Advanced weaving technologies specialist Picanol introduced its new TerryMax-i rapier solution for terry weaving to the Turkish market at a virtual event. Derya Sargın, Denizli and Uşak Region Sales Manager, gave the opening speech at the webinar held at the Picanol showroom in Ieper, Belgium; Picanol Sales Manager Vincent Geldhof made a detailed presentation of TerryMax-i and explained the advantages of the machine in terry weaving.
Stating that the TerryMax-i weaving machine is designed according to four basic principles that guide all the developments of Picanol, Geldhof explained them as follows; “Firstly driven by data, the machine is fully ready for industry 4.0. The second is intuitive control. This means it’s as easy to use as your smartphone. The third is smart performance. It provides optimal performance under all circumstances. And the fourth is sustainability inside. This means that it reduces power consumption and waste to the absolute minimum”.
Quality weaving, unlimited pattern options with TerryMax-i
TerryMax-i uses Picanol guided GCV type gripper, OptiMax-i’s proven technology and the most versatile gripper that available in the market. A very compact type of gripper, GVC allows weaving with a very small shed angle, allowing the highest quality terry fabrics to be woven.
Emphasizing that every pattern can be woven with this machine, Vincent Geldhof said; “Ready for all challenges whether low or high pile; light fabrics or bath mats; whether you are weaving simple borders or complex and fancy borders; You can make all possible variations by weaving 3 pick, 4 pick, 7 pick or even 12 pick terry”.
The pile formation system is the basis of these weavings and the pile height changing device offers absolute design freedom. It provides the possibility to program the pile height between 0 and 12 mm high, whether standard terry or wavy patterns, and whatever the design or pattern. In addition, the individual distance between every inserted pick can be freely programmed.
The brain of the machine: Bluebox electronic platform
Saying, “If we express the pile formation system as the heart of our machine, we can tell that the Bluebox electronic platform is the brain of our machine”, Vincent Geldhof underlined that the Bluebox electronic platform has been developed ready for industry 4.0 applications to meet the next generation weaving needs from the very beginning. Geldhof stated that the Bluebox electronic platform was first developed for the OMNIplus Summum airjet weaving machine and reached the satisfaction of approximately 40,000 customers in total.
The most important element in TerryMax-i performance is the Sumo Drive. Introduced in 1996, the Sumo Drive is still the main drive with the most efficient energy consumption among existing systems. Designed as an integrated system, this structure provides the lowest possible energy consumption. It also offers many other advantages such as full range speed control, slow motion, pick finding and even automatic crossing setting.
User-friendly BlueTouch interface
BlueTouch, the new display that Picanol introduced on its machines at ITMA 2019, ensures an easy and trouble-free connection with the machine. Equipped with all the functionalities familiar from a smartphone, BlueTouch has a larger screen with a size of 15.6 inches compared to the previous generation. Stating that they added a couple of dedicated screens especially for the terry machine that facilitates the work of the terry weaver, Vincent Geldhof said that another novelty is the integration of the machine manual in the display. At the same time, this new platform includes all modern communication technologies such as WiFi, bluetooth and Near Field Communication.
In addition, all service-related data in the machine can be used simply and easily. The Customer Service File (CSF) enables Picanol to carry out remote diagnosis and take efficient action.
TerryMax-i offers digitalization advantages
Talking about settings and digitization, Picanol offers different features with digital settings that replace mechanical settings and make machines “driven by data”. These features, which enable the user to get the optimum settings and performance of the machine faster, also make the settings reproducable and easy to copy them to other machines. Vincent Geldhof explained the innovations in this field as follows:
“The first example of the move to digitalization is the TED or Tension Display, which records the distance between the S-flex and the prewinder drum and visualizes it on a small display. With TED you can quickly manage possible setting differences between prewinders. This machine is equipped with a mechanical filling cutter. In addition, the SmartCut filling cutter for more demanding yarns is also another example of a digital setting with a focus on sustainability. Thanks to its independent drive, the cutting moment can be controlled individualy. As a result, the clamping in the gripper and length of the filling tail can be fully adjusted per channel. This allows every filling combination to be cut and clamped exactly when needed, ensuring error-free insertion with minimum waste”.
‘Sustainable’ electronic setting with ERGO
In addition to the standard gripper opener, ERGO, which enables an electronic setting of the gripper opening instead of the traditional mechanical opener, allows to chose the opening moment of the right hand gripper for each individual channel. Thus, while the weft tail length can be optimized for each filling yarn, Picanol integrates the sustainability in the design of the machine with ERGO.
Other novelties offered by TerryMax-i are the push buttons, a new type of warning light and signal light. The push buttons, produced using membrane technology that combines durability with the latest safety standards, have been integrated in the breast plate for ergonomic and easy access. There is also a blue lightning that gives feedback for extra safety and also confirms the machine operation buttons actions. The new LED signal torch is fully customizable by the user, while the signal lights also show the duration of the situation such as weft position, warp position and other positions. Thus, the weaver can fully understand the machine’s status (downtime) at a glance.
“TerryPlus-i for maximum efficiency and productivity speeds”
In the virtual event, Vincent Geldhof also answered questions from the participants. In response to the question “Is Picanol recommending rapier technology for terry weaving?”, Geldhof said that terry fabrics are ideal for weaving with airjet technology due to their weft properties by nature. For this reason, he concluded his words by stating that they recommend TerryPlus-i, that is, airjet technology for maximum efficiency and productivity speeds:
“This airjet machine is based on our state-of-the-art and very successful OmniPlus-i platform. However, if you want full flexibility, fancy multi-colour borders or shorts, TerryMax-i is your best choice. Picanol is the only weaving machine manufacturer to offer both technologies for terry weaving and in any case offers the best solution for your specific needs. TerryMax-i and TerryPlus-i are fully ‘complement terry’”.