Energy efficiency improvement of industrial parts washers using state control

Abstract

In recent years, the energy efficiency topic drastically increased its relevance in manufacturing industry management. One of the most supported strategies to reduce the energy consumed by manufacturing equipment is the machine state control during idle periods, triggering the machine in a standby state with low power request. This approach is aimed at reducing system energy consumption while not jeopardizing the overall production rate and it is referred to as energy efficient control (EEC). Policies implementing EEC techniques are proven to be effective in a manufacturing system but have been tested only for assembly and machining operations. This work is focused on industrial parts washers: widely used machines in manufacturing with significant energy consumption associated. The objective is to demonstrate the applicability and the potential of EEC strategies when applied to washing processes. Proper EEC policies are identified for an industrial parts washer operating in a real production line in the automotive sector. Different scenarios are analyzed and the focus is placed on the effect that these energy efficient actions have on the overall production system in terms of throughput and energy consumption. In this way, the industrial impact of the EEC application on the industrial parts washer is computed by running simulation experiments.