• Technological experts from Madrid, Catalonia and Navarra investigate the integration of new technologies in SMEs to reinforce the national strategy to support Industry 4.0
• Gráficas Larrad has been the setting chosen for the testing of the new integrated solution with which to monitor and automate orders on demand
• Addvance Manufacturing Technologies, TAI Smart Factory, the Leitat Technological Center and Gráficas Larrad have participated, with the support of the Packaging Cluster and Functional Print Cluster, and funding from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism

Recently, the FIAD 2 project, or what is the same "Intelligent Additive Manufacturing on Demand", will end its research and development phase, obtaining the results of the project. It is an initiative financed by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, in the support program for the AEI - Innovative Business Groups -, which proposes the integration of additive manufacturing technology (3D printing) in the flow of productive information of a company.

To this end, representatives and experts in the field of functional printing and packaging, from Madrid, Catalonia and Navarra, have worked side by side in a collaborative manner to offer a strategic solution that helps the digital transformation of Spanish SMEs, breaking down barriers technologies that exist today.

The idea arose as a result of a synergy established between the companies Addvance Manufacturing Technologies (Addvance) and TAI Smart Factory, both associated with the Packaging Cluster, which detected a latent need: a structural change in the current business model that allows the management of factory data in an automated and connected way, optimizing manufacturing time, and trial and error. 

Thus, within the framework of the Packaging Cluster, with more than 130 associates from the packaging sector in Catalonia, a relationship was established with an interconnected sector to expand the impact of the proposal, that of printing, hand in hand with Functional Print Cluster, representative of nearly 100 companies and entities from the world of graphic arts in Navarra. 

Gráficas Larrad, a specialized printing company and end user of the project, has been the setting in which Addvance and TAI Smart Factory, technological experts, have been able to integrate a new factory management system, with the know-how of the Leitat Technology Center and its circuit of 3D printers, which was able to validate the viability of the project by testing with different prototypes. 

The first step was to define, together with Gráficas Larrad, all the data and requirements that they needed to meet as a printing company in order to collect all the information that would later have to be automated in order to manage it: workflow, protocol and quality controls, necessary raw materials, product layout in the flow, machines involved during printing, communication with the 3D printer and other accessories, etc. 

Once the roadmap was defined, Addvance and TAI Smart Factory developed software with which to define the product with a 3D catalog, plan production, execute the production process and certify its quality, with the corresponding evaluation reports. Thus, remotely, any client of Gráficas Larrad could place an order with their printing company without the need for intermediaries, quickly and easily. In addition, Addvance designed a digital inventory connected to the manufacturing center, with the aim of facilitating the full integration of production functions. 

For its part, Leitat made its 3D printers connected to the printing company's inventory available to Gráficas Larrad, evaluating the different scenarios and use cases. In this way, Leitat acts as a direct supplier, printing the new Gráficas Larrad products on its 3D printers and sending them to the factory for commissioning. The connection established between the printers and the Larrad ordering system has been made thanks to the knowledge of TAI Smart Factory. 

Now, after several pilot tests, the results of the project have been validated among all the partners, after months of co-creation work.

The new solution will make it possible to digitize the Gráficas Larrad manufacturing process, monitor and control its data, optimize time by avoiding trial and error with the client and expand its portfolio of innovation projects, which can be replicated in many other companies in the sector. FIAD 2 is just a sample of the potential of betting on Industry 4.0 in our country.FIAD 2 is a project financed by MINCOTUR within the support program for Innovative Business Groups (AEI).

Find out more about the project in the summary video made by the consortium here