He laments that compressed air still too often appears at the bottom of the priority list, even though it represents 20% of a factory's consumption.
“Air is considered a free resource. As a result, compressed air runs 24/7, consumption is rarely monitored, components are often oversized, and leaks are frequent: this escaping air represents wasted energy and lost revenue. Yet, simply looking into the matter is enough to quickly achieve savings without having to mobilize significant resources. This can represent tens of thousands of euros per year for a small cooperative and several million for global players with numerous production sites,” he adds.
Cédric Lemoine of SMC also points to two other reasons why the subject of compressed air is neglected: firstly, the purchasing organization, which doesn't sufficiently value the economic benefits of components such as fittings, which are supplied as consumables; and secondly, the lack of initial training on the subject for technicians and engineers. "Pneumatic engineering has fewer and fewer experts, which is a shame because there are many performance improvements to be made," he explains.
The standard pressure for industrial machines is currently 7 bar, whereas it would be perfectly possible to operate at 5 or even 4 bar. This is certainly the view championed by Cédric Lemoine: “If we work together, we can achieve this goal and reduce compressed air energy consumption by more than a third. I have already participated in machine upgrade projects, in partnership with OEMs and end customers, for which we achieved significant improvements. The next step, in my opinion, is to involve compressor manufacturers in our work to redefine new, energy-efficient standards. Without them, there's a glass ceiling we won't be able to break through.”
The main applications that can be worked on are, in order of importance, blowing (ejection, cleaning), pneumatic cylinders, and vacuum gripping, which together account for 65% of compressed air consumption. "Blowing is by far the most energy-intensive area; it's an excellent candidate for initial optimization work, especially since it is regularly reviewed from a hygiene and safety perspective," explains Cédric Lemoine.
There are enough good practices and simple technical solutions to put the subject of compressed air back at the top of the pile, so will you make it a priority for the start of the new school year?
