SACMI Sanitaryware’s leading
AVI technology, providing flexibility and automation for sanitaryware casting, has recently been installed at
Sanitana, top Portuguese manufacturer in the sector. With the main objective of achieving maximum versatility in the manufacture of
complex WC bowls with up to 7 parts, Sacmi developed and launched the AVI Solution to complete its range of machines renowned throughout the international industry for pressure casting of ceramic sanitaryware.
Two
AVI150 casting modules have been supplied to the Portuguese customer, served by a demoulding robot. One of the special features of the system is the
possibility to cast the different parts which make up the WC in parallel, while the
700 kg Fanuc M900
robot controls all the mould opening-closing and handling functions as well as demoulding and the operations to stick on the single parts of the WC bowl.
Specially designed to reduce mould changeover time from several hours to
no more than 30-60 minutes, this configuration eliminates line downtime since
changeover can be carried out in fully automatic mode without stopping the machine. Another determining factor contributing to the overall efficiency of the cell is the
SACMI FPV pre-drier, which speeds up the piece ageing process carried out in a controlled environment, thus
saving time and energy consumption.
The same robot assists the pre-drier, also turning over the piece where necessary with the help of special tools and thanks to the machine feature which
allows for flexible control of mould inclination during casting. In this way, production is always carried out under optimum conditions according to the particular piece being made.
Thanks to its carefully chosen market strategy, SACMI developed AVI in such a way as to ensure that the fleet of moulds can be installed in a perfectly interchangeable way with the other WC casting solutions in its range: AVE and AVM. As a result, the customer can manage its investment in a gradual manner with all the guarantees of reliability and technical assistance that SACMI offers for the
entire lifecycle of the plant.