General details
EDIHs involved
Customer
Customer size: Micro (1-9)
Customer turnover: For K I TECH as a manufacturing enterprise, tool preparation and calibration remain a persistent bottleneck in production. Manual tool setup is time-consuming, prone to human error, and highly dependent on operator skill. These inefficiencies reduce productivity, compromise precision, and create difficulties in maintaining consistent quality — critical challenges for SMEs that operate with limited resources and staff.The SME behind the presetter machine project faced exactly this issue: the need to optimize tool preparation processes while ensuring precision, repeatability, and digital control. Traditional manual methods offered no way to monitor, document, or analyze setup parameters, preventing data-driven improvement.At the same time, the company faced typical financial and technological barriers. It lacked the capacity to invest in expensive industrial automation or to employ a dedicated R&D team. To stay competitive, it needed a cost-effective, flexible, and digital solution that could reduce manual labor, eliminate errors, and deliver measurable efficiency gains.
Challenges
The challenge was twofold:
- Technical: to design and implement an affordable, digital automation system for precision tool setup and monitoring.
- Strategic: to achieve this through collaboration and resource-sharing, minimizing upfront costs while maximizing innovation and long-term impact.
Solutions
To overcome these barriers, the SME collaborated with EDIH Zagore and technology partners to design and prototype a digital presetter machine — a smart calibration and monitoring system combining automation, analytics, and intuitive user control.
The solution integrates hardware precision with software intelligence through four key modules:
- Automated parameter control: allows operators to define exact tool settings, eliminating manual adjustment errors.
- Real-time process monitoring: continuously tracks parameters, enabling early detection of deviations and efficient corrections.
- Data logging and analytics: collects and analyzes operational data to support optimization, maintenance planning, and performance benchmarking.
- User interface and visualization: provides intuitive access to machine data and functions, improving usability and training.
The project was implemented through a hybrid co-financing model, with substantial in-kind software contributions from technology partners. This innovative approach minimized financial risk for the SME while ensuring access to high-level technical expertise. EDIH Zagore facilitated knowledge transfer, capacity building, and hardware–software integration support, ensuring seamless implementation and functionality.
By introducing digital automation, the SME gained entirely new operational capabilities — faster setup, data-driven control, and measurable precision — turning a conceptual idea into a functional, demonstrable prototype.
Results and Benefits
The project achieved tangible, measurable, and strategic outcomes, both technical and organizational.
Operational and Technical Results
- 30–40% reduction in tool setup time, improving throughput and resource utilization.
- Precision and repeatability exceeding manual calibration limits, improving quality and reducing waste.
- Systematic process monitoring and real-time data collection, enabling continuous improvement.
- Minimized human error and increased reliability in production operations.
These results allowed the SME to move from manual, experience-based work to digitally controlled and data-driven workflows, aligning its processes with modern Industry 4.0 standards.
Digital and Human Capacity Gains
Through collaboration with EDIH Zagore, the SME acquired significant new competencies in:
- Automation software development and integration,
- Algorithmic process control and data analytics,
- Hardware–software co-design and project management, and
- Visualization tools for industrial monitoring.
These skills are now embedded in the company’s workforce, enabling future innovation projects and reducing dependence on external suppliers.
Financial and Strategic Benefits
The in-kind investment model significantly reduced initial costs, allowing the SME to develop a fully functional prototype ready for demonstrations and investor presentations.
Expected return on investment (ROI) will be realized through:
- Licensing of the software to other manufacturing applications,
- Commercial sales after prototype validation, and
- Visibility gained through trade fairs and industry exhibitions.
Strategically, the SME is now positioned as a credible innovator capable of developing precision digital tools, improving its competitiveness and market visibility.
Perceived social/economic impact
The financial model of the project also provided significant insights. The use of in-kind financing, through the provision of expertise rather than direct capital, proved to be extremely effective in implementing the concept without large initial expenditures. While this approach requires careful planning and clear agreements, it allowed the entrepreneur to create a tangible product that could be showcased to investors and clients before entering mass production. This lesson is especially valuable for SMEs and public sector organizations with limited resources that still aim to innovate and attract strategic partners.
The project also demonstrated the importance of planning the product’s future development already at the prototype stage. Considering trade fair demonstrations, presentations to industrial clients, and potential licensing opportunities influenced both software and hardware design. This approach emphasizes the need to think beyond immediate technical realization and to consider long-term market positioning. Furthermore, early planning of marketing and demonstration strategies allows better preparation for investment attraction and market readiness.
A crucial practical lesson emerged around the importance of flexibility and adaptability in innovation projects. Throughout development, the team faced several unforeseen technical and organizational situations that required quick decisions and adaptive planning. This experience highlighted that successful innovation does not follow a fixed plan; rather, it evolves dynamically, and the team must be ready to respond to new challenges while maintaining focus on project goals.
Measurable data
The project delivered substantial and quantifiable improvements for the SME, which can be grouped into key areas of impact.
Operational Efficiency
- 30–40% reduction in tool setup time compared to traditional manual methods.
- 100% repeatability of tool calibration achieved (no manual variability).
- Significant reduction of human error during setup (estimated improvement: >80% reliability increase).
- Real-time monitoring and data logging implemented for all machine operations (0% monitoring capability before project).
Digital and Technical Outputs
- 1 fully functional prototype developed and operational.
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4 integrated software modules created:
- Automated parameter control
- Real-time monitoring
- Data logging and analytics
- User interface and visualization
3 core new digital capacities developed within the SME:
- Automation software integration
- Data analytics and visualization
- Hardware–software co-development
Financial and Strategic Metrics
- 0 direct financial cost for software development due to in-kind partner investment.
- 100% of software component developed through partner contribution, representing a substantial in-kind investment (non-monetary funding).
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ROI expected through:
- Licensing of software to other production systems;
- Demonstration-based investment attraction;
- Future product commercialization.
1 demonstrator prototype prepared for trade fairs and investor presentations, enabling early-stage market validation.
Innovation and Capacity-Building Indicators
- Digital maturity increased
- 3 new staff competences developed internally in software operation, process data analysis, and digital maintenance.
- 1 new collaborative partnership established between the SME and EDIH Zagore for R&D and innovation.
Strategic and Long-Term Impact
- Potential market reach: small and medium industrial producers seeking cost-efficient calibration automation (scalable application).
- Expected payback period: short to medium term (1–2 years post-commercialization, based on projected licensing/sales).
DMA score and results - Stage 0
Before receiving support from the EDIH, and the result of 34%, the SME demonstrated:
- Strong potential due to data governance and employee readiness.
- Critical gaps in digital technology adoption, automation, and strategic planning.
- A digital maturity level well below EU averages, exposing the company to competitive disadvantages.
This baseline clearly shows why the EDIH intervention was needed — and sets the stage for demonstrating the impact.
DMA score and results – Stage 1
The EDIH intervention resulted in a measurable increase in the SME’s digital maturity, from 34% at the initial assessment to 39% after the project, as shown in the DMA results. This 5-point rise significantly narrows the gap with the EU manufacturing average (45%) and brings the SME almost equal to the overall EU digital maturity level (40%). Notably, the company achieved substantial improvements in Digital Readiness (+13 points) and Data Governance (+17 points), driven by the adoption of new digital solutions, real-time monitoring, data logging capabilities, and improved digital workflows developed through the preseter machine prototype. As a result, the SME now surpasses the EU average for enterprises of comparable size and demonstrates a clear trajectory toward aligning with EU industrial digitalisation standards.
Lessons learned
One of the key success factors was the clear definition of roles and responsibilities between the entrepreneur and the technological partners. On one side, the entrepreneur contributed the concept, vision, and strategic planning; on the other, the partners delivered software development and technical integration expertise. This structure enabled efficient communication, minimized potential conflicts, and accelerated decision-making. In innovation projects, where the idea evolves in parallel with the technical implementation, such a structured approach proved crucial to achieving tangible results within defined timelines.
Another major lesson was the importance of early prototyping and the rapid demonstration of functional solutions. This highlights a key insight: in innovation projects, it is far more effective to invest in a prototype that demonstrates real benefits than to rely solely on conceptual designs or paper-based presentations.
During the development phase, several challenges arose in hardware–software integration. Despite the high-quality software, there were moments when the interaction between electronic components, sensors, and algorithms required additional optimization. This demonstrated that in projects involving physical devices, early integration testing is critical to avoid delays and unexpected costs. The team also learned that designing flexible software interfaces and a modular architecture is vital for quick adjustments and adaptation to different hardware configurations — a lesson applicable across industrial innovation.
Other Information
Finally, the project reinforced the value of early user and stakeholder feedback. Even at the prototype stage, collecting opinions and recommendations from industry experts and potential users provided critical insights for software and hardware optimization. This showed that involving end users early in the process is a strategic move that increases the likelihood of market acceptance and ensures that the final product meets real-world needs.
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