Friday, 17 July 2020

SMACT: first machine at work at the Trentino Live Demo in Rovereto

It will be used to explore research projects and connect industry and research at Polo Meccatronica

Versione stampabile

The first step when you start a new project is a defining moment. And in this case, for the first Live Demo of Trentino, we are dealing with a very special event.

That first step is the arrival of a large machine, 18 metres long and 6 metres wide, for high precision metal sheet and pipe laser cutting.

This is the first piece of machinery at work in the new quarters of the Live Demo at Polo Meccatronica in Rovereto. Its name is Adige Sys LC5, it has been manufactured by BLM Group Adige SpA from Levico Terme and, like the other equipment that will be assembled in the coming months, will display the technological expertise of the Italian industrial sector and connect industry and research.

This machine and those that will be installed in the new home of the Trentino Live Demo will be used to practice, develop projects, explore new research lines, create real innovation.

This sophisticated instrument placed in Rovereto, at Polo Meccatronica, marks the establishment of the first of seven "Live Demos", that will showcase 4.0 technologies and provide an environment where public and private organizations can work together, as required by the Competence Center of Trentino-Alto-Adige/Suedtirol, Veneto, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

The Competence Center, baptized SMACT (to recall its areas of specialization: Social Networks, Mobile Platforms & Apps, Advanced Analytics, Cloud and IoT), brings together 10 entities – universities and research centres – and some 30 companies, both from the north-east of Italy and based in other countries, and was co-funded by the Ministry for economic development within Industria 4.0 with over 7 million euro.

The Live Demo in Rovereto, where SMACT will invest about 2 million euro, will focus on advanced mechanics, industrial AGVs (automated guided vehicles), energy and logistics optimization, M2M (Machine to Machine) technology, collaborative robots (cobots) and efficient distribution chains. The first machinery was provided by BLM Group, a partner in the Trentino Live Demo project, which is coordinated by the University of Trento and Fondazione Bruno Kessler and is based in a location owned by Trentino Sviluppo.

The area chosen for the Trentino Live Demo is where, in October 2017, the University of Trento awarded an honorary degree to Sergio Marchionne. It took 240 hours of work by three specialized technicians to move the machine of a few hundred metres from where it was, at the Prom Facility, to the new module. The transfer and reassembling of the machine were supervised by technicians of Adige Spa, coordinated by professor Bosetti of UniTrento.

The Live Demo of Rovereto will demonstrate the effectiveness of 4.0 technologies in the production of furniture. The line of production will be centred on pieces of furniture made with metal pipes and sheets, assembled by robotic welding. The line integrates technologies that make processes more efficient and production more flexible. Simplifying the work of operators and keeping production costs constantly under control: these are the advantages of the new technologies that will soon be displayed in this area. The Live Demo production line will be completed in the next months and inaugurated at the beginning of 2021.

The press release includes further information and the comments of Paolo Bosetti, professor at the Department of Industrial Engineering and a member of the SMACT working group, and Matteo Faggin, general director of SMACT. 

photo ©TrentinoSviluppo