Euromap, the European association of plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers, has revised its Euromap 60 recommendation to enable comparison of the energy efficiency of injection molding machines.

The first part of the revision covers machine-related energy consumption, which follows a two-year project to establish uniform parameters for measurement. It introduces an energy efficiency classification based on two test cycles that take the particular characteristics of fast running machinery and very small machines into account.

There are 10 energy efficiency classes, which will allow injection molders to compare machinery from different suppliers. Harald Weber, secretary of Euromap, said machinery manufacturers are able to assign a class to a machine in its technical documentation.

The second part of the Euromap 60 revision enables molders to determine the energy consumption of a machine in the context of its specific molded products. Euromap said: "The key parameter here is the specific energy consumption in kilowatt-hours per kilogram of plastic processed."

It has provided a method of measurement with defined terms of reference, together with a model for documenting the results. This will allow a molder, when buying a new machine, to tailor a calculation of energy consumption to its own molded products.

Weber said Euromap expert groups are now working on recommendations for measuring the energy consumption of extrusion, blow-molding and thermoforming machines. This work will take some months yet, due to the differences in energy consumption profiles of the various processes.