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Need a recommendation on measuring  power consumption of machinery.

Former Member

I am wondering if anyone has a recommendation on what to use to measure how much energy an injection molding machine is using. We have two different sizes of machines and would like to compare the two as we are looking into buying a new one. Because an Injection molding machine has many different servos that are doing different things, there is never constant power being drawn. I would like to hook something up to the machine and have it tell me how many kWh's it used that day. Does anyone know what to use? I know there are things out there, but most of what i have seen is for 110V plug in stuff. I need something for a 240V that is hard-wired. I would like something with alligator clips that I can just clip onto the wires in the cabinet of the machine.

Thanks!

Bryan

  • 0

    Bryan What you need is a kWh meter like the one used where the power enters your house. I would not recommend  using alligator clips. They might become disconnect by vibrations and cause short circuits. You can connect the power cable to the machine to the output side of the meter and connect a new power cable with mains plug to the input side of the meter. The meter can be installed permanently. This way you can measure how much energy the machine has been used since the meter is installed. To compare the power consumption on different machines you can connect a power cable and socket to the meter. This way you can plug in the machine you want to measure to the output of the meter. The largest energy consumers will be the heater elements. The energy consumption of an injection molding machine will depend on how much raw material is used. The only way to compare two machines is when they are making the same amount of the same product. The smaller machine may need more time to do this.

  • 0 in reply to jvdberg@ieee.org

    You don't need to cut any wires or break any ciruits.

    Buy or hire something like this:

     

     

    FLUKE - FLUKE 1735 - ANALYSER, POWER, 57V - 830V, 1A - 10A

     

     

    FLUKEFLUKE 1735
    Image is for illustrative purposes only.
    Please refer to product description

     

     

    Manufacturer:
    FLUKE
    Order Code:
    1272821
    Manufacturer Part No:
    FLUKE 1735

     

    Technical Data Sheet (613.49KB) EN
    Technical Data Sheet (613.49KB) EN

    image

    Although the Farnel headline syas 10A it can handle up to 3000A with the right current measuring clamp.

    MK