Third mobility of the European Project ERASMUS+ SMARTRAIN in Spain
The European Erasmus+ SMARTRAIN project held during the first week of May the third of its mobilities, in this case in Spain, with the presence of students and teachers from Belgium, Italy and Spain.
With the coordination of AIDIMME and CIP FP CATARROJA, Spanish partners of the project, an agenda of training activities was prepared in both centres and visits to companies of interest for the students and teachers who participated in the mobility, such as EMUCA, VICCARBE, KOO INTERNACIONAL y GRUPO ROYO. We would like to thank all of them for their predisposition and excellent attention.
This third mobility is focused on intelligent furniture and the possibilities it offers in its incorporation into furniture, and on the other hand to show the progress made in each of the collaborative projects that are being carried out in each country.
The three projects are clearly differentiated, which allows us to see the different possibilities of incorporating the knowledge acquired in the development of the project by the participating students and teachers.
THE PROJECTS
Within the framework of a collaborative methodology (“Project Based Learning” and learning through direct handling of the concepts learned in workshops (“Learning by doing”), each of the groups alternated between work in mixed teams from all the countries and work in their own groups, during which they have been incorporating the concepts of CIRCULAR ECONOMY, ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING and SMART FURNITURE into each of their projects, so that in the end they expect a result that is enriching for the participating students and teachers and that can be easily extrapolated as a working methodology.
SPANISH PROJECT. KPORT
It is a base that can be used with laptops and tablets, which incorporates recycled materials, and a series of sensors and ports.
ITALIAN PROJECT. ILLUSION LAMP
In this case the project basically consists of a lamp made of recycled wood inspired by the Moebius strip. Wooden packaging material has also been designed using laser cutting.
BELGIAN PROJECT. MUSIC DOME
Completely different from the rest, the MUSIC DOME project generates a work or leisure space, in which the modularity of the construction elements and the possibility of incorporating lights, sensors, loudspeakers, etc… stand out.
TRAINING AND GROUP WORK
Throughout the 3rd, 4th and 5th of May, the students received practical training at AIDIMME and at the CIP FP CATARROJA on the electronic components that can be found in smart furniture, with special emphasis on those that were of greatest interest for the projects of the three groups. For all the projects, the need to know the basics of a connection between sensors and a mobile app was detected, and the training also covered this need, in its most basic aspects.
In both locations, students and teachers from Italy and Belgium visited some of the facilities of AIDIMME and CIPFP CATARROJA.
There were visits to AIDIMME’s Additive Manufacturing facilities and those of the PLASMA project, with explanations from AIDIMME technicians Mario Martínez and Antonio José Martín, from the Technologies and Processes Department.
The training at AIDIMME was conducted by technicians from the TECHNOLOGIES AND PROCESSES Department: Juan del Agua, ICT & Industrial Development technician, and Fernando Gigante, from Information Technologies.
At the CIP FP Catarroja, on 4 and 5 May, students and teachers were able to handle and learn first-hand about the sensors, ARDUINO boards and how to program the set of elements. Lorena Silvent Ruiz, Deputy Mayoress of Catarroja Town Council, visited the event and welcomed the participants of the mobility in Spain.
Under the coordination of Francisco Aparici, teacher of the CIPFP of Catarroja, the students studied and tested in a practical way the use of all the necessary elements for the instruction of sensors, basic programming, etc… in order to finally incorporate these elements in their projects.
On the last day of the mobility, the groups from each country made a presentation of their projects, which was led by Cecilia Amo, Project Coordinator at CIP FP Catarroja, with the participation of students from CIPFP Catarroja, teachers from the centre, and the remote collaboration of Dr. Oliver Jancke, Business Development Manager of INNOVAWOOD, who asked questions about each of the projects presented, from the recyclability of the components, possibilities of selling them on the market, etc..
THE VISITS
For the mobility in Spain, an agenda of visits to 4 companies in the sector was prepared, so that students and teachers could see first hand ways to apply the concepts learned, the point of view of the companies, very focused on the market on these same concepts, the importance of design, the difficulties of production, etc. …
VISIT TO VICCARBE
Rubén Mateos, Product Manager at VICCARBE Habitat, S.L., guided the members of the mobility in Spain of the SMARTRAIN project to learn about the concept of smart furniture for the company, and visited the facilities in Beniparell. Viccarbe is an international benchmark in the manufacture of collaborative furniture and since its inception in 2000, its goal is to bring Mediterranean experiences to unique work, leisure and home environments around the world, thanks to the creation of multipurpose chairs, stools, armchairs, sofas, tables and accessories. The firm founded by Víctor Carrasco is Prince Felipe Award for Business Excellence in Design and is present in more than 80 countries, where it participates in the development of collaborative furniture for companies such as Apple, Google or LinkedIn among others, thus helping to foster collaboration, creativity and productivity in their workspaces.
VISIT TO KOO INTERNATIONAL
On behalf of KOO International, the group was attended by Jose Muñoz, Factory Manager, Jorge Mompó, Technical Manager and Diana Castellano, Marketing and Innovation Manager.
Diana made an interesting presentation of the company, and especially of a concept that the company is committed to, with the collaboration of the GPS Section of AIDIMME, the circular economy. José Muñoz and Jorge Mompó exchanged impressions with SMARTRAIN students and teachers about the key characteristics of their products, such as their resistance, possibilities for updating and repairing products, types of filler material, etc…
KOO International is a seating furniture manufacturer with more than twenty years of experience in the industry, creating pieces based on design, innovation and consistency. It has won numerous awards in product design, collaborating with renowned designers.
Under the name of CIRKOOLAR, the SMARTRAIN teachers and students were able to learn how the company carries out this approach to the concept of circularity: https://www.koointernational.com/landings/cirkoolar/
VISIT TO EMUCA
The visit to this company was conducted by Carlos Flores, Corporate Manager, and Andrea Savala from the Marketing Department.
EMUCA GROUP designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of products for the furniture, carpentry, hardware and DIY sectors. The company has commercial offices in Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, France and Portugal, which allows them to be in direct contact with the latest trends in the furniture sector, which their Innovation department then transfers to their products.
The students learned about the concept of smart furniture, according to EMUCA’s perception, in which the user’s needs play a key role, without losing sight of concepts such as sustainability and circular economy.
VISIT TO MOBILIARIO ROYO
The last visit was made to the most important bathroom furniture company in Europe, ROYOGROUP, and its position has been strengthened since 2021 with the alliance with the ROCA group, becoming responsible for manufacturing the firm’s bathroom furniture. It is a company committed to sustainability, the modernisation of production processes and is very active in the field of R&D&I, participating in numerous research projects.
On this occasion, the person in charge of the visit on behalf of ROYOGROUP was Rafael Lozano, the company’s Process Specialist.
During the visit, students and teachers were able to see first-hand the production process of this company, the characteristics of certain materials used, as well as the wide variety of bathroom furniture products manufactured. It is a large industrial company, which was interesting for the students and teachers.
Many thanks to all the companies visited for their attention.
The SMARTRAIN project is entering its final stretch and the results of the projects carried out by the three groups from Spain, Italy and Belgium will be presented shortly.
More information, contact AIDIMME.
