SCM is gearing up for the next edition of Ligna (Hannover, 27-31 May 2019), having achieved a double-digit growth rate in the last two years which propelled the group over the 700 million turnover target at the end of 2018, with a technological range of products increasingly in line with Industry 4.0 requirements.
After launching its “Lean Cell 4.0” for highly automated industrial production two years ago, from this same Hannover event, SCM now goes further with its breakthrough concept of Smart Manufacturing. From its over 4,000 square metres’ booth in Hall 13, the Italian woodworking giant will present its “Smart&Human Factory”: a cutting-edge production model based on digital and automation systems and allowing for advanced man-machine interaction and 360-degree control over the entire production flow. A model based on highly innovative, flexible, modular and easily reconfigurable systems, designed to respond in an increasingly effective and fast way to the challenges of mass customisation. A new “smart and human” factory – also making progress in terms of work flow: thanks to the integration of robotics, low-added value and repetitive human tasks are now minimised.
“Ligna 2019 will be one of the key international events for SCM – traditionally a historic and reliable partner for the entire woodworking industry”, explains the SCM Division Director, Luigi De Vito. We will showcase top-level technological innovation, designed to support more and more companies in their business and help them meet new Industry 4.0 requirements. The current, new production trends, which will be the focus of the next edition of Ligna, are expected to widen the gap between more and less intensively automated companies. By offering a new model of interaction between machines and industrial and collaborative robotics, ground-level logistic handling and software, SCM will have as its mission to help partner companies work toward achievable, successful and smart goals.”
“YOU WILL NEVER WORK ALONE”
The claim “You will never work alone” effectively summarises the goal of the new SCM product range: to supply a “user-friendly” wood panel processing automation system, with the option to reconfigure the production process whenever this is necessary, to quickly process increasingly smaller “order to production” batches.
After previewing a working application of its “Smart&Human Factory” at the Open House 2019 event on 31 January 31 through to 2 February, which drew crowds to the company’s Technology Center of Rimini (Italy), SCM will showcase an even richer version at the next Ligna. An automated system for all the phases of furniture production will be presented: from furniture designing to the generation of machine programs and from panel processing to cabinet assembling.
The process aims at optimising as much as possible panel cutting, edgebanding and drilling operations, so as to reduce waste, rejects and retooling requirements during product changeovers, to then reassemble orders back together at the end of the process and delaying customisation until this stage.
With this system, low-added value and repetitive human tasks are minimised, thanks to the use of KUKA industrial anthropomorphic robots, assisted by collaborative Universal Robots in the final process stages (assembly, hardware insertion, glue dispensing and surface finishing) and ensuring totally safe conditions without the use of enclosures. Finally, process logistics are made flexible thanks to the use of MiR intelligent autonomous self-driving shuttles. The entire process will be managed and supervised by the Maestro Watch supervision software – monitoring the state of each of the products being machined throughout the process, and by the IoT Maestro Connect system – which collects and analyses SCM technology data, ensuring on the one hand full control over the production flow and, on the other, the implementation of smart predictive maintenance models.
NEWS FROM THE “DIGITAL” FRONTIER
At Ligna 2019, SCM will add to its digital range, by combining digital technologies with high added value, specifically targeted services. The Digital Hub, the innovation control centre at the core of the exhibition booth, will display all the latest products.
To meet the needs of 4.0 industrial production, the “Maestro Connect ” IoT platform will be extended to new technologies applied to the wide range of SCM machining options (cutting, edgebanding, drilling and routing, nesting and edge machining) for both panels and solid wood. The data gathered and the information available increase thanks to the introduction of the new sensor kit specific for technology able to detect the changes in vital machine components, spotting any critical conditions of use or ones that are not ideal. This evolved data collection and analysis system originating from SCM, offers the client maximum control of the machine or plant’s product flow, achieve rapid, intelligent and foreseeable maintenance and an increasingly effective planning of a spare parts strategy.
The launch of the new Maestro Active man-machine interface software is also showcased. Maestro Active (special mention at the last German Design Award) is the new operator interface which, combined with the touch eye-M control panel, revolutionises the way to interact with SCM technology. The project will be launched at Ligna on all the SCM machinery, offering all these technologies a single environment for use and a common graphic guise, making the operator’s work notably easier, reducing the risk of error and increasing productivity.
For office software, as well as the supervision software for our Maestro Watch integrated cell systems, the Maestro CNC 2019 version will be released with major updates for CNC machining centres and drilling machines. User-friendly, intuitive software, which, most importantly, can be integrated and interfaced with other systems used by customers.