Belgium-based Picanol NV celebrated the 70th anniversary of its founding with the launch of its Terryplus 800 air-jet terry weaving machine, based on the technology featured in its Omniplus 800 air-jet machine introduced in 2005. According to the company, the new machine enables production of high-quality, competitively priced terry in a wide variety of applications.

Terryplus 800 features include: independent cloth fell mechanism that enables fast, accurate loop formation; optimized insertion preparation for as many as eight colors or yarn types; newly designed high-performance relay nozzles and valves; quick changing of warp beam and cloth roll with no specific tools required; quick, easy width changes; direct-drive Sumo main motor; and identical basic design for dobby and jacquard motions, allowing exchangeable shed formation. According to the company, the machine provides design flexibility, consistent fabric quality and an ergonomic design that allows for easy adjustments; and comes equipped with the Picanol PC Suite of software applications for easy monitoring of design, and weaving-shed setting and production data.

The machine’s modularity is enhanced by the flexible PiCAN system based on the controller area network (CAN) data bus, designed to allow easy incorporation of future developments.

Picanol reports other benefits realized with the Terryplus 800 include minimal material waste and optimal fabric quality owing to the design of both mechanical and electronic components, energy savings thanks to the patented energy-efficient Sumo motor with direct drive that also disperses less heat than traditional motors, and time savings thanks to the machine’s high operating speeds and features that reduce downtime to a minimum.

November/December 2006