Ekoten Prevents Defects In Fabric With Smartex Technology
Driven by innovation and sustainability Ekoten has taken one important step further acquiring the Smartex V1 System to support its production team guaranteeing 100% inspection and 100% traceability to their customers.
Smartex has developed the first and unique automated inspection system for circular knitting machines. The system is based on Artificial Intelligence and allows the detection of defects during the knitting stage, avoiding textile waste due to defective production that commonly goes unnoticed until the dyeing stage resulting in a massive waste of resources.
“After several years of development, some of them spent between Shenzen, China and San Francisco, Califórnia , we decided to establish our main operations in Europe. Turkey is our biggest market nearby” – says Gilberto Loureiro, co-founder and CEO of Smartex.
Saving on Average 10 Rolls Per Month Per Machine
Based on clients data, in terms of raw materials, the savings related to Smartex V1 System interventions are on average 10 rolls per month per machine. The Smartex camera system is the first and unique for Circular Knitting Machines that guarantee 100% inspection and the reduction of defective production to close to ~0%.
This system detects defects such as: Elastane (such as lycra) lines/ dashes, Oil spots / lines, Holes (multiple sizes, up to sub millimeters), Thick yarn / Thin yarn (continuous or discontinuous).
It also provides a platform for online quality control with Digital Roll Quality Reports and Roll Defect Coordinates Map. This platform allows the factories to share digital versions of the fabric rolls with their clients and see real-time machines performance; Smartex has been making its way experiencing strong market traction during 2020 in different countries. The current V1 version has sold since last fall more than 30 devices successfully installed and working and hundreds of pre-sold ones.
Shift from Conventional Production to A More Sustainable Production
Every textile factory has been pushed to shift from conventional production to a more sustainable one. What does this mean? For a long time just using recycled raw materials was enough. Nowadays the industry understands that optimizing production processes is the only way to get there and here, technological companies like Smartex play such an important role.” – says Ana Tavares, Head of Communication & Partnerships at Smartex.
“Our current clients recognize the benefit within a few weeks after the installation. This is what makes us confident for 2021 to be an expressive year in terms of sales, both in the markets that we are already present, such as Portugal, Italy and Turkey and also in new markets.” – says Rui Pereira, Head of Business Development at Smartex.
