LOIMEX · Machine connectivity software

SoftWinding Link

From your ERP to the cutting machine, and the result back to your ERP.

Orders from ERP, WMS and MES go straight to the machine. No retyping, no paper.

Press → or click to start

The problem

Between the office and the machine, something gets retyped

Orders are keyed in by hand

Someone copies lengths and quantities from the ERP onto the machine. One wrong digit is one wrong cut.

Results never come back

Metres cut, waste and times stay on the machine, or on paper, until somebody keys them in.

Every machine speaks differently

Each PLC family and each business system needs its own integration, and its own maintenance.

What it is

One gateway between your systems and your machines

Runs as a Windows service on a server, with an administration window.
Takes orders from your ERP, WMS or MES through the channel you already have.
Talks to the PLC, shows the order on the machine and prints the Zebra label.
Returns what was really produced when each line is done.
Shares the SoftWinding database: SoftWinding stations and the web report see the same orders.

5customer channels: SQL, files, REST, TCP, MQTT

2PLC families: Omron (FINS) and SFW over TCP

6languages in the administration window

How it works

From order to result in four steps

1

Send

Your system sends an order with its lines: product, length per cut, number of cuts, texts, reel.

2

Prepare

The Link picks the machine, writes the preselection and the order texts to the PLC, and can print the label.

3

Cut

The order appears on the machine's screen. The operator starts and cuts; the Link follows metres and cuts.

4

Report

When the line is done, the result goes back through the same channel the order came in on.

The operator stays in charge. Starting the machine and cutting are always done by the operator.

Architecture

Your systems on one side, your machines on the other

Connect to your systems

Five ways in. Use the one your system already speaks

SQL mailbox

Your ERP writes rows into tables and reads the result from read-only views.

Best for systems that already use SQL

Files

CSV, XML or XLSX dropped in a folder, with a mapping you define.

Best for legacy systems and spreadsheets

REST / JSON

Documented with an OpenAPI specification. One token per customer.

Best for modern ERP and WMS

TCP (AHP)

A telegram protocol over TCP, with acknowledgements.

Best for warehouse systems that already speak AHP

MQTT

Orders and state as VDA 5050 messages, with or without TLS.

Best for logistics master control

Machines and printers

Works with the PLC you already have

Omron NX1 and CP series over FINS/UDP
Lenze, Siemens and others over the SFW protocol on TCP
PLC profiles you can edit: map the registers of your own machine
Zebra printers with ZPL label templates
Live state, counter and current line of every machine

Machines tab of the administration window

On the machine

You choose how much the operator confirms

Mode 1

Confirm each cut

The machine measures up to the preselection and waits for the operator to confirm the cut.

Mode 2

Choose on the screen

The operator picks the order on the machine's own screen: previous, next, prepare, confirm.

Mode 3

The PLC counts every cut

The PLC counts each cut and stores its length, and the Link records the waste.

Always the operator's hands: starting and cutting. An order shown on the machine can be cancelled from the administration window or through the API, leaving the PLC clean.

What comes back

Every line closes with real production data

Returned through the channel the order came in on, and through read-only SQL views for each customer.

Metres measured

The length the machine really measured, line by line.

Cuts done

The number of cuts made against the number ordered.

Waste

Waste recorded per line, ready for your cost analysis.

Cable diameter

Typed in, sent with the order, or read by the laser gauge.

Process time and speed

How long the order took and how fast the machine ran.

Live status and events

State changes and a full event history, always available.

Administration

See every order and every line at a glance

Orders by state: pending, in progress, done, error
Search and filter by order, product or station
Cancel a pending line or the order on the machine's screen
Clients, printers, PLC profiles, events and daily logs

With SoftWinding Web

The same data, live in any browser

Link live: machines online, lines in progress, pending lines
Metres cut per hour and per machine
Latest events, warnings and errors
Export to CSV, XLSX or JSON

Try it first

Test the whole integration without a real machine

A machine simulator that speaks FINS and SFW
A Zebra printer simulator
A customer simulator that sends orders by SQL, REST, TCP or MQTT
Check your ERP integration on your desk, then connect the real PLC

Machine simulator showing an order received by the PLC

Security and operation

Built to run unattended

One user per customer

Each database user sees only its own orders.

Token per customer

REST access is authenticated and limited to the customer's machines.

Windows service

Starts with Windows and runs without anyone logged in.

Audit trail

Event history and daily logs, with retention you set.

Six languages

Spanish, English, German, French, Italian and Portuguese.

Windows installer

One setup file. Updates keep your configuration.

Get started

From setup to the first cut in about fifteen minutes

1

Install

Run the setup on the server that reaches your database and your PLCs.

2

Connect the database

One button creates the Link tables, views and user.

3

Add machines

PLC type, address and a connection test, with the operator present.

4

Register a customer

Choose its channel and get its access data.

5

Start the service

Test with the simulator, then send the first real order.

Licensed like SoftWinding. Without a license it runs in demo mode with a visible warning, so you can evaluate it.

Good to know

An unattended gateway, not a replacement for the operator

What it does not do

It does not know which mother reel is mounted.
It does not check that the cable measured is the one ordered.
It does not validate with a scanner, or stop for lack of stock.

Stock control like a SoftWinding station is optional and is switched on separately.

Who is responsible

Whoever sends the order and whoever sets up the machine make sure they are the right ones.

Starting and cutting stay in the operator's hands.

Needs Windows and an accessible MariaDB database.

SoftWinding Link

Let's connect your machines

Ask LOIMEX for a demonstration with your own ERP and your own machine.

www.loimex.com

Part of the SoftWinding family: SoftWinding, SoftWinding Lite and SoftWinding Link.