MPR Invests in Innovation

Meccanica Pi.Erre is completing its transition towards the Industry 4.0 mode and is investing in R&D with a newly designed, low energy consumption trimming and deburring press

by Roberto Guccione

Research and development is not just a prerogative of large companies; indeed, innovation often stems from SMEs which are more finely tuned to clients’ demands and faster in reacting to market trends. This is the case with Meccanica Pi.Erre, European leader in Trimming & Machining technology (TMT) based in Bedizzole (near Brescia), which with its 70 employees belongs to the lower size bracket of medium enterprises and nevertheless has always proceeded at full throttle regarding innovation and product development.
During the past few years, along with remarkable investments in technologies, human resources and trade promotion, MPR destined considerable resources both to the optimization of its production processes and to the development of new products. After introducing Lean Manufacturing in the 2017-18 period, 2019 will be marked by the introduction of new MES and ERP software for the interconnection of per production plants and process control, thereby starting off an ambitious Industry 4.0 process which will be further developed in 2020.
Regarding products, in 2019 the industrialization process was started for a new and innovative trimming and
deburring press for die castings, whose configuration is completely different from that of traditional hydraulic presses. The machine has already been designed and the first prototype has been functioning for a few months, its main prerogative being that it has overcome issues connected to the hydraulic system. The new machine applies a principle inspired by that of hybrid vehicles, which produce energy using the inertia of masses; new trimming and deburring press therefore has an irrelevant energy consumption, 80% less than traditional hydraulic machines. New ongoing R&D projects concern other products in the MPR catalogue, such as trimming tools, trimming machines with machining units and complete systems, with important innovations coming up.