Development through innovation – Sii Poland experts appreciated in engineering R&D projects

Modern car seats for premium brands, key components and service equipment for operating powerful machines that enable installation of integrated circuits in billions of devices worldwide and innovative solutions for the dairy industry, used on thousands of farms – these are some of the research and development projects currently carried out by Sii Poland engineers. Learn more about their challenges and the projects themselves.

How to become a market leader and a company appreciated by its clients – this is a question and challenge for a large number of companies, including those in the manufacturing industry. – Certainly, an important component of success is a product that suits perfectly the clients’ needs, but also is modified over time through the development of new functionalities and in response to market changes caused by, for example, new regulations – explains Szymon Woźnica, Business Development Manager at Sii Poland. – As a result of the current situation on the market, working on the product is not only about its functionality, but also about all activities aimed at improving production efficiency, margins and product lifespan. Due to the complexity of this issue, the proper performance of a full range of R&D works requires complex structures and hence highly qualified personnel – adds Szymon Woźnica.

The support of Sii Poland experts who on a daily basis cooperate with clients from all over the world is a response to these needs.

Innovative solutions in cars of the future

One example is the collaboration with an international company specializing in the design and manufacture of car parts for many global brands. Sii Poland engineers work in a department dealing with advanced pneumatic systems used in car seats such as massage cushions.

– Our recent major success was the creation of the first version of a web application for the control of a car seat demonstrator equipped with elements that increase the driver’s comfort, including massagers – explains Maria Wójcik, Business Manager at Sii Poland.

The app allowing you to operate massage cushions was created with front-end technologies, i.e. HTML, CSS and JavaScript, as well as back-end technologies like RaspberryPi and Python. The earlier version was replaced with a new one, thus removing a number of limitations and inconveniences faced by the end-user testing the presented seats.

– The new app developed by our team works quickly, looks aesthetically and is very flexible. Any change can be made instantly. It significantly increased the comfort of using the demonstrator as well as accelerated and facilitated works on the configuration of next demonstrators – adds Maria Wójcik.

Sii Poland experts also support the entire Design Office team in topics related to broadly understood mechatronics and are responsible for building End-of-Line testers and measuring stations for prototyping facilities. They are used by the client to test the functionality and tightness of both single elements as well as entire valve blocks, which are crucial for the correct functioning of solutions increasing the driver’s comfort in modern premium car seats.

Advanced solutions for the semiconductor industry

Sii Poland experts cooperate with Cematec Engineering BV, a leading Dutch engineering company specializing in the design and construction of machines and special-purpose equipment. They work on projects for a producer of complex and technologically advanced machines used in the semiconductor industry. These machines are targeted at all of the world’s leading manufacturers of chips, a wide range of which are used in billions of electronic devices around the world.

– The range of activities carried out by the engineers includes the design of equipment and solutions for lifting, transporting and replacing selected machine modules, as well as tools used during its first assembly and parts servicing – says Błażej Pezała, Business Manager at Sii Poland.  – We are responsible for all design phases: concept, necessary calculations, final 3D model, technical documentation and post-production tests. It’s a very big challenge, but knowing that our contribution is an important part of the development process of a product thanks to which billions of electronic devices around the world will be made really fills us with pride – he adds.

Richard Thomson, the Managing Director at Cematec Engineering BV, openly admits that in the semiconductor sector it is a challenge to meet the demand for highly skilled workers, including mechanical engineers specializing in precision mechanics. – The shortage of talent is forcing us to optimize existing strategies and look for alternatives. One of them was the establishment of cooperation with Sii Poland. Their workers have experience in mechanics, are willing to work, well educated, mobile and flexible. A year ago, we began working together on complex projects for the semicon industry. The first stage was to get to know our culture, habits and way of doing things. In accordance with the arrangements, Sii learned and implemented projects very quickly, which is why both we and our client are fully satisfied – says Richard Thomson. Currently, Sii Poland engineers are working remotely from the company’s office in Gdansk, but are regularly visiting the Dutch Cematec branch.

Automated farm and patents for the dairy industry

Sii Poland also supports one of the largest and most recognizable global companies providing integrated solutions for the dairy industry. Such a huge scale of activity and a wide range of products require reliable and modern tools and systems, especially because some of them are designed to have direct contact with animals. Hundreds of thousands of them are handled every day. That is why the used machines must be adjusted to difficult environmental conditions and meet strict standards. This is a tough challenge, which Sii Poland engineers meet successfully.

One of the projects they are involved in concerns a state-of-the-art automatic milking system. Sii’s experts support the client in the design of electrical equipment, testing and certification. But that’s not all. – Our role in the project is multidimensional. We provide testing resources during product development, cooperate with the client’s developers during software development, but also develop it ourselves in the case of certain products, carrying out works until their start-up at the destination on farms – explain Artur Halko, Control Systems Engineer at Sii Poland. Artur is one of the members of the team that tests and integrates, among others, cow milking platform control systems, feeding systems and waste management devices based on PLCs and inverters.

As part of the entrusted tasks, engineers build and program test stations for mentioned systems, as well as perform tests and start-ups in laboratories and on farms, both in Poland and abroad. – That is why we have been several times to New Zealand, where we could see how the system behaves under target conditions. We also have our on-site lab with full-size equipment for dry testing to control the effects of works on a daily basis – explains Artur Halko.

Depending on the client’s needs, Sii Poland organizes or supports certification tests based on applicable standards and provides technical resources for operating farms during the software improvement process. – Our engineers working on the client’s premises have already been jointly responsible for new patents twice. What’s more, we are proud of our support during the start-up of the company’s new, and the first of this type, systems controlling milking and feeding carousels that automate the feeding of cows during milking – says Steven Clegg, Account Executive at Sii Poland. The control mechanism of this solution has been integrated with the farm management system in the client-server architecture, thanks to which the farm owner not only has continuous access to information such as the amount of milk produced by each animal and feed consumption rate but can also manage the amount of food that is needed.

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