Application of a New Management and Control Methodology for High Energy Saving in Hydraulic Bending Presses

This paper deals with the application to bending presses of a new methodology, conceived by the authors, aimed to improve the overall efficiency of hydraulically actuated systems. Besides the control system devoted to the motion control of the hydraulic servo–axis, the methodology is based on an additional control system for the regulation of the supply pressure, by means of a controlled hydraulic power supply. Thanks to the introduction of this new control system, the methodology allows a significant reduction of the power losses across the main elements of the hydraulic circuit, leading to high energy savings. The performances of the methodology an industrial bending press have been evaluated considering its typical working cycle in terms of both actuator displacement and actuator required force. The analysis has been performed through numerical simulations in which a conspicuous energy saving of about 50% has been obtained, suggesting that a significant carbon footprint reduction is achievable for energy-intensive hydraulic machinery like the one considered in this paper.