CASE STUDY
Grant for innovative technologies
The company OLEJÁR spol s.r.o. belongs to the producers of fibreglass products in Slovakia. The company are experts in the manufacture, supply and installation of warning, guide and signal strips in exteriors and interiors.
The problem
Prior to the project, the company used single-purpose machines with a lot of manual tasks, and some of the tasks had to be outsourced. As each job is highly individual and Olejár spol. s r.o. provides a client-specific and turnkey service, they had to rebuild the machines for a new portfolio with each new assignment. This system of operation resulted in lower competitiveness, higher price and inflexibility. At the same time, the company was unable to take on smaller contracts.
Goal
The aim of the project was therefore to procure new technological equipment that eliminated these problems and at the same time enabled the applicant to expand its product portfolio and introduce an innovative product with improved features for safety and orientation in space for the blind and partially sighted. In particular, two devices were procured: a contour laser cutter with a robotic handling system and an industrial plastic 3D printer based on plastic powder.
Duration / Runtime
The first meeting regarding the project took place in October 2022 and the project was successfully completed in December 2023. As only one year has passed from the first meeting itself, the evaluation of the suitability of the project to participate in the call, the submission of the application, the procurement of the equipment and the completion of the project, there have been no changes in the implementation of the project.
Result
Thanks to the grant support, the company acquired a machine - a contour laser cutter, which cuts out the desired shapes and geometries from the adhesive film. Previously, the applicant used a die-cutting machine and manually finalised the products.
The acquired innovative device also facilitated the streamlining of the robotic workstation. The machine now automatically applies the labels to the printed tactile elements instead of manually gluing them, which has made the whole process significantly faster, simpler and more cost-effective.
The second innovative device procured, an industrial 3D printer, can print tactile elements that previously had to be produced by injection moulding. It is a zero-waste technology that is free of geometry and shape complexity constraints (before the machine was procured, a separate mould was produced for each type of product). Previously, the applicant Olejár spol. s.r.o. outsourced the activities. The deployment of this type of technology in the company's production marked the first deployment of this type of technology in industry in Slovakia.