MSD | FLANDERS DIAMOND MANUFACTURING

Innovation challenge

In the continuous quest to further optimize the automated diamond polishing process both companies are looking to improve the data transfer between the planning tool and automatic diamond polishing machines. Due to the absence of automated integration, manual entry of data into the polishing machine is required after completing the planning phase. This lack of seamless integration raises the risk of inaccuracies that could negatively impact the value of the diamond. Furthermore, the presence of planning tools and polishers offered by various independent suppliers on the market further complicates the standardization of synchronization between different systems. Both companies want to innovatively challenge these efficiencies as further automating the polishing process can yield substantial time and cost savings during the transformation of rough diamonds into polished.

Solution developed

In the research project, system engineers examined multiple potential solution directions. Since off-the-shelf solutions were not available, several custom-made software solutions were explored, suggested and validated. The technical approaches revolve around file conversion and screen capturing using OCR technology. Through the utilization of these technologies, data can be effortlessly and accurately transferred from the planning software to the ultimate polishing machine. All developed scenarios are realistic, and a positive ROI is foreseen on the mid & long term.

How did the coaching enable you to accelerate?

Danny Meylemans: "We’ve always realized that seamless data transfer is at the heart of our state-of-theart automated production process. Now, thanks to the expert team we’ve managed to identify in a structured manner a number of possible solutions that we can go ahead with."