- Machinery
- Case Study
A "factory with the factory" in DigitalTtwin format - the testimony of inarca S.p.A.
Taking a path of digital transformation è already challenging in itself, but when the company involved è a “factory with the factory” then the challenge doubles. È this is the case of Inarca, a company founded in Padua in 1964 that designs and manufactures terminals, connectors, and electrical connection machines, which distinguishes itself among manufacturing realities by making all processes in-house.
«In the industrial world, many processes are often outsourced to achieve cost reduction and because of the difficulty’of managing multiple specializations; all this leads, per’to a loss of skills;, to a loss of skills that are transferred outside, and in recent years we have understood the’importance of this aspect», explains Mauro Boischio, Cad Manager of the Padua-based company. «Inarca, on the other hand, wants to remain a “factory with factory” in that all processes are carried out in-house: design, metal and plastic mold making, metal stamping, plastic molding, galvanic treatments, compound product assembly, and wiring machines and equipment».
In order to integrate and optimize processes, Inarca has embarked on a true digital journey, adopting a Plm (Product Lifecycle Management) system for product lifecycle management and 3D cad/cam software solutions for building the digital twin of products and processes.
For more than fifty years, Inarca has been developing and producing electrical connection technologies. Today, it is a company of 130 people with a production site covering 18,500 square meters. Its terminals and connectors are used in household appliances, electric motors and drives, electronic circuits, and automotive components.
With more than 200 patents to its name, Inarca invests an average of 10 percent of its annual sales in equipment renewal and dedicates about 11,000 hours per year to staff training.
Since 2015, it has been ISO/TS 16949 Automotive certified, which has driven the company to raise the bar, embarking on a continuous improvement process starting from the design phase.
The ISO 14001 environmental certification, achieved in 2006, demonstrates the company’s long standing commitment to environmental protection.
«We want to be a reliable partner for our clients, providing concrete answers to their needs. With us, they will find a team that stands behind its work and is committed to offering innovative solutions” and is committed to proposing innovative solutions», says Boischio.
It all started in 2020 with the company’s need to modernize its engineering department, and specifically the design area, by implementing systems capable of creating a digital model of both the product and the process, the Digital Twin, more powerful and integrated than those previously in use.
«Driven by this need, we looked for a technology partner that could help us achieve our goals and provide a single solution capable of covering all engineering and production processes,” explains Boischio. “As a first step, we conducted market research to evaluate available technologies and partners. For the technical office, where I serve as CAD Manager, selecting a PLM technology was crucial to ensure integrated management of processes from design through to all other company departments. Thanks to the solution implemented by our technology partner, we achieved full integration between the 3D mechanical design system NX CAD and the workshop and production system NX CAM, thereby improving not only the design process but also reducing project development times and optimizing production cycles».
The project for Inarca was carried out in two stages: the first involved the introduction of the PLM Teamcenter, while the second focused on the NX CAD and NX CAM solutions.
The total time required to implement the entire project was approximately 12 months.
This first step was necessary to optimize the production process through the NX Cam solution.
The gradual insertion of the technology within the set implementation timeframe has ensured a continuous path, allowing Inarca to achieve its goals and to think about future extensions to involve other business departments that can benefit from the Digital Twin.
Another key outcome of this project has been the optimization of the tools used across all machines. «An application was developed within Teamcenter PLM, enabling a significant reduction in the total number of tools managed, with a substantial impact on procurement and management costs. The main focus for Inarca right now is standardization in both design and manufacturing. This will allow us to optimize the entire production chain. In addition, we aim to further advance our use of the Digital Twin by eliminating the drafting of components and increasingly automating machine tool programming», concludes Rocchi.
Hence the decision to adopt a best in class technology, recognized globally, and to rely on a trusted technology partner who, thanks to more than twenty years of experience with Siemens solutions, can provide high value technological and consulting support throughout the implementation of the entire PLM, CAD, and CAM project.