How to establish small-volume production and, at the same time, maintain competitive prices? Especially if these are electromechanical drives — high-tech equipment used in many industries. Mikhail Fedosovsky, the founder of Diakont, a scientist, designer, and holder of numerous patents for inventions, knows the answer to this question. The company’s enterprises that he established work in the USA and Italy. Their products have won the trust of the largest representatives of the automotive industry. How did a businessman win the promising electromechanical drive market, where competition is especially strong today?
Factory in Tuscany
The laying of the first pillar of the new Diakont SRL plant in the Italian commune of Lucignano in 2020 was accompanied by applause. The construction of a high-tech enterprise became an important event for the province of Arezzo in Tuscany. Up to that point, the region lacked factories organized in accordance with the concept of Industry 4.0. Mikhail Fedosovsky, who was present at the ceremony, attributed the choice of the construction site to its advantageous geographical location and the desire to provide young people with new jobs.
The launch of the production site took place a year later. Today, Diakont actuators are regularly supplied to the world leaders of the automotive industry. More than 3,000 actuators are already working on the production lines of the largest automotive enterprises. However, few people know what kind of tremendous work preceded such outstanding results.
Actuators are an integral part of cyber-physical systems. They are widely used in industrial, household, and economic spheres. Under such conditions, there can be no universal solutions. To produce customized electromechanical drives in small batches means increasing the cost of production, which in conditions of fierce competition, is doomed to failure. Mikhail Fedosovsky and his team have been working for over a year to overcome this challenge. They strived to create a new conceptual business structure and lay down the technological basis for the intelligent production of electromechanical drives. It was supposed to make mass customization of actuators possible. It could also provide significant price and technical advantages.
Organizing Smart Production
By 2019, Mikhail Fedosovsky and his team managed to fix the problem. They created the concept of not just smart but hyper-automatized production capable of responding quickly to changes in the external environment. Hyperautomatization is a comprehensive automation of production using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other advanced technologies. The model of such an enterprise was implemented during the construction of the Lucignano plant.
The Italian enterprise produces electromechanical drives customized to its customers’ needs. The organization of production is based on the following principles:
- Forecasting demand and output volumes
- Forming requirements for a group of products and highlighting the key link based on which electromechanical drives can be customized
- Carrying out R&D on the basic link and the actuator manufacturing technology
- Designing a production system using the concept of three-level factories and building a cyber-physical system at the enterprise
Adaptive R&D is carried out for each series of electromechanical drives. It includes adding components to the model to meet the customer’s specific needs. Besides, it involves revaluating demand and production volumes, revising technologies, and optimizing the production process.
Electromechanical drives are created on the basis of roller-screw gear. To design it, Diakont specialists have developed their own software for computer-aided design systems. This software enables you to quickly design and virtually test the basic link of the roller-screw gear. Then, you will get the most accurate parameters of the actuator. Customization for the customer is performed at the final stage of production.
This approach allows you to reduce the cost and the product development time. If the customer needs a solution to a non-standard problem, it is not necessary to completely change the project. It is enough to add several components using pre-designed solutions. Thus, it becomes possible to assemble the product quickly since mass-produced parts and semi-finished products are already in stock.
Plans and Prospects
Mikhail Fedosovsky’s innovative approach has fully justified itself. Top Chinese automakers, including the leader of the Chinese market of cars powered by new energy sources, have become buyers of DA99 actuators.
In 2022, large corporations from North America became the company’s customers. A Canadian enterprise purchased a large batch of DA45 actuators. The company regularly participates in international industry exhibitions. Not so long ago, it presented two new models of electromechanical drives for plastic dosing and casting. Today, Diakont occupies a leading position in the market of electromechanical drives and is optimistic about the future. According to experts, the demand for actuators will only grow in the coming decades.
