Augmented Reality (AR) for the digital transformation in Manufacturing, from improving efficiency to remote field service

Creating added value in every phase of the life cycle of its machines destined for the supply chain is the goal of every manufacturing company which wishes to fully exploit the capacity of Industry 4.0.

This spirit is perfectly reflected in the digital transformation path of Cama Group, a world leader in the design and manufacture of secondary packaging systems able to provide its customers with high-tech, highly customized solutions for increasing productivity, reducing the time to market and stoppage times during maintenance and rapidly carrying out format changes.

Crucial in this path are Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies, which are able to provide information in real time, such as data, manuals and format change instructions, simply by scanning the tag present on the machines with a tablet.

“Augmented reality is a strategic lever for its digital transformation pathway, both for its machinery in terms of maintenance and format change operations, and for its own human resources, in the context of on-boarding and virtual training”

Massimo Monguzzi, R&D Manager, CAMA Group

Augmented Reality, in the context of a Smart Connected Factory, is able to improve the performance of man and machine: on the one hand, it indeed allows faults and issues to be identified before they become critical; on the other, it can help people in their operations, reducing the timescales and making the most of individual skills.

Cama Group, a company at the cutting edge in terms of technological innovation, with R&D investments of fully 5% of turnover, had already invested strongly in digitization and 3D design and structured an IoT ecosystem of connected machinery for real-time data exchange for remote control, when it expressed the need to:

• Improve support for its machinery at customer premises
• Optimize the flow and performance of after-sales maintenance to improve customer service
• Strengthen on-field training and enable virtual training

The Lutech CDM team supported Cama’s R&D department in developing a system based on PTC Vuforia Studio to enable remote field service and therefore allow perfect operation of its machinery without necessarily providing direct support from its technicians in the field.

The solution, integrated with the company’s IoT ecosystem, allows for:

• Remote support to the customer’s technicians and plant engineers
• Advanced Augmented Reality Instructions for “self-service” remote support, testing and installation: the operative can scan the machine’s Thing Mark (a unique QR code) with a tablet and obtain maintenance instructions, documentation, assembly, technical sheets and simulations of the necessary operations
• An integrated company-level vision system thanks to connected machines
• Remote training sessions with AR/VR support simulations on digital twin models
• The development of diagnostic and condition IoT solutions aimed at identifying and guiding fault management

A win-win project in which both Cama Group and its customers saw significant improvements in operations and aftersales KPIs, including:

• Reduction in support calls by customers
• Acceleration in the on-field training phase 
• Reductions in travel by service personnel and corresponding reduction in company costs