Poggi Trasmissioni Meccaniche to all Industry 4.0

Here is MDconn, the new advanced software for monitoring machine tools: perfect tracking on the single order for the benefit of waste reduction, better management, corporate welfare

It might seem like a science fiction movie scenario, where engineers, with a PDA, report the status of the equipment in a few seconds. The future is instead already landed in Poggi Mechanical Transmissions SpA, a Bolognese company specialized in the production of pulleys, angular transmissions and other solutions in the branch of transmission components such as toothed and trapezoidal belts.

The company is an international benchmark in the production of fasteners, joints, pinions and slides for electric motors. For more than 60 years it has been appreciated in over 40 countries around the world for its innovative and customized approach, so the last frontier crossed is not surprising, un advanced software created for detecting the status of machine tools.

"MDconn è a product we have developed internally - illustrates the IT Manager of Poggi Trasmissioni Meccaniche SpA Antonio De Gregorio - since we evaluated a specific solution for our production reality, equipped with a varied fleet of machines, with different protocols. We decided to develop this software from scratch and autonomously as the market for existing products did not satisfy us. We started with a careful analysis of our business needs, then going on to develop a project entirely tailored to our needs. After the beta test phase, the putting on line of over twenty of the operating machines present in the company continued. A constant evolution will follow, based on the different profiles that will be detected. It is made in our image and likeness, a program that responds to the company philosophy,
a company attentive to the various production aspects, to the quality of the result, but also to the management of extreme customizations".

“Through this tool - Explains Antonio De Gregorio, IT Manager of Poggi Mechanical Transmissions SpA - can be detect, by monitoring in real time, the state in which any machine present in the company is found, if it is in processing, alarm, setting, etc ...".

These information is related to the order, so of each single item the lot, the timing and the operator are highlighted who worked there, any critical issues that have presented themselves and the actual yield. Data visible in numbers, graphs and graphic info which, in addition to providing immediate information on the progress of an order, has the function of collecting data to determine the actual production costs with ever greater precision. The sum including the data collected by MDconn, raw material costs, energy, packaging and transport results in the exact cost of the item, generating a valuable history. Last but not least, thanks to the analysis of the data collected by MDconn, it will be possible to carry out a precise analysis in order to improve the efficiency of the production activity.

"Il system is integrable - explains De Gregorio - inserting the actual energy consumption of processing, the environmental impact, the savings in emissions."

All data is sent to the ERP management system in which they are elaborated to be able to deduce the times of realization of the piece, defidefined both by the pure processing time of the machine and by the waiting time in the case of manual machines, for which the piece change, the setup, any alarms or blocks.

This new approach is part of Industry 4.0 and is bidirectional, as information is transferred to the machine over the network. From the numerical control the operator can recall the program, and if the operator modifies it, it can then be re-transmitted to the company servers in order to reuse it for subsequent processing.

Poggi Mechanical Transmissions SpA was born in 1958 thanks to the commitment and dedication of Pierluigi Poggi, today carried on by his three children. Specialized in the production of pulleys, angular transmissions and other solutions in the branch of transmission components such as toothed and trapezoidal belts, it produces fastening elements, joints, pinions and slides for electric motors. For over 60 years it has been appreciated in over 40 countries around the world for its innovative and customized approach. The range of cutting-edge services offered by Poggi is the result of continuous research and experimentation, of an accurate design and production process that ensures an innovative, certified and proudly made in Italy product.