“New Developments Have Been Welcomed with Great Enthusiasm by the Market”
The new generation “Connect” weaving machines offer an optimized main motor and many new functionalities that increase the ease of use and further prepare the machines for the digital era. On the other hand, PicConnect is Picanol’s digital platform that offers a wide range of features, from a webshop for spare parts to the processing of sensor data generated by the connected machines to optimize the management of the weaving mill. It goes without saying that PicConnect is a must-have for every Picanol customer. The new generation machines and PicConnect are two complementary developments – on the hardware as well as the software side – which can help in terms of optimizing the usage of weaving machines and also assist textile manufacturers in increasing their productivity.
PicConnect – which is a cloud-based application platform – allows the Picanol weaving machines to be connected to the platform in order to leverage the full extent of their possibilities. PicConnect enables weavers to quickly react to changes in the weaving room and it has an immediate impact on the performance of the weaving machines.
With the “Connect” machine generation, Picanol is offering several new functionalities, such as digital monitoring of the gripper stroke setting, gripper tape monitoring, climate control, shed angle measurement, and fully integrated power monitoring. By combining “Connect” machines and PicConnect, the user can take textile weaving into a new intuitive era.
“While the global investment environment has cooled down, we are noticing that the concepts of digitization and sustainability are playing an increasingly important role for weaving mills. The recently published Green Deal of the European Union will definitely stimulate initiatives in this field.” explains Kurt Lamkowski, Manager Worldwide Sales.
“Picanol’s new developments, the “Connect” generation of machines and the new digital platform PicConnect, are responding to the needs of the weaving mills of both today and tomorrow when it comes to digitization and sustainability. Furthermore, the introduction of these new developments has so far proven to be successful and we are confident it will remain that way in the future. These new developments have been welcomed with great enthusiasm by the market. The global population along with the average purchasing power continues to grow; thus, leading to the growth in textile consumption. However, the growth has to come in a more sustainable way. This challenge will be tackled by close collaborations between textile manufacturers and their suppliers. In this connection, we at Picanol are very positive about various possibilities for the future.”
New features available on PicConnect
Picanol announced that some new features have been released on PicConnect, our online platform offering digital services.
Firstly, the action center application has been introduced in PicConnect. The action center allows weavers to design, execute, and monitor a maintenance plan for the Picanol machines. They can find a complete overview of all upcoming jobs in PicConnect and the logbook gives them a summary of everything that has happened on the machine in the past.
Furthermore, the production monitoring application has been expanded: weavers can now monitor the status of their warp beams and the progress of the orders that are woven. This data can be leveraged to ensure that the next warp beam or order is lined up to minimize downtime.
Another new feature is the ability to export production and energy monitoring data out of PicConnect. This enables integration between PicConnect and third-party systems, such as the ERP system.
Lastly, machine temperatures are now also centrally available in PicConnect under the energy monitoring application, as well as the ambient temperature and humidity, which are measured on the machine. This allows weavers to better understand the climate throughout their weaving mill.