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Founded in Imola in 1919, today present with 80 production, sales and service companies in 27 countries and around 4,600 employees – these are the impressive key figures of the SACMI Group. At the parent company SACMI Imola, the R&D activities and in particular the mold-making department for the Rigid Packaging Technologies business unit are located. Process automation and control are part of the philosophy here.
A Diverse Product World
SACMI’s more than one-hundred-year history is marked by success. As part of the famous Northern Italian tile region, the company is a leader in the design, production and development of machines and complete systems for the ceramics industry, including tiles, sanitary ware and tableware. Crown caps, which seal millions of beverage bottles worldwide, are also produced on machines made by SACMI. The product was invented in the 1950s and led to the company achieving a global monopoly position. Since the 2000s, solutions for the development of caps, containers and preforms have also been added. The core activities of machine and mold development for Rigid Packaging Technologies take place at the same site in Imola, the heart of research and development for the entire SACMI Group.
Technology for Rigid Packaging
The 4,000-square-meter mold-making department for the Rigid Packaging Technologies business unit is managed by Marco Fattorini, Head of Production. “We employ around 90 staff here and the same number of machine tools,” he explains. “In total, we carry out around 250,000 hours per year of high-precision machining in the micrometer range.” SACMI supplies multinational beverage manufacturers and produces machines for manufacturing caps, preforms and containers, as well as complete assembly systems and equipment for cutting and folding tamper-evident bands.
“Our mold-making department carries out the complete machining process here,” Marco Fattorini explains. “It ranges from internal and external grinding to hard turning, from high-speed milling to sink and wire EDM, through to manual polishing and deburring and vacuum heat treatment, including quality measurement and control. In some of these processes, EROWA products have now become an important partner.”
The Philosophy of Total Automation
“Our company recognized the current market signals early on and understood how to respond accordingly,” explains Marco Fattorini. “They point towards digitalization and total automation. We have made this approach an integral part of SACMI’s entire offering, from design to sales and beyond.” The EROWA manufacturing philosophy and products therefore fit perfectly with SACMI’s strategy, which aims to improve product quality and machine versatility.
“Our production islands are running almost 24/7, and thanks to automation and control, unmanned operation is constantly being expanded,” says Marco Fattorini. The automated processes are part of an overarching smart factory concept.
“At SACMI, the smart factory is already a reality in a constantly evolving market. Intelligent and connected processes also mean that new products can be developed in the shortest possible time while guaranteeing the highest quality to customers. One example is the so-called tethered caps. According to EU regulations, these caps must in future remain attached to the beverage bottle even after opening, to prevent them from entering the environment. We provide what is needed to help our customers make this technological transition.”
EROWA Technology Takes Hold
EROWA technology entered the company around the year 2000, initially with mechanical clamping systems. In 2017, an EROWA Robot Compact 80 was installed on a GFAC laser machine. Finally, in 2019, the linear EROWA Robot Dynamic 150L solution was installed, supplying three Mitsubishi EA8 die-sinking EDM machines.
“That was a decisive step,” Marco Fattorini states convincingly. “In addition to the superior quality and versatility of the solution, which allows us to further reduce guaranteed tolerances, the system stands out due to its scalability and modularity.” The linear Robot Dynamic platform makes it possible to integrate additional machining centers into the existing production cell over time. “And that is exactly what we have already planned. A fourth die-sinking EDM machine will soon be integrated!”
In addition, in June 2020, an EROWA Robot Compact 80 was integrated into the department, this time combined with a Röders high-speed milling cell. Here too, the magazine capacity and thus the performance of the cell are to be expanded in the medium term.
“EROWA technology has made a decisive contribution to SACMI’s strategy of increasing product quality and machine versatility by enabling the design of production islands that operate around the clock, even when no operator is present,” emphasizes the department head.
JMS 4.0 as the Central Hub
For years, every part leaving SACMI Imola’s mold-making department has been marked with a numeric and QR code that provides essential machining information (production plant, order number, revision status, part number, etc.). From both a quality and full traceability perspective, EROWA is a valuable partner with its JMS 4.0 process control system.
The system is used both in die-sinking EDM and in the milling cell. “Increasing plant output and improving production planning through integration into the company’s ERP system are among the main advantages,” explains Marco Fattorini.
“Operators receive all relevant process parameters via the JMS 4.0 panel. The software allows us to plan the various processes very efficiently and optimize them at every stage. In addition, the system provides valuable information about the service life of the resources used, from tools to electrodes. This is a fundamental aspect when working with tolerances in the thousandth of a millimeter range, where critical problems and deviations in the process must be identified in advance.”
As a result, the department has maintained an error rate below 1% for years and has achieved continuous improvement in performance indicators.
Efficient into the Future
Marco Fattorini concludes with satisfaction: “SACMI has achieved its ongoing objectives. Efficiency across the entire manufacturing process has been significantly improved. In this context, we also speak of OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness). This measurable value is composed of the performance indicators of our systems in terms of versatility and availability, while simultaneously reducing sources of error. This figure is also displayed in the dashboard of the EROWA JMS 4.0 control system.”
“These results fully reflect the spirit of intelligent manufacturing. It is a process that is naturally still ongoing and in which the company will continue to invest in the coming years.”
