Developing production processes increasingly smart, sustainable and interconnected: this is the main need of footwear manufacturers around the world. The international health emergency, in fact, has highlighted some weaknesses along the production chain, which should be urgently remedied: shortening the supply chain, improving efficiency, saving tangible and intangible resources are essential for the recovery of the footwear market.
In this context, Main Group Technologies has studied and developed a series of solutions able to ensure greater automation and process interconnection.
In particular, the automation package introduces a series of tools which improve the efficiency and quality of some specific phases: high-precision carding with automatic change for the processing of all types of leather and synthetic materials, the “tailor-made” siliconising process for any mould or process, the automatic mould change and the interconnection of all the stations along the production line. All the applications have been designed to improve the quality of the finished products, minimizing human intervention and improving productivity and replicability.
Another important development field for Main Group research is the collection of data: with a view to the process digitization, it is crucial to collect and analyse the information coming from the machine to plan interventions able to improve the production process. The connection package developed by Main Group allows the users to use the production data, which are collected by means of sensors, both to control production with self-regulation functions and to record downtime, identify the causes and improve the efficiency.
The Main Group technological solutions, which can be applied to both new machinery and plants already installed, immediately improve the quality and efficiency of processes. It is the first important step taken by Main Group towards a smart revolution, which will culminate with the introduction of AI solutions into the footwear production.
