A drive system developed by Schuler in Germany (www.schulergroup.com) can reduce the energy consumption of hydraulic presses by up to 60%.

Called Efficient Hydraulic Forming, the new technology automatically offers energy savings in all operating phases, without the need for any action by the machine operator.

Its stand-by function ensures that the main drives are automatically switched off when not required — as soon as no energy is needed for the forming process. In addition, energy is only supplied to the auxiliary functions when it is actually needed, which minimises the energy loss from idling.

Thanks to the efficiency-optimised modular hydraulic system and energy recovery, EHF technology also has lower cooling needs. Moreover, the energy stored in the system does not remain unused but is fed back into the production process.

The largest forging press in Switzerland, which has been in operation for almost a year, already features EHF technology.

With a press force of 3,000 tonnes, it can handle workpieces weighing up to 4 tonnes and operates at speeds up to 40spm.

While the force and the output of this press are substantially larger than the press that it replaced, the energy consumption remains virtually unchanged — thanks to EHF.