From Three Integrated Lines to ION ONEFLOW
Field experience from three integrated production lines has evolved into ION ONEFLOW, connecting slab storage, resin treatment, thermal curing and polishing within one coordinated factory architecture.
The field experience gained by the team now operating within ION Meccanica through three integrated production-line projects—two commissioned in 2019 and one in 2023—formed the foundation of ION ONEFLOW – The Connected Stone Factory.
In these projects, slab handling, resin application, drying, curing, intermediate waiting and polishing were not treated as separate machines or isolated departments. They were considered as connected stages within the same production flow. The focus was therefore not only on the performance of an individual machine, but also on material movement, process timing and continuity across the complete line.
ION ONEFLOW connects production orders, machines, slab movements and process data within one coordinated factory architecture, from raw slab selection to the finished polished surface. Depending on the project, the system can integrate slab storage, automatic handling, resin treatment, controlled drying and curing, extended thermal curing, polishing and finished-product management.
One of the central objectives is to reduce the traditional interruption between resin treatment and polishing. Extended thermal curing can reduce the need for slabs to remain in long-term intermediate storage, be repeatedly loaded and unloaded, or undergo unnecessary movements inside the factory.
According to the production requirement, ION ONEFLOW can integrate GRAVITON external-elevator tower systems, POSITRON internally moving ovens, automatic slab-handling robots, slab-storage systems and AGV solutions.
The purpose is not simply to add more automation. It is to create a more balanced production flow with lower work in progress, less manual handling, shorter lead times and greater production traceability.
