Industry
Fashion & textile
Cast System: 8,000 zamak dies stored in 14 m² instead of 150 m² | 90% less floor space required with SILO²
- Appareal
- SILO²
- Molds and dies
Picking the wrong die means stopping production. Searching for the right one across 150 m² of racking is a risk no manufacturer can afford.
To eliminate picking errors, reduce handling damage and recover space in the assembly and maintenance department, Cast System installed an ICAM SILO² automated vertical storage system at its facility in Castelli Calepio, near Bergamo.
Product
SILO²
Key result
-90% occupied footprint: from 150 m² to 14.46 m² for 8,000 dies and die inserts.
Key feature
Specific tray load bearing capacity: 417 kg/m²
Cast System: zamak components for the world’s leading fashion brands
Founded in 1993 in Castelli Calepio, near Bergamo, Cast System specializes in the design and production of zamak accessories, as well as decorative and technical components for leather goods, apparel, leashes and promotional items, serving some of the leading international brands in the fashion industry. The entire production process is managed in-house: from 3D technical design to the injection of zamak into steel dies.
Dies are Cast System’s production capital. Every deteriorated, misplaced or incorrectly picked die puts a customer order at risk.
Dies are Cast System’s production capital. Every deteriorated, misplaced or incorrectly picked die puts a customer order at risk.
The logistical challenges
Before automation, dies and die inserts were stored on fixed racking in the assembly and maintenance department, occupying around 150 m².
In an industry where lead times are dictated by fashion seasonality and orders are frequent and fragmented, every delay in the department directly results in a delay in delivery to the customer.
The critical issues were structural:
• picking errors with a direct impact on manufacturing and customer service
• damage during manual handling of die holders weighing over 60 kg
• slow visual search across hundreds of dies stored on multiple rack levels
• no traceability: die location and availability could not be verified by the offices
• 150 m² of footprint taken away from other manufacturing activities
SILO²: 8,000 dies in 14 m², classified across 18 categories
The SILO² is almost 8 meters high, with 3 storage columns, 144 trays and 2 side-by-side picking and refilling stations positioned 70 cm from the floor. It provides 30.67 m³ of capacity in just 14.46 m², with a maximum total load capacity of 180,000 kg.
The trays are configured with two usable heights: 375 mm for large die holders, each weighing around 60 kg and stored 3 to 4 per tray, and 175 mm for smaller dies and die inserts, classified into 18 size-based categories. At full load, each tray reaches almost 380 kg.
Integration with the company management system ensures full traceability: every employee, including office staff, can see the real-time location and availability of every die. The heaviest die holders are handled by forklifts with direct access to the workstation, eliminating physical strain and injury risks. The system performs 61 handling cycles per hour.
The trays are configured with two usable heights: 375 mm for large die holders, each weighing around 60 kg and stored 3 to 4 per tray, and 175 mm for smaller dies and die inserts, classified into 18 size-based categories. At full load, each tray reaches almost 380 kg.
Integration with the company management system ensures full traceability: every employee, including office staff, can see the real-time location and availability of every die. The heaviest die holders are handled by forklifts with direct access to the workstation, eliminating physical strain and injury risks. The system performs 61 handling cycles per hour.
Key results
Less space, zero errors, every die always findable
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From 150 m² to 14.46 m²
-90% occupied footprint in the die storage area
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8,000 dies classified and traceable
8,000 dies classified and traceable
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Picking errors eliminated
Each die is delivered to the picking station on request, with no visual searching required
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Safe handling, zero damage
Forklift-compatible station: no manual lifting required, with reduced injury risk
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ERP-integrated traceability
Live die location visible across all departments and offices
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Faster customer responses
Office teams can check die availability and location directly from their desks, without having to go to the warehouse
In precision die casting, every die is an investment that can be worth thousands of euros. When storage is disorganized, the cost shows up every day in errors, delays and damage. With SILO², Cast System turned 150 m² of racking into 14 m² of automated storage: every die in the right place, retrievable within seconds and fully traced from intake to production.
Explore the solution chosen by Cast System
SILO²: the Vertical Lift Module
From 2 to 7 storage columns, over 120 tray size configurations and a specific load bearing capacity of up to 1,000 kg/m²: SILO² is ICAM’s solution for high-density automated storage of small and medium-sized items, including very heavy components.
Explore SILO²
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