Clean water at twice the efficiency.

Finnvoda EMPRO

Finnvoda EMPRO, commercialized in different sizes, is an attractive all-in-one solution as customers want flexible solutions, and requirements differ significantly by location. Installation is effortless with simple instructions or with the help of professional installation service. Servicing and yearly maintenance have been made easy and low-cost compared to other solutions on the market. Even with such effortless maintenance and installation, these high-tech devices have multiple patented ideas hiding in them. EMPRO-advanced technology has been used all over Finland. There are already nearly a thousand water purification devices in family homes, holiday cabins, and the brewery and restaurant industries.

Water purification systems for every household, summer cottage, or entrepreneur. A fundamental tool when there is no connection to a municipal water network or the quality of water is sub-par. EMPRO systems are designed to be used in nordic conditions utilizing reverse osmosis; the purification systems can make refreshing, high-quality drinking water out of any natural water resource. Salt, well, and freshwater sources are all suitable.

Finnvoda’s water purification devices by size class. From left to right: EMPRO-100 (for summer cottage), EMPRO-250 (for home or leisure apartment), EMPRO-500 (for companies), and EMPRO-4000 (for industry and demanding professional use)

Out with the old, in with the new

“Typical devices aimed at the consumer market invariably contain the same problems, which are considered characteristic of the devices, such as a low yield percentage and almost zero tolerance for iron and manganese. Competitors’ equipment needs to be aided with additional pre-filtration, mass filters, and water softeners, and concentrate recycling is almost never done. If it’s done, it’s done in a very inefficient way. We have solved all of these problems in EMPRO devices,” says long-line product designer Jorma Mustalahti, involved in the development work from the beginning.

The yield percentage is a surprisingly decisive factor in devices. The rate describes the amount of purified water to the amount of raw water passing through the machine. The amount of water passing through the equipment significantly affects the lifetime of the pre-filters, membrane, and water pump and thus substantially increases maintenance costs. In addition, energy consumption with a raw water pump multiplies with a low yield percentage. The yield of the well also, in many cases, limits or completely prevents the use of a low-yielding device.

The aim is usually to increase the yield by feeding a part of the concentrate back into the raw water supply, resulting in an increase in pre-filter change interval, oversizing the pump, and increasing energy consumption. The yield of a typical device is usually within 20-25%, while with the EMPRO device, it is around 50%.

The products printed by Materflow have played an essential role in product development. Thanks to the parts and other technology, Finnvoda’s equipment cleans water significantly more efficiently than competitors.

Materflow’s 3D-printed component is critical to the device’s concentrate recycling technology. The part enables side water generated during cleaning to be recirculated into the device’s cleaning process, effectively doubling the yield percentage of the device compared to typical devices on the market.

“I turned the first part out of apple wood as a test version, which was fun but strenuous. Materflow handles the job with 3D printing much more efficiently”, laughs one of the developers of EMPRO devices and the company’s CEO Esko Aulanko.

In addition to designing and manufacturing 3D prints, Materflow helps companies understand and incorporate the possibilities of 3D printing into businesses, design, and mechanical engineering solutions.