Japanese machine tool manufacturer Okuma is equipping its high-precision CNC machine tools with the energy-saving technologies of ECO Suite Plus, significantly contributing to customers’ efforts to decarbonise their production processes.

It is not only during the manufacturing process that machine tools consume energy. Long idle times, the unnecessary rotation of pumps or the continuous operation of decentralised equipment are also responsible for high resource consumption. This is where Okuma’s ECO Suite Plus comes in, combining four systems that significantly reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.

The ECO Power Monitor enables companies to implement energy-saving measures based on their production data. Okuma’s self-developed OSP control records and logs each machine’s operating status, CO₂ emissions and power consumption. This wealth of data can be analysed and displayed via the ECO Power Monitor, allowing targeted adjustments to resource requirements. This is the basis for the ECO Idling Stop: with this feature, the machine automatically detects the operating status, identifies unnecessary components, and puts them into idle mode when necessary. Since a machine tool’s auxiliary equipment usually consumes a significant amount of energy, this technology allows the machine to be operated in a much more climate-friendly and cost-effective way.

Optimising energy consumption
The operation of other peripherals, such as chip conveyors and extraction systems, can also be adjusted to optimise energy consumption. To do this, companies can use the optional ECO Operation function. This automatically sets the required operating patterns to minimise CO₂ emissions while maintaining productivity. The highly efficient ECO Hydraulics unit is also available as an option. This significantly reduces the machine’s power consumption during operation.

Okuma also uses other advanced technologies developed in-house to reduce energy consumption during machine use and shorten cycle times. These include the Thermo-Friendly Concept, which uses an intelligent combination of control technology and machine design to compensate for unavoidable heat generation, improve dimensional accuracy and thus make even more efficient use of energy.

Calculations show that using Okuma’s energy-saving technologies can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions compared to conventional machine use. This way, Okuma helps companies take a decisive step towards climate neutrality. Reducing energy consumption can result in significant cost savings. This, in turn, can lead to more profitable production.