30×30 cm: this is the ceramic tile size that, less than ten years ago, was mostly produced in Italy, covering 42% of the national flooring production in 2007. The 60×60 and 90×90 cm solutions accounted for just 5% and were already considered “extra-large”. Very quickly, the industry and the local and international markets – at least in their most evolved forms – have come to conceive 60×60 cm as a standard, so much so to classify it among the so-called “traditional sizes”.
Today the production of porcelain stoneware slabs is a consolidated reality, which mainly promotes the capacity for innovation by professionals in the sector and demonstrates the enormous potential for the development of traditional ceramic tiles.
The current technologies allow an important flexibility both in width and thickness and guarantee the realization of slabs in all commercial sizes (1600×3200 mm, 1500×3000 mm, 1200×2400 mm, …) with the respective modular sub-formats (80 cm, 75 cm, 60 cm, 50 cm, etc.), without wastage and maximizing productivity.
However, this type of production assumes that, in order to cope with new materials, even the entire plant is designed, sized and implemented in all its processing phases, from transport and handling systems to thermal machines (dryer and oven), to auxiliary end-of-line processing.
More specifically, this means that, once the fired product has been obtained, a complete plant for slabs must provide adequately redesigned finishing lines in each of its sections:
- squaring and grinding lines;
- lapping/polishing lines;
- backing lines for slabs with low thicknesses;
- sub-format cutting lines;
- selection and palletizing lines;
- picking and packaging lines.
BMR has been able to meet these needs by proposing a consolidated and extensive offer of dedicated machines and products, so competitive that the growing number of Italian and international references (over 60 BMR lines for large sizes operating throughout the world) highlights the company’s position as a leading international player in its field.
BMR’s approach to the production process is characterized by two big and important points:
– a complete vision of the process itself, able to put in synergy the different elements that determine a high-quality production and an increasingly dynamic, sustainable, digital and efficient factory;
– the ability to create customized systems studied and designed in close contact with the customer who becomes a true collaborator in all respects.
The requirement for customization is normal nowadays, which puts companies in constant confrontation with the need to create ever smaller batches, to reduce the life cycle of products, etc.
The finishing operations must consequently be combined to manage a multiplicity of semi-finished products which are then subjected to other processing cycles to obtain the finished, packaged product. This aspect, together with the constant reduction of batches and the ever-increasing diversification to vary slab sizes and decorations, forces the adoption of new production models aimed at more efficient warehouse management, both for semi-finished and finished products.
In recent months BMR has developed a series of solutions that allow a move from the “Make to Stock” production logic to that of “Make to Order”.
Depending on the orders to be processed, the plant management system supplies the BMR production line with the information necessary to automatically position the various cutting/fracturing and squaring machines.
The automation of this positioning is done based on the adjustments necessary to vary the length and width parameters of the sizes to be processed, excluding those concerning the thickness that will be done manually. At the end of the adjustments, the operator starts the production cycle which ends with the order being completed and the consequent emptying of the line. Production ends when the automatic sorting machine deems the order complete. Depending on the quality, the automatic sorting machine sorts the material into three different categories: Primary, Secondary and Reject.
If during production the material ends up Secondary or Reject beyond a predefined percentage, the system will block the order and stop the production to allow the operator to search for any malfunctions. Before starting a new production cycle, the line will be emptied of any residual material.
The Make to Order BMR production line has a high level of automation and is equipped with various electro-mechanical units controlled individually and in real time by the PLC software.
Many parts are fully automated:
– the management of the calibration and chamfering spindles, with tool adjustment based on wear;
– size change, with automatic tool positioning;
– the control of the measurement of the caliper, with auto adjustment in real time, which makes the progressive wear of the tool completely irrelevant.
These operations can be carried out remotely with an external booth station, thanks also to a system of dedicated cameras that allow real-time viewing of the squaring operation and to make an accurate and reliable position control.
Automation and visual control of the operation of the grinding wheel, therefore, entail two very important advantages:
– wheel wear recovery during processing;
– greater speed in size change.
In fact, real-time control of wear allows the machining cone set in the recipe to be corrected with micro-movements. This control operation takes place on the single grinding wheel, without having to move all the grinding wheels and, consequently, greatly reducing processing times.
The final aim of the automated line is to reduce the operator’s manual intervention in favor of an almost total reduction of production downtime, with a consequent increase in production efficiency.
Click here to download the press release in Italian and English and the coordinated images