CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
25 March 2009
Events News
Lectra Announces its Latest Innovations for the Textile Industries at the 2009 IMB Trade Show, April 21 to 24, in Cologne, Germany Hall 8.1, Booth A/010—B/019
Lectra is pleased to participate in the 2009 IMB Trade Show from April 21 to 24, in Cologne, Germany. During the event, Lectra will be announcing this summer's launch of the new version of Kaledo®, its professional design software platform and presenting its latest innovations, including the new Vector FX Extended range.
"At Lectra, we believe it is our role to support our customers and take advantage of every opportunity to reinforce our relationships with them," said Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO. "Our presence at IMB, one of the main textile shows in Europe, is a proof of our commitment to the industry. The new value-added solutions that will be announced show that we are continuing to strive to fulfill our customers' requirements and to help them overcome the challenges of their industry such as the need to increase profitability and make significant savings."
Lectra announces the release of Kaledo (V2R1), the latest breakthrough in textile and style development and collection management
Lectra's Kaledo suite provides designers with advanced textile and fashion development and management capabilities. Kaledo Collection, the foundation of the suite, is a forum that unites business, creative, marketing and management teams in order to collaborate in the development of trends and collections. In addition, the suite comprises the Kaledo Textile modules which are used to simulate realistic prints, knits, and woven fabrics.
With the V2R1 release of the Kaledo suite, fashion companies can achieve improvements in branding and product design not only by accessing day-to-day functional tools, but also by streamlining the design development process. As a result, companies can reduce their time-to-market, capitalize on design- related investments, and produce more innovative products in keeping with brand and marketing objectives.
Lectra's Kaledo textile solutions offer opportunities to enhance performance when dealing with extremely large repeats and achieve more accurate color management for improved color communication throughout the supply chain. The suite also provides a host of new and improved tools including multicolor, space-dye, and fancy yarns for the development of complex knits and woven fabrics. Benchmark tests show that, compared to previous versions, Kaledo Print (V2R1) performs over 50% faster when manipulating repeats, especially with very large files. In addition, Kaledo Print (V2R1) offers considerable time savings compared to the industry's previous gold standard, U4ia, Kaledo's predecessor. The yarn libraries found in Kaledo Weave and Knit (V2R1) offer a variety of options. Kaledo's fancy yarns allow designers to see the interplay of texture and color—how fibres, strands, and yarns blend to form the structure and texture of a fabric.
The new Kaledo (V2R1) design suite will be available in summer 2009.
Lectra will also demonstrate the latest version of Modaris (V6R1), announced this March
Lectra will also showcase the latest version of Modaris, its pattern-making solution for the apparel industry, launched in March 2009. Modaris has been the industry standard for more than 15 years and is used by the biggest names in fashion worldwide.
With this new version of its pattern-making solution, Lectra enables apparel professionals to fully optimize their product ranges and associated patterns. The solution supports brands, retailers, sub- and co-contractors, service bureaus, and fashion schools alike in their quest to uphold the most stringent quality standards for finished products. This tool responds to the industry's constant search for innovative technological solutions and, by facilitating the creation of different models more quickly, Lectra helps users to stay ahead of the competition and build customer loyalty.
Modaris V6R1's construction tools allow apparel professionals to develop more patterns in less time and to accelerate collection renewal in stores. With this solution, the number of physical prototypes necessary for the finalization and validation of models is reduced, and initial production runs can be made sooner and at reduced costs. Its high-performance capacities for all-size grading guarantee the quality and fit of garments and permit companies to optimize the development of new models and collections by drawing on existing elements. By making pattern information exchange simpler and clearer, Modaris (V6R1) enables users to capitalize on resources and best practices in pattern-making and manage product development in a collaborative environment.
At the IMB, Lectra will also announce a range of innovative new products to enhance its Vector cutting offer
Lectra's solutions allow manufacturers to operate a just- in-time production model, make substantial material savings, and cut operating costs, while benefiting from high levels of productivity and impeccable cut quality.
To meet the challenges its customers now face, Lectra has developed a range of new products to add to its Vector range. Lectra has chosen the IMB to launch a new range of cutting solutions: the Vector FX Extended, and a new Vector Pilot (V1R2). In addition, it will present new versions of Mosaïc, its system for processing patterned fabrics, and Offload, its offloading assistance system.
Lectra presents the Vector FX Extended range
Lectra is also adding two new specialist models to its range of fabric cutters—one for the wind energy sector and the aerospace industry, both of which use significant quantities of composite materials, and the other for the production of high quality suits.
The VectorTechTex FX Extended has been designed to meet the needs of companies cutting very long pieces in composite materials, such as blades for wind turbines and helicopter rotors. The VectorTechTex FX Extended offers an increase in productivity of up to 20% when cutting long pieces compared with the standard VectorTechTex cutters. Able to cut pieces up to 4.2m long and 2.5cm thick, this model can also be fitted with an inkjet printer to ensure the traceability of cut pieces, and is therefore perfectly able to fulfill the stringent requirements of aerospace industries.
The VectorFashion FX Extended has been designed especially for fashion industry professionals cutting luxury suits, a sector which requires lengths to be cut in a single movement in order to achieve a very high level of precision. When used in conjunction with the Mosaïc option, this model is perfect for performing one of the most difficult tasks within the industry—processing patterned fabrics which have to match, such as stripes and checks. The model's production cycle is particularly suited to processing cut lengths in all the different materials used to make up a suit. As a result, it offers unparalleled cut quality and the possibility to significantly increase productivity.
Mosaïc: increase productivity by up to 20%
Lectra is also able to announce a new version of Mosaïc, Lectra's pattern motif recognition and processing solution, available as an option on Vector FX cutting systems and the new Vector FX Extended range.
With Mosaïc, fashion and furniture manufacturers can cut pieces accurately to meet pattern motif matching requirements, even when the fabric is distorted. Directly integrated with the cutter pilot, Mosaïc combines new software and a state- of-the-art digital camera, enabling users to increase their productivity by up to 20% when matching patterned fabrics. Used with the Eclipse function, allows enables the Vector to continue cutting even as the spread advances, Mosaïc offers productivity levels close to those achieved with plain fabrics.
A number of patents have been taken out for Lectra's Mosaïc offer, and the company has received several industry awards for this technology.
Offload system: a new, even smoother cutting process
Offload is now available as an option on the entire range of Vector cutters. Lectra's offloading assistance system helps manufacturers in the fashion, automotive, furniture, and industrial fabrics sectors to streamline the process of unloading pieces and prevent sorting errors. This system opens up the possibility of producing more complex cut orders, which can be a way of making very significant material savings.
A large flat screen integrated into the Vector cutters allows users to view different combinations of pieces so that offloading can be performed much more quickly and without errors. With Offload, companies strengthen their capacity for just-in-time production of a larger number of models and their variants, helping them to respond to the changing buying habits of their customers.
New Vector Pilot (V1R2)
Launched in February 2007, the Vector range of cutting systems has proved an absolute triumph. The Vector Pilot software, which brings a new level of intelligence to the automated cutting system, has played an important role in this success. The software helps ensure excellent cut quality at high speed on tangent pieces and also incorporates a new concept of pro-active services.
The new version of Vector Pilot (V1R2) makes the Vector cutting equipment an even more powerful system. Through significant improvements in cutting strategy, the software ensures a high- quality result, even when performing difficult maneuvers and optimizes the blade path for greater efficiency. This version of the Vector also incorporates new options and production process functions, widening the range of possibilities offered. What's more, the Vector Pilot V1R2 is easier to use through the original concept of "simplexity": a sophisticated piece of software that aims to make a complex application as simple to use as possible.
Lectra participates in the IMB 2009 Forum and Speakers' Corner
Lectra and Van de Velde will participate in the IMB Forum. As part of a conference on the theme "Opportunities for the future with CAD/CAM & Management solutions," to be held on April 22 from 11:10—11:40a.m, Van de Velde will be giving a talk entitled, "Cutting to the details: the art and technology of luxury lingerie production." During the event, speakers from Van de Velde will be accompanied by Philippe Heckenbenner, Lectra Director Northern Europe. Van De Velde's team will explain how the company uses Lectra solutions and the advantages of these technologies for the company. Established in 1919, Van de Velde designs and manufactures luxury women's lingerie under the brand names Marie Jo©, Marie Jo L'Aventure©, and PrimaDonna© with impeccable product quality as their main objective.
Lectra will also take part in the IMB 2009 Speakers' Corner on April 23, at 3:30p.m. Speaker, Anastasia Charbin, Product Manager - Design Solutions, Lectra, will give a presentation entitled: "Design Lifecycle Management: Leveraging in-house talent and design assets to capitalize on creative investments and improve design quality."
Lectra and the second IMB Innovation Awards ceremony
Under the patronage of The European Commission, IMB 2009 will, for the second time, be putting the spotlight on outstanding marketable innovations for the processing of flexible materials. Prizes will be awarded in three categories: Research & Development, IMB Exhibitor, and, new this year, Students & Young Professionals.
Lectra will compete in the IMB Exhibitor category with DesignConcept Auto.
DesignConcept Auto is Lectra's flagship solution for automotive textile-based product design and development. Equipped with this solution, users can create virtual models, run feasibility analyses, develop templates, and estimate costs, resulting in reduced time-to-market for finished products.
Recently launched, the new version of DesignConcept Auto (V4R1) offers a novel approach to 3D/2D design and product development. One of its many significant benefits is its automatic marker- making module which calculates estimates of fabric consumption and related costs according to the customer's business model. These calculations are carried out during the design phase and hence very early in the design and development process. The new automatic marker-making module provides project leaders with valuable and detailed information about the different fabric savings possible for each design option, thus allowing them to make the wisest decisions. When this module is used in conjunction with feasibility analyses, companies equipped with DesignConcept can shorten production cycle times through perfect project management in line with the business model chosen initially and the company's main criteria—cost, quality, time-to-market. With the new DesignConcept Auto offer, costs are no longer imposed but foreseen and managed.
Become a member of the CIMdata PLM Community to receive your daily PLM news and much more.
Tell us what you think of the CIMdata Newsletter. Send your feedback.
CIMdata is committed to your privacy. Your personal information will never be sold or shared outside of CIMdata without your express permission.