Greycon Suite 8.4 optimises software capabilities
Greycon has released Greycon Suite version 8.4 which significantly expands the optimisation software’s capabilities in four key areas.
Core cutting: most plants buy cores in standard lengths and cut them to the size needed. Greycon Suite 8.4 can optimise this process with one click from the solution window.
Film metallisation: two-stage processes where the primary process is wider than the secondary pose some of the most challenging trim optimisation problems. X-Trim Version 8.4, one of the components of the Greycon Suite, offers improved optimisation both in terms of the number of scenarios it addresses and the quality of the solutions. This functionality has already been successfully piloted at a Russian film company.
Web welding: the width of reels sold by the paper industry has been increasing as its customers install ever-wider machinery. Consequently, narrow paper machines have become increasingly uneconomic due to higher trim waste levels. An innovative web-welding workcentre makes it possible to join two reels side-by-side and can therefore breathe new life into such machines. However, this increases complexity for trim optimisation since orders e.g. for 100″ wide reels may now be produced initially as pairs of 40.5″ and 60.5″ (overlap is required to join the reels) or any other complementary sizes. Functionality to address this optimisation challenge has been incorporated into Greycon Suite 8.4 at the request of one of Greycon’s North American customers.
Stock fragments: manufacturing sites often accumulate excess reels through over-makes or salvage. These reels which are of various widths and lengths are typically under-utilised or scrapped. Greycon Suite 8.4 can use these to meet customer orders through a rewinding process that can splice reels end-to-end or slit them. This functionality required development of innovative 2D optimisation algorithms that will be presented at a conference organised by the EURO Special Interest Group on Cutting and Packing. The new solution has been piloted at a German paper mill; benefits include streamlining a time-consuming planning process.
“In 2015 Greycon will be celebrating its 30th year,” comments CEO Constantine Goulimis. “Little could we have imagined all this time ago that the evolution of our customers would continue to pose intellectually challenging problems in as mundane a process as cutting materials. By expanding the capabilities of our software to address these new issues we are able to continuously reduce costs and increase efficiency for our clients.”
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