High-Tech & Design

Since the New York Times first used the term "high tech" way back in 1957 to describe Europe as being characterized by a high population density and level of technology, the concentration of scientific knowledge has become increasingly more advanced. These technologies reach an even higher level when they are applied to the industrial production sector with exceptional results.

Industrial design plays the crucial role of transferring these technologies and knowledge from the scientific world to the production sector and rendering them more accessible and suitable for industrial application. There are two primary objectives: to succeed in combining different technologies and conditions of use in the machinery, and to make the machines safe and simple for the operators.

Ease of use and ergonomics enable the operator to be faster and have greater precision in the performance of his tasks. This is a perfect application of lean manufacturing techniques. 

Experimentation with new materials to build increasingly reliable machines makes them capable of withstanding great stress for lengthy periods. The result is lower production costs and an extension of the useful lifeaccording to the logic of less waste.

Design manages to convey the technological excellence behind the products and increases their perceived value.

This is a mature market, one that presents strong technological barriers to entry; widespread technical skills make the introduction of substantial and "disruptive" innovations complex. This is why competition in the sector is based on high quality and the ability to respond to customer needs in the most custom manner possible. The ability to adapt the machinery, by reconfiguring it to be more flexible, not only contributes to improving the company's production performance, but also becomes one of the keys to success in the sector.

After a particularly negative start to the year, mainly due to the consequences of Covid-19, the forecasts for 2021 are positive. A study by the international econometric institute “Oxford Economics” predicts an upswing in the use of machine tools around the world starting in 2021, with worldwide demand for new machine tools expected to grow by 18.4%.

Large-scale production is no longer Europe's prerogative, but is carried out in other parts of the world where labor is cheap. Costly investment in molds no longer makes for favorable economic returns, and thus other materials produced by mechanical processing machines have begun to be used. These more flexible manufacturing techniques allow for quick adaptations at no additional cost.

Machine tools will, therefore, see ever greater speed and quality in their production and it will be possible to transition from the current prototype models (in which pieces are made without the need for molds) to production models.

Parallel to this, lights-out manufacturing in factories will develop technologies and automation to achieve increases in the quantities produced, and the increasingly specialized workforce will lead to new employment scenarios.

Being sustainable is no longer merely a quirk of the most virtuous, but a necessary condition for competitiveness. For this reason, even less advanced companies are looking for new solutions to mitigate their environmental impact and thus improve financial results. Reducing the weight of the products, for example, helps to reduce transport costs and, at the same time, cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Another equally important trend in the B2B sector is that of customer service. More and more companies, especially larger ones, are transforming their sales mix by increasing additional services. The machine becomes a platform with which to sell a series of custom services with high added value.

An essential role of design is to offer innovative solutions relating to the machine-interface relationship, simplifying use by operators and allowing them to work in complete safety. It is equally important to highlight the value of the machines by making their technological quality immediately perceptible thanks to stylistic choices that exalt the excellence of the machines.