The Correa Group has successfully concluded two strategic R&D plans that have led to the development of new technologies that are essential for transforming today´s machine tools into highly productive and flexible automated centers capable of working semi-autonomously for full working days.
Last July, the Correa Group successfully concluded the two strategic R&D plans for which the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the European Union and the Junta de Castilla y León, through the ICE (Instituto para la Competitividad Empresarial), granted it a grant of 1 million euros in 2020. These two strategic plans have enabled the development of new fundamental technologies to transform current machine tools into automated centers with high production and flexibility capable of working semi-autonomously during full working days. The aim is to make a qualitative leap in the dynamic performance, flexibility and automation of these machines.
The first of these plans has developed a new technology for automatic damping of chatter-type vibrations in milling machines, one of the physical phenomena that most limits the productivity of these large machines, which will increase the performance of the company´s new range of milling machines. This new technology has made it possible to develop the first tuned mass dampers (TMDs) to counteract chatter vibrations, and their vibration damping capacity has been successfully evaluated in different positions within the working volume of a large VERXA W model milling machine.
Within the second project, the company has developed different technologies that will increase the flexibility and automation of machining processes. These technologies include the following: Development of an automatic digital tracing system for large cast and mechanically welded parts, as well as the manufacture of a first prototype and its implementation in the machining plant that the company has in the Gamonal Industrial Park (Burgos). This system has made it possible to automate the part layout process, reducing time and cost. Development of a new automatic palletizing system that provides the milling machines with an automated part loading and unloading area, independent from the machining area. This system allows the machine to work unattended for longer periods of time, increasing the productivity of the entire process. This automation solution is in great demand and Nicolás Correa S.A. has already delivered the first palletizing system born from this project to a customer during 2023.
These new technologies are expected to have a strong impact on the social, economic and industrial fabric of the Community, by substantially increasing the company´s expected turnover in the near future, together with that of its main local suppliers.
