PHARMINTECH 2019: MARCHESINI GROUP LAUNCHES ITS AL ALL-AROUND INNOVATION PROJECT FOR INDUSTRY 4.0

From 10th to 12th April, the Marchesini Group will take part in Pharmintech, the Italian venue dedicated to pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals and biotechnologies. Simultaneously, the Group has organised an Open Factory event in Pianoro, where customers will be able to take a close look at the latest technological innovations of the Marchesini world, especially on the topic of Industry 4.0. 
 

The world of Pharma meets in Italy

At the Marchesini booth, the new All-in-one serialization, Tamper Evident and aggregation solution TrackPack machine will be showcased. It is compact, measuring just 3.5 meters in length and 2.3 meters in width and is incredibly user-friendly reducing many manual procedures. The RS1 stand-alone machine for inspecting and testing injectables by CMP Phar.ma will also be exhibited. This company specialises in inspection systems for the pharmaceutical industry and was partly taken-over by Marchesini last December.

A Corima line will be staged in the middle of the booth composed of the Stery LA filler with Isol-Air isolator designed by the Marchesini Group and of Capsy, a rotary capper for S.P.V. containers in a sterile environment.

These machines create a solution that fully satisfies the requirements of the Regulating Authorities for injectables, but also halves washing, drying and decontamination times compared with traditional solutions.  
 

Open Factory 2019: The Al All-Around innovation project kicks off

During Pharmintech, the factory in Pianoro will become the hotspot of the Emilia-Romagna Packaging Valley. Throughout the 4-day Open Factory event, customers will be shown the current state-of-the-art of Industry 4.0 technologies. They will be given a demo of the blister packaging line on which the main models of the fourth technological revolution will work jointly for the first time ever: from the interlinking of machine learning systems through to the analysis of big data. This line - the focal point of the Open Factory - will be composed of the Integra 320 equipped with the Valida feeding system - which has multi-vision cameras to control the shape, thickness and colour of the pills - and an NIR active ingredient recognition system (Near Infrared System). A SCADA system on board provides operators with feedback on the mechanical and functional state of the machine thanks to a system that continuously tracks quality parameters - as well as a predictive maintenance system that can recognise any form of mechanical problem and suggest programmed maintenance. Downstream, the BL-A420 CW labeller controls the weight and has a brand new Sicpa hologram label, not forgetting the horizontal casepacker MC 820 TT for Track&Trace requirements.

Thanks to joint efforts with the strategic partner SEA Vision, this line offers a complete solution for the Industry 4.0. requirements, namely:

• From a semi-closed system, the machine now becomes a totally open technological ecosystem, which can deliver internal data (e.g. production data) and receive external data (e.g. production orders). Thanks to the OPC UA protocol and to interlinked technologies, a full communication system is achieved, not only within the factory - between the machines themselves and their management systems, such as ERP and MES - but also between machines and organisations outside the company (such as those who issue the serialized codes to be used in the process), thus favouring connectivity at all levels;
• Yudoo by SEA Vision: an advanced and modular software suite which incorporates various functions arranged into packets selected by the customer, according to the information requested. The platform allows users to analyse and manage all incoming and outgoing data. The end result is a user-friendly framework and a strategic tool for Business Intelligence. Yudoo will tap into a huge amount of data that otherwise remains dormant in the production environment. These can be selected, interpreted and converted into information, which will then be used in various areas, for example to improve the quality of the production process, making it possible to correct errors in advance, easily pinpoint causes for drops in production, eliminate unscheduled idle times and foresee routine maintenance operations.

Once up and running, these technologies will turn business into a Smart Factory where everything is interlinked and where machines, people and I.T. systems interact to achieve innovative products, services and workplaces.

The combined use of this information will lead to endless opportunities and knowing how to seize them on is the real challenge of the manufacturing world today.

The Open Factory event will include a tour of the logistics department and the rapid prototyping department, for a hands-on demonstration of how the production and business organisations have been strengthened. New investments have been made in the logistics department to expand storage space by 1,500 cubic meters to manage a rise in production capacity of 20%. The warehousing processes will be totally reorganised and boosted by 18 cutting-edge towers - fast and flexible structures completely linked to the corporate management system - and by doubling the current ASRS warehousing system - an automatic high-density storage and handling system that guarantees perfect inventory accuracy (independent from the know-how of personnel), plus high quality item management. The advantages of these investments will be rapid material preparation times and shorter production and delivery times of the machines.

Customers will also be able to try out the Remote Maintenance function using augmented reality glasses: this function allows operators to work directly on the machines installed at the customers’ premises from Marchesini offices, interacting with users on-site and giving them instructions in real time. Thanks to this technology, maintenance operations will become extremely rapid, efficient and decisive.

During the event, this technology will be paired with the virtual room at the Headquarters in Pianoro, where guests may browse a virtual environment that simulates that of the machine being built.

To conclude, the Group’s 4th Sustainability Report will be presented on the 10th April. This year’s preface will be written by the Rector of the University of Bologna, Francesco Ubertini, and Professor Stefano Zamagni will be present.