van Dam Machine

Cup printing machine manufacturer Van Dam Machine uses the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform to boost efficiency, ensure consistent file storage, and prevent critical data loss.

High-Speed Printing Machines for Rigid Cups

Want to pick up a hot drink from your favorite coffee chain? Have you ever thought about what it takes to perfectly print colorful logos on a cylindrical cup?

For the past 60 years, Netherlands-based Van Dam Machine has been developing and building dry offset and flexo printing machines for cup manufacturers that serve some of the biggest food and beverage chains worldwide.

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Agility and performance supported by software

Producing state-of-the art equipment in the most cost-effective and sustainable ways possible, the company always seeks advanced technology with higher speeds, better performance and more color capabilities.

“Every machine we build is engineered for performance and designed to last decades,” explained Wouter Malfait, the company’s CEO and director of operations and engineering. “Our first machines were running at 250 cups per minute with four-color printing. Today, we’re achieving 700 cups per minute with eight-color printing.”

Wouter Malfait

CEO and Director of Operations and Engineering, Van Dam Machine

Defined Processes with a Single, Integrated Platform

Dassault Systèmes’ solutions have been game-changing for Van Dam Machine, enabling it to not only get its data under control, but its processes too. Powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, ENOVIA provides a single source of truth through which every model of the company’s machines, every electrical schematic, and every data sheet related to those machines, is centrally managed.

“In the past, there was less structure to our processes,” Malfait said. “Our engineers were designing too independently and creating their own revisions that they stored locally, leading to inefficiencies, poor revision management and, ultimately, mistakes.”

Now, ENOVIA enforces structured revision control. Once a document, drawing or component is released in the system, any changes require a formal revision. This has helped prevent issues – like suppliers using outdated drawings – that can lead to costly production mistakes.

“Having a well-defined approach to the way we work is crucial and makes our operations much more professional,” Malfait said. “The 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud serves as the central hub for all of our intellectual property. This ensures everything is properly organized, secured and easily accessible, with standards that everyone must adhere to.”

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The possibilities of Digital Twins

While Van Dam Machine has already transformed its engineering operations by using ENOVIA’s product data management capabilities, it wants to go further. The next step is automating the generation of a bill of materials (BOM) enabling a shift from engineering-to-order to customization-to-order. The goal is for its sales team to configure a machine with its components and have the system automatically generate the BOM. This will lead to a significant improvement in efficiency and reduce errors while improving overall productivity and accuracy.

“We currently deal with around 7,000 components, divided into an average of 120 sub-assemblies per machine”

Wouter Malfait, CEO van Dam Machine

Smarter, More Sustainable Engineering

Sustainability has always been a focus for Van Dam Machine. The company has developed a patented Flexo Direct on Rigid technology which enables it to print directly on products in a single pass, reducing waste. It also has heavily invested in making its machines adaptable to print on recyclable plastics. Beyond that, its machines can also print on 100% plastic-free materials like molded fiber, which consists of pre-pressed fibers, fully recyclable.

Keen to continue to support customers who want to follow a more sustainable path through zero-packaging waste, Van Dam Machine’s relies on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to help it to reduce waste.

Virtual Twins by adopting 3DEXPERIENCE

"For example, the platform allows us to estimate rough dimensions for parts, sub-assemblies and assemblies, as well as calculate theoretical weights,” Malfait said. “This helps us optimize our packaging so that we avoid using excess materials, something we couldn’t do before adopting 3DEXPERIENCE.”

“I want to get to a stage where we have a virtual twin of every single machine that goes to customers,” he said. “With highly accurate digital models of our machines, including mechanical, electrical and software components, we will not only be able to iterate faster, but also improve design accuracy, maintenance planning and more.”

Why choose CATIA and Virtual Twins in partnership with Visiativ?

More than just software licences

Visiativ provides engineering expertise so that teams work more consistently and information remains within the organisation.
Our solutions are just as suitable for SMEs as they are for multinationals.

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