In recent years, with the technological progress, ceramic slabs have become increasingly larger and thinner, and their sizes have kept breaking records. More and more enterprises are participating in the production of large-format ceramic slabs, and a new industry and market trend is quietly forming. All these are related with the development and innovation of ceramic equipment manufacturers.

Among large-format ceramic slab production equipment manufacturers, System S.p.A is undoubtedly the brightest one. With the advanced technological advantage of Lamgea moldless press, System S.p.A has harvested recognition and cooperation from the global ceramic industry. It was learnt that nearly 40 large-format ceramic slabs production lines worldwide now use the company’s equipment solutions.

Lamgea without mold press leads the industry large-format flexible production

At present, the most eyes-catching equipment of System is Lamgea moldless press. Since its inception, the press has been displayed on Italy’s Tecnargilla exhibition and many other ceramic machinery and equipment exhibitions held in various places worldwide. On all the exhibitions, it attracted heavy attention. A senior manager of System China said that Lamgea moldless press has very obvious advantages in the large-format ceramic production, flexible modular production as well as energy conservation and environmental protection.

System’s Lamgea moldless press uses belt extrusion forming and doesn’t need any molds. Its maximum pressure can reach 50,000 tons, the pressure is evenly distributed by the hydraulic system onto the surface of the ceramic panel, and the nominal force on the surface is 420kg/cm². The specifications of the pressed ceramic slab products range from 600×600 (mm) to 1,600×5,600 (mm). The size of slabs is very flexible, and their thickness can also be freely changed. Slabs with a thickness of 3-30mm can all be produced.

Lamgea moldless press does not need any mold, and it takes only 14 minutes to replace the belt, but the traditional press equipment needs to stop production for half a day to replace molds,. Thus, Lamgea moldless press greatly improves the production efficiency. At the same time, three kinds of mold patterns carved on the 16-meter belt also meet the need for diverse patterns. In addition, through the upgrading of technology, System has also solved the flatness issue of large-format ceramic slabs very well and has been able to achieve a flatness of ≤ 0.2mm. In terms of energy consumption, Lamgea moldless press only consumes 70 kW/hour and reduces energy consumption by 50% compared with the traditional press equipment.

Data show that Lamgea moldless press also has a very high openness and adaptability and can be customized according to panel manufacturers’ production needs. It can be integrated with any panel manufacturer’s fabric production system to meet customers’ specific needs.

Auxiliary equipment fully covers the target whole-line automation

In addition to the press, System has also always maintained an advanced level in other aspects of the ceramic production process. For the large-format trend emerging in recent years, the company has developed corresponding products.

The senior manager of System China said that the technology and equipment that System will display on the upcoming China International Ceramics Industry Exhibition (“Guangzhou ceramics exhibition” for short) held in Guangzhou in June include not only its advanced press equipment but also its inkjet printers and post-kiln automation equipment, many of which can be equipped with the large-format ceramic panel press for panel production, including Creadigit printer and Multigecko automatic picking line.

Creadigit inkjet printer is System’s classic printer series and has obvious advantages in the industry, and it also has a very wide range of applications in China. Its advantages include ultra-high resolution (400 DPI), maximum printing speed (70 m/min), unparalleled print accuracy, no wire drawing, no ink drop and other stable qualities. The model displayed on the Guangzhou ceramics exhibition will be Creadigit XLE eight-bar inkjet printer with a new PQRL printhead and can be used for a variety of applications, such as glazed surfaces, patterns and effect glazes. It has a maximum width of 1,032mm.

In addition, System will also display a small printer called Crealab, which can be used for research and development and small batch production.

In the post-kiln storage, AGV, sorting, packaging, logistics and other sectors, System has also maintained the highest level of the industry. At present, nearly half of the world’s automated packaging and support systems are provided by System S.p.A. Taking into account the current development situation of the Chinese market, during the Guangzhou ceramics exhibition, System will main display Multigecko automatic picking line, including BS08 packaging machine, which can be used for the picking and packaging of up to 1,200×1,800 (mm) ceramic panels.

It was learnt that with Industry 4.0 as the goal, System has also established a R&D team in the field of the whole-line automation. In particular, its system software team has developed a digital software service platform called PRIME, which can control all the interconnected devices in the production line and can control the whole facility. The company hopes that in the future, on the basis of advanced equipment hardware, the platform can systematically integrate various software products, connect ERP and MES systems and lead the industry to fully enter the Industry 4.0 stage.

Here some photos from Ceramics China 2017: