Taiwan’s Textile Machinery Moves Forward with the Help of Smart Technologies

Aug 07, 2020

The rapid spread of Covid-19 is causing the world to go into recession in the first half year. According to Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C. ’s Department of Statistics and the prediction of the Taiwan Textile Research Institute, the gross output value of Taiwan’s textile industry is seeing a decline of 19.4% compared to the same season last year. The epidemic is having a great impact on Taiwan’s textile industry. As new COVID-19 infections remain rare within Taiwan and other countries are lifting lockdowns, demand for textile products is predicted to rebound. It is expected to drive demand for textile machinery. With the industry recovery and the driving force of industry 4.0, Taiwan's extile industry aims to innovate, intellectualize and automatize in order to achieve low-volume manufacturing and customized production. The high standard of quality and bespoke services makes Taiwan's textile industry competitive in the global market. Originality is the key point in Taiwan’s future development and Taiwan's textile industry acts as a key player by leading business trends with its innovation, patent layouts and strategies. Taiwan's textile industry is also becoming more intelligent in response to pre-existing industry trends through improving garment quality and meeting customers’ needs with the use of modern technologies. Discussions and debate about upstream materials, digital equipment, production lines and clients as well as the effective use of IOT, big data, cloud computing, and AI smart management permeate the industry. Offering remote customer services using digital technologies and bespoke customization of designs, in addition to differentiating products from competitors for clients’ individual needs within limited timeframes are top priorities.

Many Taiwanese textile enterprises are introducing Smart Textile Solutions and products. For instance, PaiLung Online Monitoring System (POMS)developed by PaiLung, one of the top 3 circular knitting machine manufacturers in the world, is an integrated management platform for knitting mills. It’s able to communicate with PaiLung knitting machines from different areas via TCP-IP architecture based on a 32-bit ARM controller. Through WLAN, managers are able to access all information and control the system anytime and anywhere via their handheld devices.

Another example is dyeing machine expert, ACME MACHINERY, who have developed their AM-ICD Intelligent Conveyer High Pressure Constant Speed Dyeing Machine. This revolutionary innovation breaks the traditional mold by replacing the water conveyor system with the mechanical force of conveyor belts and using intelligent management to reduces labor costs. This machine also achieves water saving rates of up to 65%, owns patents in more than 100 countries and saves energy to benefit the green economy. Covid-19 has presented many challenges for economies and industries all over the globe and, in response, Taiwan’s textile industry enterprises from upstream to downstream are working together for the industrial transformation that is now occurring. Small companies brand themselves with the integration of software and hardware, big companies utilize production molds combined with the use of cloud technology and automation to improve efficiency, and as we move forward the strong foundation of modern industry 4.0 is providing greater value to our enterprises. The future is here now!

Source: Taiwan Excellence Award