Automatic spray coating systems represent a significant advancement for all companies, regardless of the sector, seeking increasingly innovative finishing techniques. As the name suggests, these are systems that use automation and data analysis to apply paints, protective materials, and other coatings with precision and efficiency.

Choosing these solutions correctly is essential for organisations aiming to achieve high-quality finishes and improve operational efficiency. The reasons are numerous: firstly, automatic spray coating systems minimise human error. A traditional approach, based on manual techniques, can lead to inconsistencies and unevenness in coating thickness, structure, and finish quality.

In traditional coating methods, variability can arise from factors such as technique, speed, and environmental conditions. Automated systems, instead, reduce these issues thanks to robotics and advanced control systems that maintain stable parameters throughout the process. Operational stability is essential not only for aesthetics, but also for functional performance. Irregular coatings can actually cause problems such as corrosion, wear, and premature deterioration. Moreover, automation increases production without compromising the output quality.

For this reason, the growing demand for high-quality and long-lasting finishes makes investing in automatic spray coating systems a strategic priority for any manufacturer.

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Key technologies and components

The effectiveness of automatic spray coating systems depends on the integration of various technologies and components that work together to optimise all process phases. At the heart of these ecosystems is robotics: precision and repeatability are essential to ensure high-quality results. Robotic arms can be equipped with self-programming features and specific patterns, ensuring that every centimetre of the surface is evenly coated, regardless of shape or size.

Of course, the mechanism could not function without sensors that monitor in real time the essential parameters for proper process operation, such as temperature, humidity, and coating thickness. The sensors allow immediate adjustments during every processing phase.

Control software is also an integral part of the system, including those based on IoT systems and Industry 4.0 principles to collect and analyse data, supporting operators in performance monitoring and process optimisation over time. Thanks to what interconnected machines and systems enable, line managers enjoy greater visibility into operations, improving decision-making and supply chain resilience.

By leveraging these synergies, manufacturing companies can reach previously unthinkable efficiency levels, reducing downtime and cutting operational costs.

Benefits and advantages of automatic spray coating systems

The adoption of automatic spray coating systems brings numerous benefits. The first and most obvious is increased productivity. Automated systems operate continuously, ensuring that output quality is not affected by fatigue or the variability typical of human work. This translates into faster delivery times and greater uniformity in the final product, enabling companies to compete with a reliability that many competitors cannot offer.

Equally important, these systems improve management of the consumables inventory and reduce material waste during processing. By precisely controlling the amount of coating applied, machines minimise overspray and eliminate dripping, common side effects in manual techniques

Uniformity in coating application is essential, especially for products that require specific quality standards, as in certain vertical sectors. Automatic spray coating systems can maintain consistent coating thickness, reducing the risk of defects

Additionally, safety is another important benefit: by reducing the need for manual handling of hazardous materials and exposure to volatile organic compounds, automated systems lead to safer and healthier working environments.

Applications in the main manufacturing sectors

Automatic spray coating systems are being used in an increasing number of industrial sectors, also thanks to digital transformation. Each sector can benefit from these technologies, customising them to meet specific quality and production requirements.

In the aerospace sector, for instance, these systems are essential for applying lightweight and durable coatings, capable of withstanding extreme conditions. Automatically applied coatings ensure each component is treated uniformly, a key factor for aircraft safety and performance.

The automotive industry has also been leveraging the advantages of automated systems for years, achieving high-gloss finishes and protective coatings on vehicles, in compliance with strict safety and durability standards.

In the furniture industry, automatic coating technology enables the rapid application of high-quality finishes on wood or composite surfaces, improving the appearance and lifespan of products while reducing labour costs.

Beyond these more traditional sectors, areas such as electronics and construction are increasingly turning to automated spray coating solutions to improve their finishing processes.

Advanced coating solutions from Cefla Finishing

For years, Cefla Finishing has stood out internationally as a leader in the development of automatic spray coating systems. With a constant focus on precision, customisation and flexibility, we have developed a complete range of tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of various manufacturing sectors.

Cefla Finishing systems are designed to enhance operational efficiency and increase the economic and environmental sustainability of coating lines, while ensuring high-quality finishes.

Cefla’s strengths lie in its ability to integrate cutting-edge technologies such as advanced robotics and intelligent software, enabling operators to easily set up spray programmes and monitor production parameters in real time. These capabilities not only improve the quality of the finish, but also help to reduce waste, making the production process increasingly sustainable.

Future trends in automated spray coating

With our innovative solutions, we have a strong focus on the future, aiming to anticipate the trends that are shaping the landscape of automated spray coating systems. Among the most interesting developments is the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) platforms along the value chain. These systems, thanks to advanced algorithms and databases, will be able to dynamically optimise production processes, further reducing material waste.

Another key aspect is the evolution of automatic spray coating systems in the context of Industry 4.0. As manufacturing becomes smarter, the ability to connect coating systems with other production processes will be essential for more efficient workflow management. Only by harnessing new forms of connectivity will it be possible to achieve improved overall process management.

Whatever the future challenges, one thing is certain: we are ready to support companies with ever-innovative solutions and expertise.

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Industrial Digital Printing is above all highly flexible, suitable for any substrate. A technology that allows you to deliver a just-in-time service, eliminating substantial stock requirements.

A finishing technique that enables a high degree of customisation, as unique as you want. A solution that we as experts can integrate into your finishing line, supporting you in the choice of inks, print settings and line parameters.

Creating impactful decorations using metal coils

One specific area that concerns industrial digital printing in which Cefla Finishing has pioneered recent developments is related to metal coils, steel for example. Combining our expertise with a partner company responsible for several continuous cycle plants for surface treatment and processing of flat-rolled products in ferrous and non-ferrous metals, we are qualified to provide a turnkey solution using our roll-to-roll, single-pass industrial digital printing equipment.

The beauty of decorated steel coils is not limited to their beautiful appearance. Applications in countless sectors are possible, from urban installations to building exteriors, household appliances to shopping mall interiors, sidings, garage doors, applications in sectors such as nautical, retail, logistics, etc. The list is long.

Benefits of industrial digital printing

Industrial digital printing brings concrete and immediate advantages: maximum production flexibility, the possibility of creating a wide variety of designs without minimum quantity constraints, and even the freedom to print different patterns in sequence, responding quickly to market demands.

Adopting this technology means taking a step towards the future of finishing: instead of large standardised batches, tailor-made, customised production in line with the new demands of customers and designers.

Our experience enables us to accompany you through every stage of this transition, integrating digital printing into a complete finishing line that includes roller coating, handling, drying and much more. This will allow your company to reap all the benefits of digitalisation, reducing complexity and start-up times.

J-PRINT SP R2R combined with a coil handling solution

A single-pass machine that is perfect for continuous printing using UV inks, equipped with industrial printing heads, J-PRINT SP R2R operates at high speeds and prints at a high resolution, combining quality with productivity. Running across rollers in humpback formation, the coils are printed using up to 8 different colour bars with 8 channels including haptic inks, standard YRCK and 3 protective varnish channels. Coil thickness lies between 0.25 and 1.60 mm and the maximum coil width reaches 1550 mm.

Production speeds vary according to the configuration and ink set, but the system runs at rates of up to max. 60 metres/minute. Optimal print quality is also achieved thanks to our proprietary software that compensates for what are known as “missing nozzles”, and the printing heads are cleaned automatically.

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Floor decoration and digital printing: a combination that is still seldom used in the finishing sector but has enormous potential. As we know, floors can be challenging surfaces to work with. Industrial digital printing technologies provide manufacturers with valuable support by delivering high-quality, customised products able to withstand foot traffic. This last aspect is particularly relevant, as abrasion resistance is regulated by international standards that define the compliance of each product.

What does digital printing mean for flooring?

Firstly: why install an industrial digital printing machine? Let's start by saying that industrial digital printing is a versatile, innovative floor decoration solution. It allows the application of designs, motifs and images directly on the flooring materials.

The technology doesn’t just guarantee an ultra-high resolution printing process: it also reproduces vivid colours and complex details, allowing businesses and property owners to decorate their surroundings with unique images.

Whether used to create high-impact graphic design in retail areas, personalised patterns in residential interiors or branding elements in corporate offices, digital printing for floors can, in combination with tried and tested finishing technologies and innovative texturing technologies, produce durable, high-quality finishes that withstand foot traffic and long-term wear.

Furthermore, compared to traditional solutions, industrial digital printing is more sustainable as it wastes less material and allows manufacturers to change the design without having to resort to lengthy plant set-up procedures. 

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How digital printing on floors is performed

Where used in floor-making processes, industrial digital printing is part of a rather complex production process. In general, the perfect surface finishing cycle involves six-steps:

• Sealing (in the case of MDF) or adhesion enhancement (for plastic substrates)
• White layers
• Digital printing
• Wear layer
• Textured layer
• Finishing layer.
  
  

What are the advantages of digital printing for floors?

Digitally printed floor decoration offers a series of advantages: from large-scale batch customisation to high output rates, from excellent aesthetic quality to the ultra-fast conversion of ideas into finished products, plus the ability to reproduce natural materials with precision. Let’s now explore the topic in more detail.

High levels of customisation

Unlike traditional techniques - which involve cumbersome set-ups and have limited design capabilities - digital printing lets manufacturers create unique, customised designs that respond to customers’ specific needs. This is particularly advantageous in the flooring industry, where consumer preferences are shifting towards ever-wider colour ranges and high-definition patterns and textures that seek to replicate natural materials such as wood or stone.

Sustainability and waste reduction

In general, industrial digital printing helps make production processes more sustainable. Traditional printing methods often waste considerable amounts of ink and material, especially during design changeover, set-up and cleaning tasks. Digital printing, instead, uses only the quantities of ink and materials needed for each job, significantly reducing waste.

Cost efficiency

Compared to traditional methods, industrial digital printing technology may require a higher initial investment outlay but the long-term savings will be substantial. Less waste, minimised set-up times and simplified production processes all help reduce operating costs. What’s more, the ability to perform short production runs lessens the financial risk for manufacturers who want to test new designs or products on the market.

High-quality results

Digital printing technology is synonymous with high resolution and precision. This ensures floor designs are rendered with the utmost clarity and detail. The depth of colour and precision of the intricate patterns enhance overall final product quality, meeting the needs of an increasingly demanding market that wants both high-grade aesthetics and durability.

Simplified workflows and easy integration

Another advantage of digital printing in floor finishing is that it can be integrated into existing workflows with ease. Advanced digital printing systems can be incorporated seamlessly into production processes, minimising downtime and interruptions: a crucial factor for a better-organised production line which, in turn, delivers tip-top efficiency and streamlines communication between the design and production teams.

Improved durability and performance

Industrial digital printing technology delivers tangible advantages not just aesthetically but also in terms of finished product performance. Manufacturers can, in fact, rely on digital inks that are designed to be more durable and more resistant to fading and other environmental factors. This means that floors finished with digitally printed designs maintain their original appearance and integrity over time, offering lasting value to consumers and businesses.

Inherent flexibility and time savings

A key advantage of this technology is its exceptional flexibility in response to changing market trends. Even with small batches - which require frequent set-ups - the ability to adjust the lines quickly saves time and resources, minimising the stock of semi-finished products.

Durability: a key factor

As mentioned, resistance to foot traffic is a crucial factor when selecting a floor finishing solution. The risk of surface deterioration is particularly high in areas such as hotel foyers, corridors, offices, showrooms, schools and retail outlets where there is a constant flow of people.

In these cases, flooring durability is regulated by the EN 15468 and EN 13329 standards that apply to laminate flooring.

Coating products that are used in combination with the industrial digital printing process and are intended for the flooring sector must comply with abrasion resistance class AC5 (hotel halls, corridors, offices). Moreover, more and more coatings employed in combination with industrial digital printing fall, in full, within ‘class of use 33’ for areas with intense foot traffic (large offices, shops).

This is why Cefla Finishing, in designing digital printing solutions for floors, has carried out and passed all the tests required by the regulation, in compliance with AC4 and AC5 (Abrasion Criteria) standards for digitally printed products.

Practical digital printing applications for floors

The floor-making process is largely designed to meet the needs of the market for indoor products, most of which are used in retail and residential construction projects.

Nevertheless, specific applications for outdoor flooring surfaces also exist: for example, decking is ideal for those who need to set up showrooms or trade fair stands, public areas with high levels of pedestrian traffic or shared open-air areas in residential and hotel settings.

Inks for digital printing of floors: organic vs inorganic

Note, however, that the type of ink used in the digital printing process needs to be selected with care as consumables, in fact, determine the long-term aesthetic quality and durability of the flooring.

Organic pigmented inks, for example, tend to fade. Outdoors, colours tend to deteriorate during the first two years of exposure to natural light unless special anti-UV coatings are applied.

Fortunately, inorganic inks with metal oxide pigments - which will remain virtually unaltered by light for more than ten years - can be used.

So, while organic pigmented inks are perfect for indoor use (and certain outdoor areas if adequately protected against UV damage), inorganic pigmented inks are a good choice for outdoor applications, such as decking.

Innovations in digital printing for flooring

Lastly, industrial digital printing improves floor finishing processes by employing highly innovative techniques. Just think of texturing. By producing surfaces with dense relief patterns or tiny marks, texturing completes the sensory experience from both tactile and visual standpoints. This is crucial for success on the décor market, where the goal is to obtain prints that realistically reproduce natural materials.

In short, thanks to digital printing, the only limits are those posed by your imagination.

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The LIGNA 2025 trade fair, scheduled from May 26 to 30 in Hannover, reaffirms its position as a key event in the woodworking and surface finishing industry. With a wide range of innovations, this year’s edition aims to meet the market’s increasingly pressing demands.

LIGNA 2025: a Special Edition celebrating its 50^th Anniversary

The 2025 edition of LIGNA will be especially significant for the wood industry, as the trade fair celebrates its 50^th anniversary. An anniversary we at Cefla Finishing share, having been a permanent exhibitor since the very first edition. This milestone event promises to be extraordinary—not only due to the occasion, but also because of the high level of participation.

According to Christian Pfeiffer, Senior Vice President Sales at Deutsche Messe AG, over 1,200 exhibitors are already confirmed, occupying a total exhibition area of 112,000 square metres. This represents a strong sign of commitment in a challenging economic context, highlighting LIGNA’s role as a key event for the industry.

Once again, the trade fair will maintain its strong international character, with around two-thirds of exhibitors and over 50% of expected visitors coming from abroad.

Italy, in particular, continues to see LIGNA as the primary launch pad into international markets. The confirmed presence of leading companies such as Cefla Finishing brings with it major innovations—more necessary than ever in today’s market.

The Three Key Themes of LIGNA 2025

The 2025 edition will revolve around three main themes, reflecting the sector’s current challenges and opportunities:

1. LIGNA.CONNECTIVITY – focusing on digital integration for increasingly interconnected production
2. LIGNA.SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION – centred on strategies for a more sustainable industry
3. LIGNA.ENGINEERED WOOD – dedicated to new solutions for engineered wood materials

These central themes underscore LIGNA’s commitment to addressing the industry’s most urgent issues—from digitalization to circular economy—by offering concrete solutions for companies of all sizes, from small craft businesses to large industrial groups.

The importance of LIGNA 2025 for the Finishing Industry
LIGNA 2025 is shaping up to be an unmissable event for the wood coating sector, offering an unparalleled showcase of the latest innovations and technologies.

The trade fair will place special emphasis on surface finishing technologies, with an entire hall (Hall 17) dedicated to this segment—and Cefla Finishing front and centre at stand F45.

Visitors will be able to explore the latest coating solutions, set to revolutionize the industry in terms of efficiency, sustainability, and the quality of the finished product.

For professionals in the field, LIGNA 2025 will represent a unique opportunity to engage with the latest trends, discover new application techniques, and understand how innovation in coating can help improve both product quality and production efficiency.
For this reason, Cefla is offering free tickets to attend the event.

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Cefla Finishing’s Innovations at LIGNA 2025

Cefla Finishing is set to amaze visitors to LIGNA 2025 with a range of brand-new innovations, aimed at transforming the sector. Our goal is to blend efficiency, sustainability, and quality.

Values such as sustainability, productivity, flexibility, simplicity, consistency, responsiveness, and precision are at the heart of the innovations we’ll showcase. These principles have driven our R&D efforts, enabling companies to enhance both production processes and final product quality.

Each week leading up to the trade fair, we’ll unveil a previously unreleased innovation on our social channels. If you haven’t already, follow Cefla Finishing on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Stay tuned for exclusive previews—and to see them live, make sure to claim your LIGNA ticket now.

Networking Opportunities: Events you won’t want to miss at the trade fair

Attending LIGNA 2025 isn’t just about discovering the latest market innovations, it’s also an opportunity to forge new partnerships and strengthen existing ones. For Cefla’s extensive, international team—made up of specialists and technicians—LIGNA is a unique occasion to meet all stakeholders, as well as potential new partners.

Some of these partnerships will also fuel the events hosted at Cefla Finishing’s booth. Our Speaker Corner will feature presentations and talks by partners throughout the fair.

Combined with informal networking moments that naturally arise during the event, these activities make LIGNA 2025 a must for anyone in the woodworking industry. Meeting experts, exploring new partnerships, and engaging with global peers makes visiting the fair—and our booth—a valuable investment for your professional and business future.

Challenges and Opportunities for the Wood Industry: a glimpse into the future

LIGNA 2025 is also a moment for strategic reflection on the challenges ahead for the wood industry. Key issues include adopting more sustainable practices, adapting to climate change (which affects raw material availability and quality), and responding to the growing demand for customized, high-value products.

At the same time, technological innovation and digitalization bring new opportunities. Sustainability continues to be a key pillar for the future of the sector, with a growing emphasis on circular economy models and resource efficiency.

Companies are being called to rethink their production processes, transforming current challenges into opportunities for renewal and growth—thanks in large part to the technological innovation led by Cefla Finishing.

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Production process optimization plays a pivotal role in improving cost efficiency, reducing waste and boosting product quality. Manufacturers in the finishing sector can - by implementing advanced technologies such as integrated coating lines, robotics and digital printing - streamline workflows, minimise bottlenecks and achieve greater processing precision.

First of all, we need to clarify something: the principles and tools of so-called lean manufacturing will only generate the anticipated benefits if there is a broad, cohesive strategy, of which the technological aspect is just the tip of the iceberg.

To take quality to the next level, it’s simply not enough to purchase the latest-generation machines. In addition to identifying and eliminating low-added-value activities - with a view to shortening time-to-market without losing control of operating costs - it’s necessary to adopt sustainable practices such as recycling waste materials and using eco-friendly finishing agents. Strengthened relationships with suppliers and employees are equally vital. Additionally, investment in training promotes a culture of continuous improvement, allowing the industry to respond flexibly to market demand and truly benefit from innovation.

What is production process optimization?

Any organisation intent on optimizing its production processes needs to prioritise along three lines: eliminating inefficiencies, reducing costs and improving quality. 
In the finishing industry, the most innovative companies have already drawn up and followed ‘roadmaps’ with three main branches: specialised coating processes, automation and digital printing.

Optimizing spray coating processes, for example, largely involves implementing recirculation and rotation systems on the production lines. At a stroke, this approach diverts skilled labour away from menial tasks and reduces the risk of inefficiencies and bottlenecks. Cost reduction, instead, is achieved by installing machines with fast yet simple colour changeover systems that continue to deliver the same high performance without increasing energy or material consumption.

It’s also possible to deploy systems that introduce roller coating techniques. The latter combine excellent manufacturing flexibility - the result of an extremely wide range of applications and good consistency - with minimal solvent emissions thanks to the use of products that, in 95% of cases, have high dry residues (UV). The outcome? High-efficiency lines that retrieve all unused product, allow fast colour changeovers and employ semi-automatic roller cleaning systems that have the further advantage of containing running costs.

Overhead and floor-mounted lines are perfect for managing production batches that require limited worker intervention. They’re also well suited to small orders, which involve frequent changes to colours and processes. All this stems from simplified programming of the coating machines, which feature tools that constantly monitor coating delivery. This prevents waste and reduces the rejection rate among products leaving the line.

Lastly - again with a view to optimizing production processes - there’s the still little-explored area of industrial digital printing, ideal for customising products or handling extremely limited production runs. 

Applying modern digital printing techniques to object decoration doesn’t just let manufacturers deliver products more quickly: it also reduces the need for stock, minimising warehousing requirements and streamlining supply chains.

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Reducing waste and optimizing resources

Optimizing essentially means making the best of scarce resources (time and skills being paramount), reducing material waste (coatings and consumables) and achieving efficient energy management.

As we see it, digital printing has yet to gain its rightful place as a production process optimizer. Compared to traditional decoration systems, in fact, industrial digital printing can play a crucial role in reducing waste as it does not require:

• engraved roller changeovers, which waste time and reduce productivity;
• ink changeovers, which require the disposal of cleaning waste;
• different decorative papers for each decoration, with the risk of stock becoming obsolescent (and then having to be disposed of).

Energy efficiency and sustainability in production processes

The topic of waste reduction goes hand in hand with that of energy efficiency which is, in turn, an integral part of a manufacturing policy that aims to meet increasingly ambitious sustainability requirements.

All Cefla Finishing solutions are designed to deliver efficiency and sustainability and every Cefla-branded machine or software plays a crucial role in doing so. More specifically, let’s see which patents translate this philosophy into reality.

FCS (Fast Colour Switch) system

Implemented on the Easy oscillating elliptic sprayer, the Fast Colour Switch system can drastically reduce colour changeover times to below 30 seconds (compared to the 150-180 seconds required by traditional methods). This means significant savings in terms of time - up to 30 minutes a day or 2-3 hours a week - and energy, eliminating the need for frequent machine restarts.

Advanced matt finishing

Market demand for deep matt surfaces with soft-touch effects is on the rise. By using UV inks/lacquers and excimer dryers that consume little oxygen, such as the Exydry-Z oven, manufacturers can obtain advanced scratch-resistant, anti-fingerprint matt finishes sustainably.

Roller coating: also available for raised panels

Smartcoater PRO is perfect for reducing lacquer consumption and improving energy efficiency. Raised panel finishing normally requires spray coating, which uses more lacquer. Equipped with a soft rubber applicator roller, Smartcoater PRO performs precision handling of panels with grooves of up to 10 mm, ensuring lower lacquer consumption, fewer manipulations and shorter time to market. To handle thin coatings, Smartcoater PRO incorporates an original, specially designed roller system that can, in turn, be expanded to include lacquer washing and retrieval solutions.

Technologies that reduce machine downtime

Cefla has several solutions that reduce machine stoppages and downtime, one being the Cartesian interpolated-axes iBotic spraying robot, available with one or two arms. Equipped with the Timeskip device, iBotic allows fast, seamless colour changeovers. While one robot arm continues spraying, the other moves to a dedicated colour changeover area, ensuring zero downtime. 
iGiotto instead, enables rapid colour changes with limited lacquer consumption: in practice, colour changeover occurs as one bar enters the booth and the other just-coated one exits. Precise iGiotto trajectories ensure coating application follows the shape of the workpiece: compared to reciprocating, manual application systems, this results in less filter consumption. 
An equally vital tool is iFlow, which can be equipped with rapid colour changeover systems that minimise wash water consumption. All coating booths feature devices that save energy when they’re not actually working. What’s more, an exhaust air recirculation system is available to reduce heat consumption.
Last but not least comes Lineflow, a horizontal door/window preservative application machine designed to reduce air consumption significantly.

The importance of automation in manufacturing

Integrating all these technologies into a resilient, flexible, efficient supply chain means automating processes, reducing human intervention where possible, minimising errors and decreasing downtime.

Let's now dive deeper and identify the impact that each of the solutions highlighted above might have in the context of an automated finishing line. 
With regard to digital printing, automation involves a transformation of the process, not just simple ‘handling’. By integrating the decorating machine into the production planning system, in fact, it’s possible to obtain information on the decoration ‘print queue’ directly from the IT system. This provides highly detailed real-time feedback and lets you control working conditions during the production of individual products.

When it comes to spray and roller coating, however, the advantages of automation are to be found in the handling systems, calibrated to match both productivity and the different processes performed by the various machines on the line.

Lastly, on overhead and floor-mounted lines, the advantages stem from the flexibility of the handling which - thanks to automatic systems - maximises the effectively available space. In fact, it’s possible to arrange product finishing zones in such a way as to converge everything needed to complete the coating process into a single workflow.

Of course, all this is only possible if the ‘ecosystem’ has the real-time instructions needed to control the entire process, step by step. In short, what we’re talking about is information exchange between lines and control systems. Ultimately, therefore, the effectiveness of automation depends on the ability of the machines to generate, send and receive data by communicating with the ERP and the PLM software.

This is why Cefla Finishing has created solutions that can be natively integrated with the company’s ERP systems: output data is logged and exportable to monitor cycle times, with the number of coated pieces sub-divided by colour and by time spent in the drying oven, bar by bar, support by support.

Process-optimizing technology and innovation

Production processes can be optimized by deploying trailblazing technology that revolutionises the way companies work. Just think of the growing weight of applications based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

AI helps us improve data quality and refine the forecasting capacity of production systems over time; the IoT, instead, is proving to be a valuable ally for the advanced digitalization of production processes, allowing, for example, manufacturers to create finishing plant ‘digital twins’.

This, in fact, is exactly what the cutting-edge Cefla Finishing software, cCloner, does: it manages line layout and lacquer, heat and electricity consumption. Processing times are calculated on the basis of a production process simulation: this not only lets users identify potential issues but also lets them calculate the total coated surface area managed by a single line.

With cTracker, instead, users can monitor the entire production chain from a single workstation, modifying parameters to make real-time changes to thickness and colour. Used in tandem with cLink, the system can collect inputs and upload them on the company management system to optimize production and reduce consumption.

But what if you’re unable to follow the processes in person at the facility? No problem: the web-based cMaster application gives you immediate access to machine and line data from anywhere in the world via any Internet-connected device.

The benefits of automation and digitalization

At this point it's clear how automated, digitalized production processes can boost productivity, improve product quality and reduce overall operating costs.

Smooth integration of automated systems means manufacturers can perform more efficient, real-time monitoring of lines. In turn, systems (or individual machines) can be dynamically adapted to changing production scenarios or new energy efficiency requirements, without compromising supply chain performance.

Machine-generated data is used to run predictive analyses of line capacity and implement continuous improvement practices along the entire value chain, keeping it upgraded and agile.

This flexibility - combined with enhanced safety and fast returns on investment - is the core benefit of an effective industrial automation strategy.

Employee involvement and continuous training

As mentioned, production process optimization doesn’t just concern technological development: above all, it has to do with people. Despite the common misunderstanding that automation seeks to reduce human resources, the truth is that it actually aims to reallocate them to higher-added-value tasks, leaving more repetitive duties that require no human skill to the machines.

That’s why it’s vital to focus on a cultural, organisational transformation that goes beyond the adoption of new technologies and digital processes to involve everyone in the company. This not only ensures a smoother transition towards a logic of higher production efficiency, it also makes everyone aware of the real benefits this new approach has to offer: such a transformation is a must if we’re to break down the natural resistance to change and promote an informed acceptance of the proposed innovations.

At Cefla Finishing, we’re aware of how delicate that transition can be. That’s why we provide our customers with the skills and professionalism needed to support them, at every stage of the plant life-cycle: from design to technical assistance, from training to change management.

Looking for a production process optimization strategy that’ll help you get the best from your company's resources? Contact our experts!

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