Why digitized manufacturing is the answer to rising energy costs

In recent years, energy costs have increased significantly and this has an impact on all industries and companies. One way to counteract this trend and save energy is to digitize manufacturing. In this technical article, we will look at how digitized manufacturing can be an answer to rising energy costs and what benefits it offers companies and machining operations in terms of saving energy.

The manufacturing industry is an important pillar of the economy and contributes significantly to economic growth, but it also consumes a lot of energy and resources. Rising energy costs in recent years have impacted the cost structure of companies in the industry. In addition, the use of fossil fuels is increasingly criticized for contributing to global warming. In order to reduce their energy consumption and make their processes more energy efficient, companies in the manufacturing industry are under pressure to take measures to save energy.

One way to meet these challenges is to digitize manufacturing. Through digitization, companies can optimize their processes and thus reduce energy consumption. Digitization also makes it possible to minimize the use of materials and resources and thus reduce costs.

But reducing energy costs and resource consumption are not the only important reasons for digitizing manufacturing. Digitization also makes it possible to improve the quality and efficiency of production and thus increase the competitiveness of companies. Through digitization, companies can automate their processes and thus reduce the error rate.

All companies have to find ways of getting by with less fossil energy and higher prices in the long term. While many processes hardly allow any energy savings, savings can certainly be achieved at other adjusting screws. Greater efficiency is the way out of the crisis. It starts with avoiding unnecessary lighting and ends with cutting off unproductive machine hours. For example, a lot of energy can be saved if work can be done in two shifts instead of three, and if energy-intensive machines, heating and lighting can be left off overnight.

Hoffmann Group is a system provider of industrial tools and, in addition to its well-known tool portfolio, also offers digital products that increase production efficiency. Connected Manufacturing - a software focused on production order management and cutting tool management - enables the company to machine components more efficiently and thus save energy.

Connected Manufacturing has a direct positive impact on the energy balance by raising efficiencies in manufacturing. The scope of the software is aimed in particular at tasks in the areas of

• Job planning
• CAM programming
• Work preparation
• Tool presetting
• Manufacturing with digital transfer of part programs and tool data

These offer some of the greatest potential today in terms of efficiencies.

On the one hand, Connected Manufacturing enables a better overview of which job is advanced on which machine and how. This means that downtimes can be avoided if orders and their upstream and downstream work steps are cleverly distributed among the machines.

On the other hand, Connected Manufacturing offers innovative tool management which, among other things, records the condition of the tools during order processing. Optimal tool scheduling prevents tools from being unavailable because they have not been re-purchased or are being used in another machine. In addition, the rapid localization of tools shortens search times. This means that setup times can be drastically reduced and optimized. Machines are not unnecessarily in standby mode, but efficiently convert the energy consumed into output.

A company that reduces setup times and optimizes machine times can produce more in the same amount of time or even the same amount in less time - machines can be shut down and working hours can be shortened without sacrificing output.

3D Signals, for example, networks all machines and thus provides insights into ongoing production. The current capacity utilization of the factory, bottlenecks that slow down processes, throughput times - everything is automatically recorded and displayed in a dashboard. This also helps to make processes run more smoothly and avoid unnecessary energy consumption.

• Reduce setup times through optimized tool and fixture management as well as the use of digital transmission techniques from systems such as CAM or presetting devices into the production machine itself - and thus reduce complex manual processes.
• Optimization of the manufacturing process chain through coordinated work steps with provision of the right information at the right place at the right time.

The rest of the Go Digital Store portfolio also helps to optimize production - which in turn saves time and thus energy. Whether the NC programmer can go home earlier or the machines run for a shorter time: Together, these small measures have a big impact and lead to significant savings in energy consumption. In this way, companies can make their processes more energy efficient and thus reduce costs.