Customer Case Studies

Circular Economy: Oerlikon Spinning Machines' Environmental Contributions in the Processing of Recyled Polyester Fibers

• Diverting around 77 billion PET bottles from landfill
• More than 80% of sustainable carpets are produced by employing Oerlikon machines
• Around 1.2 million tons of recycled polyester fibers produced by using Oerlikon spinning machines
• Saving energy that can be used to supply almost 3 400 homes' eectricity for one year
• Every 4th recycled polyester filament yarn has been manufactured by using Oerlikon machines
• Saving CO₂  emissions equivalent to the consumption of 7.7 million barrels of oil

PARTNERS IN SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING

In traditional bevel gear production, the teeth shape is cut from blanks, which generates an excess of material waste. To reduce these wasted materials, we are partnering with Stockholm’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology and industry partners Scania, Georg Fischer and Buderus Steel to create a more sustainable process for manufacturing bevel gears. Developing a pre-forged blank at the beginning of the process chain with a near net shape geometry of the teeth presented challenges along the process chain. We addressed these with Oerlikon’s primeGear solution, which optimized surfaces and edges with pre- and post-treatments and coatings. The initial results of the project include up to an 80% increase in tool life, material savings of up to 20% of the total weight of the workpiece and reductions in not only material waste, but also in the volume of energy and resources needed for production, machining, transport and recycling. Our experience in the EcoGear project affirms our belief in our capacity for facilitating sustainable innovations and the value of partnerships to drive sustainability forward together.

OERLIKON AND URWAHN TEAM ON AN AM CUSTOM BICYCLE

In November, Oerlikon delivered the 1000th additively manufactured bicycle component to Urwahn, manufacturer of a first-of-its-kind custom bicycle. This milestone is the fruit of several years of collaboration to create a next-generation bike. Its unique features include rear wheel elastic suspension to ensure a comfortable ride, LED lighting integrated in the frame and a GPS tracking system. The frame is protected by a BALINIT CROMA PLUS coating. The project reflects Oerlikon’s commitment to collaborating with a start-up that places strong emphasis on local sourcing (fair frame) and to promoting sustainable mobility and transportation megatrends, such as cycling, which represent a long-term market opportunity.

Hybrid Phantom Technology Delivers Remarkable Sustainable Benefits

The Phantom coform technology is developed by P&G and licensed exclusively to Oerlikon Nonwoven Teknoweb Materials for its further development and commercialization. 

This technology offers a notably simplified productive process and produces disposable substrates by combining coaxMELT (PLA, PP and others) with cellulose pulp. This coform solution does not need hydroentanglement and the ensuing drying, and delivers significant energy and cost savings while still ensuring a high-quality product.

Phantom plants are used to produce high-quality substrates for wet baby wipes, diapers’ absorbent cores and hygienic, medical and filtering products. The disposable wipes produced by Phantom were analyzed by the Manchester University in compliance with ISO standards 14040 and 14044, which provided the sustainable impact of these wipes compared to established complex carded and spunlace systems.

The carbon footprint of the Phantom substrate, according to the study, is 43% lower than the traditional PP spunlace’s footprint: the Phantom’s footprint is equal to 2.95 t CO₂ eq./t, compared to the 5.2 t CO₂ eq./t of the spunlace’s footprint. Furthermore, Phantom uses 40% less energy, low consumption (0.2 m³ versus 2.7 m³ of the spunlace for each T of substrate produced) or waste of water (0 versus 1.1 m³ of the spunlace for each T of substrate) and 10% lower ozone level. With respect to other environmental categories, the Phantom process can lower impacts up to 87%, for example fossil depletion (- 43%), metals and minerals depletion (- 51%), acidification potential (- 57%), human toxicity potential (- 32%), ecotoxicity potential (- 87%) and so on.

Eco-friendly Coating for Award-winning BMW part

Oerlikon Balzers’ coating, based on its ePD technology, is a REACH-compliant alternative to hazardous chromium VI. The coating is used to integrate intelligent function such as camera technology, radar function and other sensors in the new BMW iX’s kidney grille. For this innovative kidney grille, BMW received a Grand Award from the Society of Plastic Engineers.

eAFK REDUCES ENERGY SAVINGS AND CARBON EMISSIONS

Launched in 2019 to create new standards in texturing, the eAFK Evo generation of machines delivers superior speeds, greater productivity and consistently high product quality, along with lower energy consumption and simpler operation vis-à-vis comparable market solutions. The cost-effective, compact eAFK Evo stands at just 4.7 meters but is equipped with a three- or four-deck winding system. Key features also include its EvoCooler controllable cooling unit, which enables even yarn dyeing and, in combination with the HTI heater and connected peripherals, delivers up to 25% energy savings. 

Considering new eAFK Evo machines installed since 2020, a total of 3.8 million kWh of energy has been saved over the past two years, which is the equivalent of 1 840 tonnes of CO₂¹. If all autodoff texturing machines in the market had been substituted by the eAFK Evo, more than 754 million kWh of energy could have been saved in the past ten years, or a reduction of 173 960 tonnes of CO₂¹ emissions.

¹ Calculated based on European energy mix.

3.5 MILLION TONS OF CO2 REDUCTION PER YEAR WITH R-PET FIBERS PRODUCED WITH OERLIKON MACHINES

Every year, more than 70 million tons of manmade fibers are produced. Out of this, around 8.5 million tons stem from R-PET – recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate). R-PET is attributed to reducing the CO₂ footprint of the industry by 25 million tons compared to the petrochemical-based virgin PET. Around 3.5 million tons CO₂ savings are achieved by Oerlikon spinning machines.

NEW COATING MATERIALS REDUCE CO2 EMISSIONS

In 2021, Oerlikon’s Surface Solutions portfolio expanded with the launch of two coating materials that use recycled carbides. In our analysis, we found that sustainable coatings dramatically decrease the carbon emissions created in the production of conventional materials – by 3 620 kg of CO₂ per 10 kg of production. That is equivalent to emissions from the consumption of 407 gallons of gasoline or 3 989 pounds of coal, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas equivalency calculator. In addition, the sustainable coatings provide equivalent low stress abrasion resistance to conventionally produced materials with a lower cost variance associated with fluctuating metal markets. These sustainable coating materials are suited for the oil & gas, agriculture and mining industries.

DISCCOVER JET SOLUTION ON THE ROAD

We have put on the road our brake disc solutions, DiscCover Jet, to reduce fine dust emissions, which are detrimental to health and the environment, and are expected to be regulated. According to test results in passenger cars, DiscCover Jet could reduce fine dust emissions by around 50%, and even better results were seen in certain customer tests. We are also working on improved and more cost-efficient solutions, eg. DiscCover Beam, to help the automotive industry reach fine dust emission targets expected in four to five years with the European vehicle emissions standards – Euro 7.

SAVING AM POWDER WITH TESTING AND BLENDING

For the additive printing of an aerospace antenna, we developed a method to test and blend additive materials, which enables us to save up to 47% of additive manufacturing powder and no powder is wasted compared to the cycle counting method currently used by the industry for such parts.