An exceptional product is always the result of seamless interaction between design, choice of the most suitable material and the most suitable moulding technique in order to comply with final contractor demands. At S4Technology staff work to guarantee total project support. In addition, for years now we have been able to provide a full turnkey package, managing supplies of other materials and moulding technologies and are no longer limited to supplying polyurethane moulded pieces alone, in order to act as a single reference point, for less time wasting and greater flexibility.
Co-design, participative design or co-planning is an approach which involves a group of stakeholders – the investors – in the new concept or product idea generation and planning phase with the goal of sharing everyone’s needs and defining project guidelines together. Activities are structured in such a way as to get all workshop participants interacting, transforming them into project co-authors. People with different skills and operational levels work together around the same table: co-design activity enables them to direct and align their ideas towards a common objective in order to define several of the criteria which will have a bearing on future project developments. For this reason, S4Technology makes highly qualified personnel available to you, supporting you right from the start and through all planning phases. Sharing, facilitating and not taking anything for granted are very important principles which are extremely clear to us. Co-design meetings usually take the form of workshops. Thanks to the help of one or more facilitators, interested people and/or a project manager meet up and explore ideas through brainstorming and other Design Thinking techniques.
For S4Technology, engineering is a fundamentally important activity for successful projects, however simple or complex they may be. After careful analysis of a project or prototype, the next phase is the product engineering phase, involving evaluation and sharing with the clients of appropriate corrections and optimisation capable of exalting the characteristics of our materials, respecting the technological constraints of the productive processes and, above all, satisfying client expectations optimally. Once again in this phase, the product’s final appearance is evaluated and chosen, for maximum approval outcomes. S4Technology uses the best CAD/CAM software including CATIA V5.
A product’s reliability over time and the failure risk reduction in the final validation are important elements in any product development process. They are particularly significant key factors for moulded products, for which a design review has a substantial economic impact for the realization of moulds and parts.
Structural analysis is one of the key services we offer our clients. Through analysis it is possible to verify, product resistance to work load and/or testing, as can as well as any abnormal distortion behaviours, and/or verifying product ergonomics under load in order to estimate mutated comfort conditions. In addition to photographs of the product’s work condition, simulation is completed with design indications to optimise the product itself, improve mechanical aspects and optimise material use, internal engineering department and client’s technical (and/or style) department co-operate in close contact during this phase. The software used is midas NFX and midas MESHFREE.
A pre-series (or batch “zero”) is an indicative production which must be evaluated by the client, named as a test batch. Before beginning an industrial serial production S4Technology creates a first prototype , i.e. a first specimen (produced in limited numbers) in order to verify both the suitability of the manufacturing processes and the conformity of the functional technical characteristics to expected requirements. The prototypes undergo a series of tests ( testing ) whose results lead to a revision/improvement of the design in both product and manufacturing process terms, after which the process moves on to the creation of a new prototype and so on until results are considered satisfactory. At this point the next step is moving on to the production of a pre-series or a batch zero, in other words a batch made up of a number of units (limited but greater than the prototype batch) in order to assess production process capacity. The series production begins once that the efficiency of the process has been confirmed. There are various ways of creating such prototypes and these are first discussed with the client for full cost and time transparency, right from the start.
Mould creation is one of the most delicate phases in the S4Technology production process. During mould design our technical office and the partner chosen for mould creation define all equipment specifications. This phase reconciles the rigorous construction standards characteristic of S4Technology with client’s requirements. In order to ensure the dimensional stability and mechanical resistance of a product moulded with RIM technology, S4Technology uses the best aluminium alloys milled with modern CNC machines. S4Technology, a cutting-edge ISO9001 certified company, carries out scheduled maintenance services on clients’ moulds stored in its warehouse.
S4 Technology’s RIM polyurethane transformation takes place through ultra-modern foam systems and mould presses in accordance with new industry 4.0 requirements. We can produce small, medium and large moulded products whose density will range from 600 Kg/m³ to 1150 Kg/m³ in accordance with the chosen solution, often determined by the end use of the moulded parts. Our systems can produce items with a weight range from 200 grams right up to 60 kg. ( Go to Systems > ) The task of S4Technology is to provide moulded products capable of achieving the utmost quality required by clients.
The painting phase of the moulded product is essential to the production process. The paints used for polyurethane are divided up into two macro categories: those for products to be used in an indoor environment and those for outdoor products. In both cases, there are water based formulations (with fewer COV, a volatile organic compound , released into the atmosphere ) and solvent bases (nitro, synthetic, polyurethane and polyester). A special category of paints for polyurethane is fireproof paints which react to and resist fire and those which are conductive (EMI Shielding). Our experience across-the-board experience, made throughout our work and ongoing nano technology research for innovative solutions haves enabled S4Technology to offer a first rate aesthetical and high-performing product. The quality department constantly carries out controls as indicated in the specifications agreed between end clients and S4Technology, according to procedures set out in the ISO9001 manual. We can offer the most varied finishing: matt paint; glossy paint; opalescent paint; bicolour paint; double-layer paint; mould paint – IMC (In Mould Coating); fireproof paint; conductive paint (EMI Shielding); silk-screen paint; pad printing.
The assembly phase is an assembly chain element which provides clients with a strongly customised service since we can provide various mechanical type and technically evolved assembly methods for metallic, elastomeric and electronic parts to client specifications in order to achieve a personalised finished product which has been tested and is ready to use. For elastomeric seal assembly, we use modern two-component workstation equipped with up to six axes capable of masking, silicone coating, gluing and filling in complete accordance with ISO9001:2015 certification. For the assembly of electronic parts such as cards with SMD and PTH technology, an E.P.A. (Electrostatic Protected Area) is available or rather an adequately protected area where the risk of damage to devices, sensitive to electrostatic charges, is minimised. Such a delimited and identified area includes part of the warehouse and various work stations with ISO9001:2015 certified regime, and complete bar code system product traceability. For each type of assembly we provide, we also make testing available with advanced machines for optical inspection with the goal of providing finished, ready to use products tested by an integrated system of quality control ISO9001:2015 guaranteed by our quality staff at every assembly chain stage.
S4Technology is capable of designing and proposing standard and/or custom packaging according to end client needs, involving a careful analysis of the various problems related to the product to be protected. We pay great attention to offering solutions which are innovative and recyclable in order to reduce the environmental impact without losing sight of competitiveness, quality of the materials used and efficiency of the final product to be packaged.
Prevailing globalisation, fierce international competition based on price also for small and medium scale businesses, and a need to respond quickly to sudden changes in customs, commercial and maritime law, have made logistics the jewel in the crown of the most advanced and competitive businesses.
In any overview of supply chain managerial systems, logistics has always occupied a position of prime importance both regarding its role as supplier of operations systems and for its more widely recognised role in distribution management.
Considering the supply chain as a continuum which leads from product acquisition to client (or final user) delivery, logistics is responsible (to different extents and ways) for product supply management, materials management, warehouse systems, handling and packaging phase management, order preparation, stock management, transport management and all
the information exchanges which must take place among the various actors in the supply and distribution chain.
Therefore, on request, S4Technology can provide you with integrated logistics management as an added value of our company, ensuring savings of costs generally attributed to logistics, through dedicated management which reflects high efficiency and punctuality parameters.
S4Technology offers all-round consultation for the concept and design, product and
process feasibility phases. It designs the best technological solutions with the client or associated studios, planning the entire design process.
