Experimental investigation of energy saving opportunities in tube bending machines

In the scenario of containing the global warming, devising energy savings strategies in industry has become a proper and urgent matter. Since manufacturing is one of the most energy demanding sectors, research and the linked industries started tackling this issue proposing new eco solutions. In this paper, an experimental investigation of the energy saving opportunities in tube bending machines is performed and critically discussed. The analysis is carried out comparing an electrical tube bender and a hydraulic machine of comparable size. The experimental measured are also used to fit energy models that are used to extend the comparison considering different working conditions of the tube- bending machines. The results show that relevant energy savings can be achieved introducing the electrical drives.