The installation of a gantry system that handles the products and automatically loads-unloads the kiln completes the transition from double-fire to single-fire on the faience porcelain line at the long-standing Caldas facility: an achievement built on a combination of great technology and exclusive plant engineering expertise from the network of SACMI Tableware companies.
Loceria Colombiana’s ambitious move to lean manufacturing has relied on a solid technological/plant engineering partnership with the network of SACMI Tableware companies. This project - which recently underwent final testing at the historic Caldas plant - sees a transition from double-fire to single-fire on the fine earthenware & stoneware line, with installation of comprehensive product handling automation and a loading-unloading system for the new Riedhammer TWT Neo kiln.
The smooth synergy of SACMI companies and skills has played a crucial role: at the core of the project stands the new Lippert-SAMA semi-automatic gantry system which loads-unloads the kiln and handles transiting stacks. One of the key challenges was synchronizing all the operations to match the specific needs of the single-firing process in compliance with lean manufacturing principles.
With the system now installed, car movement is automatic starting from the loading-unloading gantry of the new Riedhammer TWT Neo kiln. During kiln unloading, the silicon carbide setter stacks are picked in pairs and placed on a conveyor belt. From here, the cars transit to the fired products unloading station and then proceed to the area where workers load the unfired pieces coming off the glazing-decoration line.
This solution, already part of the Lippert portfolio, has been specially configured (raising capacity to 3500 pieces per hour, with item tracking and fast format changeovers) to match the high productivity of the newly installed kiln. Ergonomic and safe (the cars reach operator height, making loading-unloading tasks much easier than the previous solution), the handling system manages two car types, one for plates and one for dishes.
The handling system supplied to Loceria also features a sensor-equipped car tracking system that, via QR codes, is directly connected to the glazing PLC, triggering a countdown at each product switchover (from plates to dishes and vice versa).This follows a lean manufacturing approach that keeps all processing in-line, eliminating the need for intermediate storage buffers.
Downstream from the kiln, the project also integrates SAMA's tried and tested UPM8 foot sanding system. Two machines have been installed on the line, each equipped with eight stations. Processing accuracy and user-friendliness are the hallmarks of the UPM8: it features automatic recipe recall and allows ‘rounded’ finishing from the foot, enhancing the quality and elegance of the finished product compared to a traditional finish. Moreover, wet processing increases the lifespan of the abrasives by more than 50%, from 500,000 to over 1 million pieces. The system is also much faster, as no piece tipping is required on the conveyor belt during transfer to the finishing machine.
The entire project, together with the introduction of the new ultra-high-productivity kiln, stems from the plant engineering expertise of the SACMI-SAMA-Riedhammer Working Group, which delivers all the advantages of a sole partner, from individual technologies to inter-phase synchronization. This approach ensured that, during the construction phase too, plant adaptation and subsequent start-up were completed on schedule, all in close collaboration with the customer's technical team and without interrupting production.