesn't leave much room for improvement. We've contemplated using time cards, it's time-consuming and doesn't suit our needs. So, being able to track machine availability through DAZOQ EI is a perfect solution." – Timmy Ljung Stein
ACTIONS
"I thought it was just a small amount, insignificant, before I realized that almost half of the compressor was consumed by the purge air from the machines!"
"With the help of the system, we've seen the significant impact of shutting off the main valves on all the machines. Before, it was considered secondary: 'Let it leak a bit, it's just small amounts!' But the system revealed that nearly half of the compressor's load came from the purge air of the machines. By shutting off the main valves on the machines not in use, we can reduce the compressor's consumption from 22kW to 11kW. This is particularly crucial on the days when we don't use all the machines. Thanks to this and similar measures, we now have much lower consumption." – Thomas Lundén. CNC has also implemented variable frequency drives on large electric motors to reduce unnecessary energy consumption. The measurements have provided insights into the compressor's power consumption, resulting in a compression of the production time for it.
RESULTS & INSIGHTS
Now CNC can establish realistic goals and strategies
CNC's decision to take control of their energy usage has so far saved them almost 50,000 kWh per year, a reduction of 25%. They now plan to focus on reducing air consumption and implementing additional measures to optimize their machines' running times. CNC is pleased with the results and DAZOQ EI's ability to provide insight into their energy consumption. "The most important thing is the transition from merely guessing about electricity usage to having concrete data to support our decisions." – Thomas Lundén. They also appreciate the opportunity to receive email reports about their energy consumption and see this as a valuable tool for tracking and optimizing their energy usage over time.
With the help of DAZOQ EI's new feature machine availability they have now started measuring the efficiency of the machines and can see how much they produce during the day. Something that Production Manager, Timmy, considers an incredibly valuable insight. "Now we have concrete data and can set realistic goals and strategies for how we should work more on efficiency. It's really spot on." – Timmy Ljung Stein
FUTURE OUTLOOK
An everlasting system for improvements
CNC will continue to monitor its production to become more energy-efficient and contribute to a more sustainable world. In the near future, they are planning a workshop in collaboration with Produktionslyftet and their Lean experts to involve all machine operators in understanding how the machines are operated and how to proceed. "I believe it will greatly enhance our efficiency. Now that we have precise figures, we can say: This is how it looks. The machines run for x hours a day. How can we help you streamline? What obstacles do you see? Without measurement, it's impossible to make claims about how the machines were operated before. It becomes a pure guessing game. Now we have a clear understanding that we want to increase efficiency by 2% at a time, and it's truly amazing that DAZOQ EI has provided us with that insight." – Timmy Ljung Stein