GF AgieCharmilles introduces 'green' EDMs

Unlike many wire EDM machines, especially ones that are equipped with linear motors where power consumption requirements are consistently high and wasteful, the new GF AgieCharmilles FI CCS machines, with high-performance ball screw technology, feature ECONOWATT functionality and can be put into a 'sleep mode' to reduce energy consumption significantly. For rough cutting operations (main cuts) - total power consumption for EDM machines (excluding the power to drive the cooling/chiller-unit – but including the power for the generator, injection pumps, filtration systems, auxiliary pumps etc…is approximately 8 kW. When the FI CCS machines are put into their 'sleep mode' – power consumption drops to just 0.8 kW. Comparative studies undertaken by GF AgieCharmilles between the new energy-efficient machines and competitor machines with linear motors reveal that CCS machines with ECONOWATT can save up to 3,000 kW per year (almost 10 kW per day). This equates to the energy consumed to light and heat a typical house! The studies also revealed that a single EDM machine with linear motors requires (approximately) an extra 2 kVA to run (ie for coils to create/maintain magnetic field and for the machine's cooling coils) and, as such will consume an additional 14,000 kVA over a year. This equates to the annual energy consumption (and costs) required to heat and light four typical houses.