El Instituto de Tecnología Cerámica (ITC-AICE), con el apoyo del Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial (IVACE) y mediante los Fondos FEDER de Desarrollo Regional, está inmerso en un estudio en profundidad de las técnicas de funcionalización de superficies en distintos sectores de la producción industrial para poder aplicarlas al sector cerámico en el marco del proyecto denominado Funker.

La cerámica puede ir más allá de cumplir la función de revestir pavimentos o paredes, puesto que mediante determinadas tecnologías se la puede dotar de nuevas funcionalidades que le proporcionen un plus, como ya se ha logrado en el caso de las superficies cerámicas antideslizantes, biocidas y autolimpiables, entre otras.

Por eso, el objetivo del proyecto Funker, en el que también colaboran las empresas Estudio Cerámico, S.L., y Hermanos Llansola, S.L., realiza una prospectiva de funciones superficiales de otros materiales desarrollados en distintos sectores. Posteriormente se llevará a cabo un análisis de la viabilidad de la implantación industrial de aquellas que resulten de mayor interés en los productos cerámicos.

Con esto se pretende proporcionar a las empresas cerámicas fabricantes distintas opciones de funcionalización del material cerámico que incrementen su valor añadido, obteniendo materiales inteligentes capaces de responder a estímulos externos y proporcionar propiedades innovadoras que aporten soluciones a los principales retos sociales y ambientales a los que nos enfrentamos, como el cambio climático o las consecuencias derivadas de las crisis sanitarias.

Este estudio se prolongará hasta junio de 2024 y está alineado con los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la ONU (ODS) números 3 (Salud y bienestar), 9 (Industria, innovación e infraestructuras), 12 (Producción y consumo responsable) y 13 (Acción por el clima).

La foto muestra unas superficies cerámicas higiénicas con efecto hidrófobo.

www.itc.uji.es

“An excellent interface between science and in-the-field experience” is how Pascal Seffern, Professor at the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, underlines the value of Sacmi’s books on technologies to produce ceramic sanitaryware and tableware, recently handed out to students following a partnership established between Sacmi and the German university.

The aim of the new partnership is to inspire tomorrow’s graduates and teach them the basic principles and practical applications of the ceramics industry. “These books transfer to the reader a wide range of fundamental concepts regarding all areas of the sanitaryware and tableware manufacturing industry” explains the professor.

Underlying the initiative is the transformation of manufacturing towards applied sustainability, especially in the construction industry. “The ceramics industry can still enjoy a growing reputation and relevance as an enabling sector –observes Seffern– but it is essential to foster and develop young, specialized talent”.

This has brought to the forefront the strategic topic of training and the capacity of the ceramic world to attract young technicians and technologists. The partnership with Sacmi promises to stimulate skill and passion for the ceramics sector, combining academic research with Sacmi’s decades-long in-the-field experience to discover increasingly efficient and sustainable application solutions.

www.sacmi.it

Hannover Messe 2024 (22-26 April) is responding to changing market requirements with the new Industrial Services exhibition area. German industry is facing ever new challenges in the face of rising energy prices, a shortage of young talent, and increasing bureaucratic hurdles. Companies are outsourcing services so that they can devote their full attention to their own core activities and issues. This is where the new Industrial Services exhibition area comes into play, offering companies from the spheres of maintenance, assembly, recycling, cleaning, and industrial logistics the opportunity to showcase their service offerings and products in the attractive setting of Hall 11, at the interface between automation and energy topics.

This joint stand will be supported by, among others, VAIS (Association for Plant Engineering and Industrial Services). «Hannover Messe is the leading international trade fair and showcase for the industry. We are pleased that, with the new exhibition area, the importance and role of industrial services as enabler for the industrial transformation in Germany will become more visible. The show offers our members the opportunity to present their solutions to an audience of customers and experts and, in return, to familiarize themselves with the latest technological developments,» says Dr. Dietmar Kestner, Managing Director of VAIS.

The joint stand is likewise interesting for logistics service providers. They are the supply chain’s enablers, alleviating the burden on industry with solutions tailored to specific and varied requirements.

Hannover Messe is the world’s only event at which companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical, digital and energy sectors come together to present solutions in the interests of establishing an industrial environment that is both high-performance and sustainable in equal measure. As a networked industrial ecosystem, they demonstrate how climate neutrality can be achieved by adopting electrification, digitization, and automation and applying sustainable technologies and solutions along with the incorporation of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).