STANDARD & LEGISLATION - UCIF Informs
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Surface Treatments: The Technological Requirements of the Market Marcello Zinno UCIF – Italian Surface Treatment Equipment Manufacturers’ Association, Milan, Italy
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info@ucif.net
he challenges of this century see humankind in a close
information and of any deviations from the set standard in order to
relationship with technology, in which speed and precision in the
take corrective action; and the development of a remote service with
execution of tasks by automated solutions are crucial. Still, it is
predictive maintenance and remote assistance actions.
only human intervention that makes the industrial production process
Surface perfection and coating quality are now two of the excellence
unique though ingenuity. In fact, even the most advanced machine
factors sought in products, such as design, reliability, and functionality.
cannot make an industrial process complete and competitive, or
Every day, the industry is confronted with issues concerning shapes,
automate and digitalise it, without the intervention of people, with their
surfaces, materials, and design on the one hand and productivity, cost
knowledge and skills. For most manufacturing companies, the use of
optimisation, the environment, innovative technologies, and safety on
automation is a necessary step to increase productivity, reduce costs,
the other hand. This contributes to a technological vision that integrates
and improve competitiveness.
into production processes where excellent surface finishes are required
In addition to this, the market is clearly moving towards the increasing
as well as coatings with high protective and anti-corrosion performance.
customisation of the products offered. This calls for increasingly flexible
In the era of interconnectedness, global competition, and just-in-time
and adaptive production processes, in which digitalisation and the
production, the industry can only remain competitive if it continuously
use of artificial intelligence for monitoring and predicting equipment
innovates. The surface painting and coating process is certainly complex
conditions are more and more important. A modern concept, therefore,
and articulated, due to the large number of variables that characterise
should integrate an increasing number of interconnected modular
it. Thanks to innovation across all products/solutions, however, unit
systems, such as, for example, AGVs for internal logistics and the robotic
production costs can be reduced while increasing efficiency. The goal
arm technology for coating. It should also be associated with other
is to meet emerging key market demands such as environmental
aspects that have become fundamental for industrialising a Smart
friendliness and safety in the working environment; reduction of
Factory, including the design and integration of smart AGV systems for
processing costs; high finishing quality; Industry 4.0 and digitalisation of
intralogistics, capable of optimising flows and batches of parts to be
products and systems; and robotic painting systems that guarantee high
painted with increased safety; the design of coating systems managed
productivity, consistent quality, and greater production flexibility.
according to concepts of flexibility, modularity, and digitalisation, with
The new, innovative dynamics of markets and of the industrial coating
control logics and integrated automation solutions linked to robotic
sector are leading Italian companies towards a new technological level
stations; the optimisation of surface finishing operations, where the
capable of meeting the standards of the most ambitious processes.
management of the various products and processes is entrusted
UCIF is proud to represent this Italian industry, which also stands out on
to specific automation; monitoring of productivity/consumption
the European and world stage.
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N. 74 - MARCH/APRIL 2022 - international PAINT&COATING magazine