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Production process optimization: Cefla Finishing solutions
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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