Kitamura Recognized for Best Energy Saving Technology

Kitamura Machinery (Wheeling, IL), the premier manufacturer of precision horizontal, vertical and 5-axis machining centers, can proudly point to the prestigious 20th Japan Industrial Machining Union Award from the Japan Machinery Federation in the category of ?best energy saving technology? as evidence of the company?s focus on ecological efficiency. Kitamura is the only machine tool manufacturer to receive this since the award?s inception in 1980.

The company earned the award for its use of gear-driven spindles. Kitamura?s gear drive technology has demonstrated energy savings of between 40 and 50 percent in kilowatt hours (Kwh) when compared with the direct drive or integral spindles commonly used in the industry.

The energy savings come primarily from the fact that the gear drive allows Kitamura to use the right size motors to drive the spindles. By comparison, in order to get the same cutting capacity as a gear-driven spindle, direct drive and integral spindles must use an oversized motor which draws at a much higher power consumption rate. . By stepping through gears, Kitamura machining centers are able to generate high torque at low speeds for heavy-duty cutting as well as the high spindle speeds required for fine finish work.

"Being ecologically efficient has always been important to us, but it?s especially pertinent in the current economic climate,? said Dr. Akihiro Kitamura, Ph.D, the company?s President. ?Having the ability to help our customers reduce energy consumption while also improving quality, lowering costs and increasing productivity is what makes Kitamura machining centers so highly valued in the industry."

The Japan Machinery Federation (Nihon Kikai Kougyou Rengokai, or NIKKIREN) is a nationwide organization of the Japanese machinery and engineering industry. Every year the JMF presents awards to companies or groups of companies judged to have contributed to the promotion of efficient use of energy by developing and commercializing superior energy-saving machines. The award is typically given to measuring machinery or CNC manufacturers, making Kitamura?s recognition for its machining centers unique.

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