Less than six months after the delivery of their NOVA eT All-Electric machines, County Durham-based IVM has taken delivery of a 280-tonne model.
The machine was purchased to produced an existing under-seat automotive component, with a visible and textured front face.
The tool previously ran on a modern 270-tonne hydraulic machine achieving a 46 second cycle time, and there were serious quality issues relating to gas being trapped within the tools cavity.
Despite the addition of vents surface defects resulting from burning were at an unacceptable level.
Ian Davidson, IVM Managing Director, said: “People are surprised when we tell them that we chose All-Electric technology primarily to increase productivity and improve the quality of an existing component.”
“We knew that these machines use less energy, are cleaner, quieter and have a much smaller cooling requirement than hydraulic models. These are all contributing factors, but we wouldn’t have made this decision based in these benefits alone.”
“We were confident that the proven advantages of the NOVA eT could help us to resolve both the current quality concern, and reduce the cycle time. Having now eliminated the gas burning issue and also significantly reduced cycle times, we were right to be optimistic.”
“In summary, the NOVA eT is a fast machine when you compare it to a servo-hydraulic equivalent. All movements have a higher acceleration and deceleration curve, which when coupled with the ability to overlap all phases of the mould cycle, equates to great productivity.”
“All-Electric technology comes with a price premiu, only some of which can be justified by energy savings. Shaving 20 per cent of a cycle time is the real benefit to us, as higher productivity means lower part cost and a quicker ROI.”