From the first trials with two-part moulds, SACMI is today able to create moulds with up to 7 parts through the innovative “by tooling” technique. Several examples have already been installed at top factories around the world. This new solution ensures drastic reduction in time and costs of product development whilst improving quality at the same time.

 

In 2018 SACMI presented its new Sanitaryware pilot plant demonstrating rapid progress towards the new frontiers of digitalization. In less than 7 years from the arrival of the first 3D scanner model at the company, SACMI can now offer the sanitaryware market DPD (digital product development), the new system which starts from a drawing and virtual engineering of the prototype and is completed with the 3D digital modelling of the mould.

 

Several important steps forward have been taken over the last 12-24 months in the development of the by tooling solution; the technique which creates the mould by direct machining of porous resin blocks without the use of a case-mould. From the first trials carried out on 2-part moulds, SACMI has now sold and installed, with proven success, solutions capable of creating moulds having up to 7 parts for the production of complex WCs entirely by tooling. To give an example of the advantages, which have been tried and tested with positive results at the plants of some of the leading sanitaryware manufacturers on the market, the greatest of all is the reduced product development time which, thanks to the “by tooling” technique, is cut from several months to just a few weeks (as in the case of a recent supply for the mould of a complex washbasin).

 

Furthermore, as well as the benefits of reduced development time and costs, it is important to underline the improvements to quality achieved by the “by tooling” solution. In fact, fewer stages in the work process and the possibility to integrate the creation of the prototype mould with advanced simulation software (tension mapping of the unfired product, fluid-dynamic analysis etc.) are just some of the positives to which we can also add the ability to set a totally automatic production flow, thanks to the SACMI numeric control CNC machine provided with 5 work axes and 50 tools which can operate 24hrs without the presence of an operator.

The challenge to offer the market a “mature” technology for the development of moulds by tooling is being met by SACMI, which sold more than 60 moulds developed with the new system in 2019 to the full satisfaction of its customers. It is a true revolution in the way mould development is conceived – and in the entire production process of sanitaryware from the design to the warehouse – and this is just the start since it opens up many new opportunities as a technology which can be applied to create more and more complex pieces with high added value for the customer.