Ellistat's quality expertise combined with APC's precision and technical performance

VCN Industries, founded in 2003, is a family business specializing in micromechanical manufacturing. Located in Sigoulès (Dordogne), it employs 47 people and will achieve sales of 5,650 K€ in 2023, mainly in the medical sector. Its customers are particularly appreciative of the quality of its services, its responsiveness, its constant quest for improvement and its strategy of continuous investment, enabling it to keep its production facilities at the cutting edge of technology and to offer them innovative solutions. As part of its Industry 4.0 and "paperless" approach, VCN Industries recently opted for the APC solution (Automated Process Control) from ELLISTAT.

VCN Industries is part of the AULIA group, which specializes in subcontract machining of mechanical parts. The company stands out for its recognized expertise in the production of small, complex parts (1mm < 65mm bar passage). It has mastered the manufacture of parts in series ranging from small quantities (prototyping) to high volumes of 600,000 parts per year. The acquisition of Lyon-based G2P (now VCN Technologies) in 2022, which specializes in one-off parts, completes the offering of the group headed by founder Jean-Michel Vacher. VCN Industries is ISO 9001, EN 9100, ISO 13485 and ISO 26000 CSR certified.

VCN Industries, a leader in the production of parts for high-precision technical applications, is a major player in the medical sector, accounting for 73% of its sales. The company supplies parts for a wide range of applications, including dental implantology, maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmic microsurgery, spine surgery, traumatology, and medical instrumental devices (ancillary equipment, forceps, probe tubes, etc.). To a lesser extent, VCN Industries is also active in strategic sectors such as nuclear power, defense, aeronautics and luxury goods, offering its high-precision expertise to demanding industries. 

As part of its "paperless" approach, VCN Industries is looking for a solution to meet its imperative need for traceability. Alexandre Malgat, Workshop Manager, explains: " We were faced with variations in our manufacturing processes, had an imperative need for traceability, and wanted to improve our productivity. It was essential for the company to find a solution that would enable us to continue our business and expand rapidly.. "

The aim was to find a solution that would improve production quality, save time, optimize performance and reduce non-conformity costs. This solution must be compatible with the machine tools on the shop floor, scalable and easy to use.

" We studied several solutions on the market, explains Alexandre Malgat. After an on-site demonstration, we naturally chose Ellistat's APC software solution for its technical performance. Our contacts carried out an audit, taking into account our needs and expectations. They demonstrated real expertise in the field of quality. "

APC to control the variability of production processes with automated adjustment of machine tools.  APC takes into account all the dimensions and offsets of a process to calculate the best fit. The software automatically calculates the offsets to be applied to the machine, based on the measurement of a single part. It then proposes corrections to the operator, who either approves or rejects them.

" In the case of an out-of-tolerance partcomments Alexandre Malgat, everything is automatically recalibrated so that the next part is right. We've only been using the APC software for a short time, but we've already noticed a significant saving in set-up time. As far as part complexity is concerned, we are no longer limited. The more complex the parts, the more tools and dimensions, and the more performance we gain thanks to APC. What's more, we avoid errors. In terms of traceability, all information is recorded and saved for years. "

ELLISTAT actively supports VCN Industries in the use of APC software. Alexandre Malgat and Nicolas Lemaire, the workshop coordinator responsible for deploying the software within the company, attend a three-day on-site training course. In addition to the training, they have access to numerous tutorials and videos, all of which are highly explicit and available online. Over time, the operators are trained by Nicolas Lemaire, and depending on their position, they are assigned rights to use the software in order to get straight to the point and save time.

" Ellistat's support was decisive in ensuring smooth integration of the APC into our manufacturing process, comments Alexandre Malgat. We particularly appreciated the quality of the training, the constructive exchanges with their technicians, who were very relevant in their analyses, and the availability of their teams."

VCN Industries' business and workforce continue to grow, and the investment and financial stakes involved make it difficult to take the time to support new recruits. The APC software, which is user-friendly and easy to use, provides real working comfort for operators, and is a real help in developing the skills of apprentice operators. 

The short-term objective is to deploy APC on the workshop's 20 machine tools, train the 14 operators and enable them to use the software on a tablet in shifts. As soon as possible, Alexandre Malgat would also like to acquire the ELLICAM add-on module, which will automatically retrieve data from Topsolid CAM in APC.

And Alexandre Malgat concludes: " APC will enable us to optimize our processes while meeting our customers' increasingly demanding requirements. We salute the professionalism of the ELLISTAT teams, who have guided and supported us every step of the way. With APC and ELLISTAT, we're confident about the future of VCN Industries.. "