Internal optimisation

X-Trim for multi-pattern

parent reels
Secondary workcentres, such as metallisers, sheet cutters, or
laminating extruders often require multi-pattern parent reels, which
X-Trim calls host parent reels (HPR). X-Trim can optimise the
sequence of the patterns inside each HPR.

Before
HPR consisting of 8 reels × 2450 mm × 36 km:

Inside the HPR, 8 patterns with

reel lengths of 9/12/18 km, 27
knife changes and 3 splices
8 reels × 36 km = 288 km
splice splice splice

36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36

18 18 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 18 18 12

After Pattern Reduction, Splice Avoidance & Knife Change

Copyright 2017 Greycon Ltd. Last updated 22 January 2018

Minimisation
The same HPR of 8 reels ×
2450 mm × 36 km, whilst
satisfying the same demand,
now contains 4 patterns,
with 12 knife changes
and no splices.

GREYCON
 Knife change
X-Trim minimisation: options
& configuration
Knife change minimisation exploits two degrees of freedom in
geometrically re-arranging the solution so as to reduce knife changes:
 Changing the sequence of the patterns
GREYCON
 Changing the sequence of the parent reels within each pattern

Fix Parent Reels in Pattern  27

Patterns are sequenced to minimise knife changes, but
the parent reels within each pattern are sorted by
width.

Pattern Sort Parent Sort

Knife Change (fixed reel sequence) Width

Knife Changes (grouped)  23

Patterns and parent reels are both sequenced to
minimise knife changes, but equal-width parent reels
within each pattern are adjacent to each other.

Pattern Sort Parent Sort

Knife Change (grouped) <none>

Partial Knife Changes  24

Patterns are sequenced by width, but the parent reels
within each pattern are sequenced to minimise knife
changes.
Copyright 2018 Greycon Ltd. Last updated 17 January 2018.

Pattern Sort Parent Sort

Width Partial

Knife Changes (full)  20

Patterns & parent reels are sequenced to minimise
knife changes. From a knife change point of view, this
is the most powerful configuration.

Pattern Sort Parent Sort

Knife Change (full) <none>

 X-Trim New-generation
reporting

Starting with 9.3, X-Trim contains a new way to generate solution

reports in PDF format in four simple steps.
GREYCON

1. Create / Edit a Report

From File | Reports Configuration create / edit a report. You can give it a Name, decide whether others
should see it (IsPrivate) and specify the Font
Family, Page Size and Left Margin. You may
also export and import reports.

2. Define the Report’s Layout

Reports can have multiple sections, including
headers, footers, solution summary, etc. Each section
can Start on a new page, have a Title, horizontal lines
at Top & Bottom and a Font Size. You can have
multiple instances of a section, perhaps with different
contents.

3. Edit each Section

What is available for display will depend on the section.
List-based sections can import the corresponding
X-Trim grid, including colour & summary operation.

Copyright 2018 Greycon Ltd. Last updated 17 February 2018.

4. Preview
The final result can look
like this.
Tip: You don’t have to
close any tabs, just save
the report, move to the
solution tab and then
click on the button:
 Parent Reel Stock 
X-Trim Rewinder  Cutter
Route

Starting with 9.3, X-Trim allows stock parent reels that would be too
wide for the cutter to go through a rewinder first.
GREYCON

1. Create a Rewinder
Create a rewinder as normal, but pay attention
to the Maximum Trim, which should be large
enough. The new route only allows a single
order at a time width-wise, but possibly
multiple times out (obeys Min/Max Reels Out

2. Assign the Rewinder to the Cutter

The rewinder for this route is associated with the
cutter. This will only be used for parent reel stock,
parent reels coming from primary production (via
a winder) are not affected.

3. Link Orders & Parent Reels

This is the standard association between orders and stock.

4. Solve
The final result can
look like this (sample
run 586).
The rewinder KPI’s
take into account this
Copyright 2018 Greycon Ltd. Last updated 31 March 2018.

part of the solution.

You can also use the
manual editors to
create such solutions
by hand.