In many cable plants, the cutting order is born in the ERP and reaches the machine through paper, spreadsheets or hand-typed data. It is slow, error-prone, and you only know what was really cut once someone keys it back in. SoftWinding Link removes that step: it connects your management system to LOIMEX cutting machines and lets orders travel on their own.
What it is for
SoftWinding Link receives the orders from your ERP, WMS or MES, distributes them among your cutting machines and returns to the originating system what was actually produced: measured meters, cuts, waste and times. It is installed as a service on a server, with no need for a computer next to every machine.
What it brings
- No re-keying: the order reaches the machine exactly as it left the ERP
- Each line goes to the machine you specify or to the first one available
- The machine receives the length, the number of cuts and the order data
- Label printed automatically for every cut, with your own templates (Zebra printers)
- Measured meters, cuts, waste and times returned to your system
- Automatic recovery after a failure, without duplicating labels or movements
It adapts to your system, not the other way round
Choose the channel your IT team already masters:
- Table in a MySQL/MariaDB database
- CSV, XML or Excel files in a folder
- REST / JSON API
- TCP (AHP protocol)
- MQTT with the VDA 5050 standard, for logistics robots and cloud platforms
All five channels use the same messages and the same rules, and sending an order again never duplicates it.
Real-time visibility
The "Link live" web report shows, from any browser, which machines are connected, which orders are in progress or pending, how many cuts and meters were done each hour and whether there are any warnings. It refreshes by itself and its tables can be exported to CSV, Excel or JSON.
The operator stays in charge
Starting the machine and making the cut remains the operator's responsibility: the Link never triggers the cut. As an unattended process, it does not identify the mother reel loaded and does not stop the process for lack of stock. If you need those checks, SoftWinding at the operator's station includes them. All the details are in the manual.
Try it before installing it
It includes machine, printer and customer-system simulators, so you can develop and validate the integration without touching any real machine. Your IT department can have everything ready before commissioning.
Fifteen years of experience
SoftWinding Link builds on SoftWinding, the LOIMEX application for cut control, established for 15 years and in use at reference manufacturers such as CAF, ALSTOM, TKE, ORONA, STADLER, SNCF and Central Novelec, as well as at customers with distribution centers.
Which SoftWinding version do I need?
- SoftWinding: operator station, with stock and location lookup, barcode labels and cut optimization
- SoftWinding Link: for IT, connects your ERP, WMS or MES to the machines in an unattended way
- SoftWinding Lite: free version for customers with a LOIMEX machine, semi-automatic, with Excel import and export
More information, manual and integration guides for SoftWinding Link
