Digital transformation and high technology for the new SCM’s booth at Xylexpo 2024
Furniture Technologies
SCM and Fontemaggi are two very close companies and not just because they are located in the same area. They are linked by an industrial production model honed in on digitalisation and automation, while still keeping people at the centre of any change. A partnership which went on to become an exclusive outfitting: SCM’s stand at the most recent edition of Xylexpo at the Fieramilano.
A collaboration with its roots in Rimini but with a global vision. One of the fundamental stages along this path taken together is the 2024 edition of Xylexpo at the Fieramilano.
Fontemaggi and SCM are two companies which share not only the area where they originate from - Rimini, traditionally touristy by vocation and with a long-standing international twist - but also an innovative, forward-thinking corporate vision ready to take on change. With this vision Fontemaggi, specialising in temporary design projects for trade fairs, conferences and events in Italy and abroad, has managed to face head on the toughest periods encountered by this sector, when, in 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic struck and forced them to stop working for a year and a half.
“That period for us linked to the stoppage of all events held in person was truly a watershed moment - explains Katia Celli, CEO and partner at Fontemaggi - And yet, it was during that long and difficult break that we managed to find the strength to re-invent ourselves: from artisan workers, we started to evolve into an industrialised company ready to equip ourselves with the most advanced and digitalised production processes. We did so by keeping people at the centre of this change and asking ourselves how we could attract a new generation of ‘digital natives’ to the company. We put ourselves in their shoes, because people are always at the heart of our business vision, and we started to explore the world of digitalisation and new 4.0 machinery...”.
A journey which took Fontemaggi just a few kilometres from their headquarters in Casalecchio: to SCM. “We examined proposals from several potential partners, and we chose SCM because we found that this company and their team had a vision very similar to our own, placing maximum focus on service and the engineering and digitalisation of product cycles. For us, who with our temporary architectural projects accompany the clients and their brands around the world to trade fairs and events, it is not just a matter of product quality which needs to stand out for its finish, practicality and design. Engineering and digitally controlling the entire process is equally crucial in allowing us to be faster, offering an attractive price and reaching out to new markets”.
A partnership which, over the last few years, has intensified even more, to the point of merging into another ambitious project: the creation of the SCM stand for the latest edition of Xylexpo at the Fieramilano. For the first time ever, SCM has opted to present its technological solutions in a fully multimedia and completely new format, contextualising them in integrated, complete processes and, for its new “home” at the trade fair, from structural elements to furnishings, it chose to place its trust in Fontemaggi.
“We are extremely proud to be able to accompany SCM with this challenge - says Katia Celli on the eve of Xylexpo -. We used SCM software, digital services and machinery to create the stand, so we were partners both at the design stage and its implementation. The project was developed hand-in-hand: we started with the look&feel which is what makes SCM stand out at international trade fairs, and we tried to enhance certain details to give it a finishing and design with a strong Made-in-Italy slant. SCM’s machines, software and digital services allowed us to industrialise the project and they helped us achieve an exclusive outfitting in a very short space of time”.
In recent years, SCM has accompanied Fontemaggi in this significant change of mentality and direction and continues to do so to this day on two fronts: high technology and digital transformation.
Fontemaggi acquired an engineering solution particularly suited to an industry like design outfitting which requires considerable flexibility, customisation and excellent quality.
This is a cell with a “gabbiani gt 3” automatic panel saw, a “flexstore elr” automatic 3-axes storage and a “morbidelli x400” 5-axis cnc machining centre in cell version.
An “olimpic k 560” single-sided automatic edgebander was introduced alongside this system, it too a guarantee of excellent machining quality.
The cell machines mainly multi-layer pieces as well as mdf and chipboard ones.
The panel saw is fast, accurate and guarantees a very high level of performance. In particular, it can move and cut panels of up to 4,250x2,200 mm in size, a significant advantage considering that in the outfitting sector there is a tendency to use very large, lightweight panels to make it easier to lay them on site.
The three-axis automatic magazine offers excellent machining flexibility, allows the control of material to be optimised in a reduced space without sacrificing efficiency and saves material thanks to the automatic management of scraps.
The “flexstore elr” has an automatic labelling system and can control, pick up and handle considerable weights, again in line with the demands from the world of outfitting where the walls tend to have a very high density.
The “morbidelli x400” cnc machining centre is in cell version, with a unique worktable and has a wide range of tools for drilling, routing and nesting to meet every kind of machining requirement, even the most complex ones like the creation of joints to avoid using glue and making it easier to dismantle the furniture for future use.
This cell and the panel saw are normally loaded automatically by the magazine. The programs are prepared remotely by the programming software and are sent to the automatic magazine where the creation of the strips can be dealt with according to the amount of material available. Alternatively, for both machines, the machining can be done locally, with manual loading, implementing the work programs directly from the operator interface. Especially in the case of the “morbidelli x400”, this may be essential for performing further machining work on nested material.
So, these are highly versatile, performing solutions, not just from a technical point of view, but also for the added value given by the combined software and digital services.
Alex Baldassarri is one of the operators at Fontemaggi who first experienced and believed in this change: “Thanks to SCM’s new 4.0 machinery, we have dramatically increased productivity, not just because we have eliminated ‘downtimes’ thanks to the automatic loading and unloading mode, but most of all because, due to the flow of information between the design office and factory with regard to orders for production and the automatic labelling systems in both the panel saw and cnc machining centre, we can control each part, from the project to packaging”.
“Digital transformation has given us a chance to make an important change compared to the past - adds Katia Celli -. The digitalisation of information allows us to eliminate paper, avoid errors when passing information, have more control over the process even remotely and lastly, increase production capacity”.
“Even for the joiners in charge of customising the pieces on the machine, it was a significant change. In the past, projects were delegated in their entirety to them. Now, with the use of software for the design of CAD 3D projects, we deal with the process at source, and this allows us to speed up times and prevent production errors”.
The process starts in the office, at the preparation and design stage of each piece. Marco uses software for CAD 3D designing and two types of SCM software, Maestro cnc and Maestro nesting which from CAD-CAM, thanks to the Maestro 3D advanced Module, import the strips of all the individual furniture parts which will be produced on the cnc machining centre. Stefano, on the other hand, uses Maestro ottimo cut to optimise the cutting phases and panel saw programming.
Both monitor the production in the machine via Maestro connect, SCM’s IoT platform which allows them to pick up any machine stoppages and check the overall condition of the machines and their productivity performance in relation to daily production objectives to be met. All the machines at Fontemaggi are interconnected which means they can benefit from all the advantages offered by Maestro connect. These include the possibility of opening technical support tickets and receiving fast answers from SCM’s service, consulting data on the machines’ production in real time, downloading all the production reports from the application for a later and more in-depth management and internal analysis aimed at making the processes more efficient and saving on costs and materials used.
But, above all, Fontemaggi can further increase the productivity of its machines via the proactive technical support and advisory service provided by SCM through the new Digital Control Room which, thanks to the analysis of data from the thousands of machines connected all over the world and SCM service’s experience, can predict hazardous situations and potential stoppages or breakages, and provide timely advice on what action to take. For example, Stefano was called once by the SCM technicians to check on a potential fault on an edgebander and later received instructions to program the machine in a way that would increase its efficiency. “This collaboration with SCM - concludes Katia Celli - has been successful thanks to the internal cultural change aided by important investments which the company has made in training, and which has led to a remodelling of our technicians and artisans’ skills”.
Once again, it has not just been the technological and digital innovations which have allowed us to achieve new aims: none of this would have been possible without the people and their skills, as is clear from this partnership between Fontemaggi and SCM.
Fontemaggi
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