Benzi & Di Terlizzi, a company specialising in the production of PTO drive shafts for agricultural machines, has recently installed a modern, Industry 4.0-oriented coating system equipped with a two-rail conveyor, which has enabled the integration of the assembly phase directly in-line thus maximizing production efficiency.
The word 'machine' can have different meanings. One can define it as a set of elements connected together and meeting specific technological requirements, which generates an advantage and greater yield by using a certain force. With time and the advent of technology, the concept itself of machine and its appearance in our imagination have evolved, but its nature has never changed: a machine is made up of several elements and even the smallest and simplest mechanism actually plays a fundamental role for its operation.
It is not surprising that Benzi Srl has adopted this philosophy within its production, as it specialises in the production of drive shafts for the agricultural sector, which are a crucial mechanical part for power transmission in agricultural machines because they turn them into operating systems. This is why the company undertook an innovative project that required a synergy among several companies from the finishing sector: : Conveyors Nord, which provided the two-rail conveyor; TrasmetaL, the supplier of the coating system; CMA Robotics, which installed two coating robots and a greasing one; and Comaind, a Graco distributor, which supplied the electrostatic dispensers and guns.
The result was a coating plant that goes beyond a mere succession of surface treatment phases, but rather integrates operations that are normally carried out at a later stage in production, such as assembly, in the line itself. It is a production machine in which all the elements interact with each other in compliance with the Industry 4.0 principles and that has generated significant advantages in terms of efficiency and production times. Its core is precisely the coating plant and, in particular, its overhead conveyor, which acts as the link among all process phases, thus enabling their integration into one production line.
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