With Sacmi’s fast mould changeover (CRS – Cambio Rapido Stampo) system, the dream of just in time ceramic production is now reality. Flexibility plus lower labour and floor space requirements: these are the distinctive characteristics of the solution, initially showcased at Tecnargilla 2010 for the PH3200 press and soon extended to all presses in the range with an inter-column clearance of 2450 mm (PH3800, PH5000XXL, PH6500, PH7500, PH10000).
Between 2011 and 2015 no less than 58 machines were equipped with the CRS system, with orders in 2015 up by a staggering 50% compared to 2014: a clear sign, then, that this Sacmi solution has huge market appeal. Winning design features provide an effective response to manufacturers’ need to produce limited lots with frequent size changeovers according to “pull” logic (i.e. according to customer and market demand), thus minimising warehouse stocks. These technical solutions range from the permanent-magnet mould attachment system – and the consequent elimination of all threaded connections between mould and cross-beam – to the new mould heating system that includes innovative, more flexible, manageable electrical connections.
The result ensures not just extreme flexibility – mould changeovers now take just half an hour, making it economically viable to produce lots of even just a few hundred square metres – but also excellent user-friendliness. It allows users to change even heavy, bulky moulds in perfect safety even with just one worker; moreover, space requirements have been drastically reduced as fork-list trucks and lifting gear are no longer needed. Given its outstanding efficiency, then, this solution is also used by many customers to replace the punches of the largest-format moulds (i.e. it is more convenient to extract the entire mould from the press and replace the punches rather than handle them underneath the press).
An innovative system, then, that has won ongoing market acclaim, the potential of which can be maximised thanks to perfect integration of mould and press and, therefore, combination with the full range of moulds produced by Sacmi Molds&Dies. Fitted on three quarters of the marketed press range, Sacmi M&D moulds – some 130 designed to operate with CRS have been supplied since 2011 – meet every possible manufacturing requirement: from entering punches to SFS, from multi-cavity moulds for trims (750x250mm) to large size moulds (up to 1200x1200 or 800x1600), from standard products to specially sized ones.
In short: a complete turnkey solution from the Sacmi Group, offering a new approach to ceramic manufacturing.