Industrial machinery and heavy equipment

Picanol
Leading weaving machine manufacturer relies on LMS Samtech Samcef
for accurate nonlinear analysis

Product
LMS
Business challenges
Increase weaving machine
operation output while
maintaining best possible
fabric quality
Redesign a heavy tubular
component called a backrest
for the OptiMax series
Look for possible product
improvements, including
ways to enhance the design
Keys to success
Invent the DWC backrest
concept, taking into account
nonlinearity
Use LMS Samtech Samcef
to grasp the entire physics
and mechanical picture,
including nonlinearity
Create all simulation models
using LMS Samtech Samcef
software
Results
Used DWC to eliminate
machine downtime and
reduce process complexity
Provided reliable nonlinear
analysis

Picanol uses Siemens PLM

Software solution to simulate
the entire mechanical spectrum
of the new direct wrap control
backrest
Partners in innovation
A pillar of industry in the Flemish
Westhoek, the northwestern corner of
Belgium, Picanol today has more than
130,000 weaving machines running in
some 2,600 weaving mills worldwide.
That is a lot of fabric, to say the least.
To stay ahead in this highly competitive
industry, Picanol has always highly valued
innovation. Innovation, technology and
ongoing research and development (R&D)
efforts remain crucial to the international
success of Picanol.
We launched two new machines at the
ITMA trade fair in 2011, says Frederic
Dryhoel, corporate communications manager at Picanol. That really helped pull us
out of the 2009 recession rather quickly.
Clearly, this type of innovation investment
pays off. Investing in innovation is a value
that Picanol shares with its engineering
partner, Siemens PLM Software.
We have worked with LMS software for
years, says Dimitri Coemelck, an R&D
engineer in Picanols Measurement and
Simulation Department. Originally, we
worked together on various research projects and one-off engineering studies.
www.siemens.com/plm/lms

Results (continued)
Simulated entire spectrum
per cycle, including contact
analysis and deformation
analysis
Saved significant time
when performing specialized
modeling exercises
I also like the fact that you
can do your own programming in the LMS Samtech
Samcef environment. I use
it quite often for specialized
modeling exercises. It can
really save time and this
isnt always possible with
other simulation packages.
Dimitri Coemelck
R&D Engineer
Measurement and
Simulation Department
Picanol

More recently, we have used LMS Samtech

Samcef software to tackle some rather
tricky nonlinear simulation modeling for
the OptiMax series.
Jack-of-all-trades innovators
Unlike the automotive or aerospace
industry, most engineers working in the
large-scale manufacturing equipment
sector need to be jack-of-all-trades rather
than just simulation or testing experts.
This is applicable to the R&D and engineering team at Picanol as well.
What I find fascinating about engineering
at Picanol is the variety in my job, says
Coemelck. We have a small team, so we
are all constantly looking for possible
product improvements and ways to
improve the design. We get to do all types
of engineering work, from creating rather
complex simulation models and taking
measurements to working out design
concepts.
Inventing direct warp control
for OptiMax
One of the most recent challenges that
Coemelck worked on was redesigning a
heavy tubular component backrest for
the OptiMax weaving machine series.
Basic weaving-loom dynamics requires
that the machine compensate for the
shortening in the warp yarns to produce
the best-possible fabric quality, says

The key advantage of LMS

Samtech Samcef software
is that it offers reliable
nonlinear analysis.
Dimitri Coemelck
R&D Engineer
Measurement and Simulation Department
Picanol

In the OptiMax series, Direct Warp Control

compensates and evenly distributes warp tension
while weaving. DWC combines a light feeling plate,
evenly supported over the full width of the warp
with adjustable air pressure, resulting in minimum
inertia on the moving backrest parts. Thanks to this
extremely low inertia, every change in warp tension
is compensated directly with minimum variety. This
is a significant quality gain for warp yarns that are
particularly stiff, like glass fiber, or weak, like wool.

Coemelck. To do this, we traditionally

had a spring-lever system to adjust the
warp tension.
It adjusted the stiffness of the rather
heavy and robust tube running the length
of the loom. We refer to this as a backrest.
In order to change the warp tension of the
backrest, you needed to stop it and physically change the size of the spring lever.
Not only did this stop production, it
was rather troublesome and required a
mechanically-minded operator. In short, it
did not offer the best possible control.
Developing the air-pressure
backrest concept
Clearly, there was a need for a more
efficient compensation method. One
engineer came up with the idea of

 We needed the whole mechanical picture,

including nonlinear simulation solutions,
so the choice was LMS Samtech Samcef.
Dimitri Coemelck
R&D Engineer
Measurement and Simulation Department
Picanol
settings into the controller. The
mechatronic controller does the rest,
keeping the air pressure ideally adjusted
according to the fabric requirements.
Operationally, it offers ease and
convenience and saves time as well.
And the original settings can be saved
and transferred to other machines.

Picanol starting using computer-aided design for

R&D in 1984.

replacing the tube with a lightweight plate

with a pressurized blowup air tube inside
it. The concept used air pressure rather
than interchangeable spring levers.
Conceptually, the design seemed ideal,
but how would it work in reality?
In practice, the new backrest design
used an adjustable pressurized airstream
to compensate and evenly distribute the
warp tension. Picanol calls this direct warp
control (DWC). This technology regulates
the tension automatically and precisely.
It eliminates distortion in the middle of
the backrest, resulting in better machine
dynamics and better-quality textiles.
This is a very different and much more
advantageous design, says Coemelck.
Operators can easily change the backrest
characteristics by adjusting the air
pressure. The user just puts the required

Today we work using NX

with various LMS Samtech
Samcef and other Siemens
PLM Software licenses. In
the future, it would be really
nice if everything converges
into one streamlined software environment. Today
you still need to spend a
lot of time importing and
Simulating the design concept
exporting files and formats.
After the team had invented the DWC
This costs engineering time.
backrest concept, there were still a lot of
engineering questions. How would it work I bet you could save 10 percent to 20 percent of your
in reality? Would it be strong enough?
time if you were working in
What were the real values of the stiffness
a streamlined simulation
performance under various pressures?
environment.
How much would it bend depending on
the various model lengths?
Dimitri Coemelck
R&D Engineer
Measurement and Simulation
This was quite a simulation challenge
Department
says Coemelck. I decided to do all these
Picanol
simulation models using LMS Samtech
Samcef software. We have two packages
that I could have used, but we needed
the whole mechanical picture, including
nonlinear simulation solutions, so the
choice was LMS Samtech Samcef.
When you model something like a
five-meter-plus air-pressurized backrest,
you have a lot of deformation potential in
the design. As an R&D engineer at Picanol,
it is your job to make sure that the new
concept is better than the original solid
tube. With all the factors at play

LMS Samtech Samcef software

was used to determine deflection in
the system. Here, there is a bigger
deflection in the middle than on
the side.

Solutions/Services
LMS Samtech Samcef
www.siemens.com/plm/
lms-samcef
Customers primary business
Picanol develops, produces
and markets high-tech weaving machines. Picanol weaving
machines are a synthesis of
technological know-how and
experience built up over more
than half a century. Today,
about 2,600 weaving mills
around the world use Picanol
machinery, totaling approximately 130,000 weaving
machines.
www.picanol.be
Customer location
Ypres
Belgium

Picanol develops unique, customizable, high-tech weaving machines. Picanol machines are designed to work
24/7 for 10 to 20 years.

continuous usage, high speeds, air

pressure, mechanical parts and machine
dynamics you need to use nonlinear
analysis to do this correctly.
The most important aspect of the
modeling study was to discover the force
and function of the pressure during a
certain moment in time. In the model,
every step corresponds with a certain
pressure. If the pressure increased, the
force increased. This was how Coemelck
determined the stiffness characteristics of
the new tube and how different yarns
would react.
The key advantage of LMS Samtech
Samcef software is that it offers reliable
nonlinear analysis, says Coemelck. You
can simulate the entire spectrum per cycle,
including contact analysis as well as big
deformation analysis. It is a very clear and
easy way of working. The GUI (graphical
user interface) is very simple. You dont
get lost in the mesh or the menu.

I also like the fact that you can do your

own programming in the LMS Samtech
Samcef environment. I use it quite often
for specialized modeling exercises. It can
really save time and this isnt always
possible with other simulation packages.
When asked what the future looked like
for Picanol and Siemens PLM Software,
Coemelck couldnt hide his delight.
Today we work using NX with LMS
Samtech Samcef and other Siemens
PLM Software licenses, says Coemelck.
In the future, it would be really nice if
everything converges into one streamlined
software environment. Today you still
need to spend a lot of time importing
and exporting files and formats. This
costs engineering time. I bet you could
save 10 percent to 20 percent of your
time if you were working in a streamlined
simulation environment.

Siemens PLM Software

Americas
+1 248 952 5664
Europe
+32 16 384 200
Asia-Pacific +852 2230 3308
www.siemens.com/plm

2014 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. Siemens and the Siemens logo are registered trademarks
of Siemens AG. D-Cubed, Femap, Fibersim, Geolus, GO PLM, I-deas, JT, NX, Parasolid, Quality Planning Environment,
Solid Edge, Syncrofit, Teamcenter and Tecnomatix are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Product Lifecycle
Management Software Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. All other logos, trademarks,
registered trademarks or service marks belong to their respective holders.
Z8 40553 7/14 F