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View Article in the Publication By Jennifer Roy, Contributing Editor–Design News

Bosch Rexroth, Agentis Energy among environmentally friendly exhibitors at Design & Manufacturing Midwest

Wireless, Web-based energy monitoring system sensors that are helping manufacturers cut energy costs are making their debut at engineering shows this year, most recently during this week’s Green Manufacturing Expo being held during Design & Manufacturing Midwest in Rosemont, IL.

Agentis Energy’s Acuity Solution monitors energy consumption by tracking kilowatt hours in real time and reporting the information back to the company’s customers via a secure Internet connection. The wireless sensor hooks up to any device that uses electricity, according to Agentis CEO Tim Stojka. “It tracks kilowatt usage and can see spikes in current,” he says. “Its primary use is to understand how energy is being consumed and what the cost is by device. We are an energy-efficient company, helping customers to drive energy costs down.”

Stojka says he believes the Acuity Solution, whose target customer is currently manufacturers, will eventually make its way into every business and every home. “The only way to manage (energy) is to measure it and figure out where it’s going,” he says. “We sell it as a solution. (Customers) buy the hardware and they can access the service.”

According to Agentis Energy’s website, no software needs to be installed with the sensors. Customers are notified of current peak usage, peak costs and potential for savings via e-mail, and the Web portal uses a password access system.

Stojka says he believes that while the idea for the sensors may seem simple enough, no one has really come up with the idea until now because, “more people are (now) sensitized to energy cost.”

“The wireless technology is driving the technology – it is a lot less expensive,” he says, “and the hardware investment is low. Ten years ago, there were similar systems available, they were just a lot more expensive.”

Also exhibiting at the Green Manufacturing Expo this year is Bosch Rexroth, whose pneumatics group featured a new compact, lightweight directional control valve that is used to maximize payload in pick-and-place applications.

The valve, which Bosch Application Support Manager Thomas Dwyer says also includes a low-power consumption coil and is made of corrosion-resistant materials, can now be mounted very close to where work is being done, resulting in faster response times and maximizing efficiency by more than 30 percent.

“A lot of times people protect the valve, putting them in remote locations, to prevent slamming, shock and vibration,” Dwyer says. “This valve is designed to be used at the point of use. It eliminates dead volume and waste. Until the last few years, nobody seemed to care (about valve inefficiency).”

According to Dwyer, the directional control valve is used in general automation and material handling applications.