Kartesis

Kartesis Industries: an Industry 4.0 production strategy with CLOOMA solution for automated machine tool control.

Technical and organizational gains:

• Up to 95% reduction in setup time,
• a scrap rate below 2%,
• and the ability to produce more complex parts for new markets.

Kartesis Industries, founded in 2014 and based in Bonneville, in the Arve Valley in France, was formed from the merger of several family-owned companies. The group combines bar turning technologies with plastic injection, overmolding, and assembly to manufacture or co-develop, together with its customers, finished or semi-finished products. Historically a Tier 2 automotive subcontractor, the group has expanded worldwide to produce close to its customers. It generates $70 million in revenue and employs 550 people, including 250 in France.

With the announced end of combustion engines by 2035, and in order to diversify into other sectors, Kartesis Industries is focusing on quality — with a zero-defect objective — and innovation. Since 2018, under the leadership of Thierry Callendrier, CEO of Kartesis Industries and representing the second generation of management, the group has implemented an Industry 4.0 strategy dedicated to production. It chose CLOOMA solution to enable automatic control of production resources.

The Industry 4.0 strategy of Kartesis Group is built on two pillars. The first is data management (ERP, MES, and SGED software), including their acquisition and visualization. The second is the modernization of its core business, namely production through bar turning and precision machining. As part of this activity, Kartesis produces medium- to large-scale series of micron-level precision parts made from stainless steels, steels, and aluminum. Machining is performed on multispindle lathes — processing 6 to 8 bars simultaneously to shorten cycle times — and on single-spindle lathes for smaller series and prototypes.

To remain competitive in the bar turning sector, Kartesis decided in 2018 to launch an ambitious production digitalization program.
Alexis Vulliez, recruited that same year to lead the Industry 4.0 project, explains that one of its key components was automating production to operate in a closed-loop system:

“As everyone knows, it’s becoming very difficult to recruit skilled workers, and within two or three years, many bar-turning specialists will retire. We needed to find a way to integrate new operators without losing know-how.”

The CLOOMA software was chosen because it enables both real-time production monitoring and quality visualization through traditional control charts.
But above all, with the CLOOMA solution, Kartesis could control its machines in closed-loop mode. This means that the operator only needs to measure the parts produced, while the software calculates the corrections and sends them directly to the machine.
Machine setup and dimensional quality are fully automated and no longer depend on the operator.

“Since we started using CLOOMA,” comments Alexis Vulliez, “we’ve seen a reduction in setup time of around 90 to 95%. Whereas it used to take 40 minutes to adjust a part, today everything is automatically adjusted in less than five minutes. Correctors, which were traditionally entered manually, are now automatically integrated through CLOOMA. The loop is now closed. In the end, it takes just five minutes for a part to be within tolerance. CLOOMA has reduced variability and brought our scrap rate down to below 2%.”

Since 2018, significant progress has been made.
The integration of software capable of correcting machines in closed-loop mode has initiated the transformation of the workshop.
With CLOOMA, setup operations are minimal — users are now mainly responsible for inspection tasks and can dedicate more time to their core machining activities, focusing on machine maintenance and upkeep.

Gone are the days when a qualified setter was assigned full-time to a small group of machines.
Today, the organization gives operators the responsibility for measuring parts and managing day-to-day production operations.
Qualified setters now intervene only when mechanical work on the machines is required and when adjustments go beyond sending digital corrections.
Everyone’s skills are used where they add the most value.

The Industry 4.0 project is therefore much more than just a collection of IT tools for digitalizing production — it represents a true industrial vision of what tomorrow’s manufacturing should be.
To maintain its position as a leader in its sector, Kartesis Industries has successfully integrated new technologies in the service of production.
The benefits of the project are not only technical (reduced setup times, lower scrap rates) but also organizational.

For instance, the machine layout has been redesigned to provide self-service access to a Zeiss Duramax 3D measuring machine, located near the machine tools.
This new organization gives operators greater autonomy, reduces the workload of setters, and boosts overall production performance.

Before using CLOOMA, it took two months to integrate a new hire, as they had to learn how to read technical drawings in detail, translate them into manufacturing sequences, identify dimensions on the part, check all measurements, and so on.
With CLOOMA, and thanks to an internal mentoring approach, onboarding now takes just two weeks — and only two or three days for an experienced bar-turning specialist — since all the necessary information is integrated into the software and accessible to everyone.

For Kartesis Industries, the CLOOMA solution fits perfectly with the market and meets their needs in terms of standards, performance, and organization.
A win-win relationship quickly developed with CLOOMA.
For example, Kartesis Industries tests beta versions of new CLOOMA features, while CLOOMA develops solutions to integrate new types of machines.

Alexis Vulliez values the close collaboration with Ellistat — the easy and regular contact with the team, and the direct exchanges with developers on real-world use cases.
Regarding training, CLOOMA e-learning offer on CLOOMA covers all relevant topics and saves a significant amount of time.

To date, CLOOMA is used across all bar-turning operations at Kartesis Industries and is currently being implemented in the secondary machining (“reprise”) sector.
International deployment has been completed in Slovakia and the United States, and will soon extend to Mexico.
In total, 200 machines are concerned, and among the 110 machine tools installed in France, one-third already operate with CLOOMA solution.
The objective is to reach 100%.

Furthermore, Kartesis Industries has now expanded into more diversified markets, such as the production of components for e-mobility (e-bike and electric vehicle motors) and connectors.
The group is also active in the heavy vehicle and equipment sector, as well as in other high-tech industries such as aerospace and energy.

Alexis Vulliez concludes:

“We’re very proud of how our workshop has evolved thanks to the CLOOMA software solution.It has completely changed the way we control our machines.
We’ve been able to develop a new culture of managing variability — more dynamic and efficient — with tangible results in quality and productivity. Our production teams enjoy greater comfort at work, and we can now easily handle more complex parts. CLOOMA gives us a real competitive edge. The solution has enabled us to produce new types of parts and expand into new markets.”