Valmet’s renewed system aims to let papermakers optimize quality through the entire value chain, reportedly enabling improved process performance and increased savings.
The system utilizes Valmet’s latest innovations and expertise on pulp and paper quality management. The company says that its updated product also integrates the quality management of the entire production process and is a step towards an autonomous mill. The new capabilities of Valmet IQ also seek to increase the degree of automation and reduce the human role in the process.
“Valmet IQ extends from traditional quality controls to retention and refining online optimization with wet end analyzers. The new moisture management solution optimizes the drying process from the wire-former section through the press and dryer section to the end of the reel. It will stabilize the process and improve the performance even further,” says Marko Toskala, Director, Quality Management Systems from Valmet.
According to the company, Valmet IQ consists of all the devices and applications needed to monitor and optimize both process performance and end-product quality: scanners, measurements, profilers, machine vision, and quality control applications.
The new quality scanner family is redesigned for even more demanding production environments. All Valmet IQ scanners now consist of stainless-steel exterior, enhanced diagnostics, and a new flexible sensor platform. New IQ Dryness and IQ Multipoint measurements reportedly reveal the true dryness development from the headbox to the reel. The IQ family is completed by what Valmet describes as the most advanced machine vision system on the market, which reportedly enables faster detection of even smaller quality defects. The renewed Valmet IQ is compatible with the previous generations, and all Valmet IQ products are developed and manufactured in Finland.
The new Valmet IQ is also compatible with the recently introduced Valmet DNA User Interface, the new web-based user interface of the Valmet DNA automation system. The new structured user interface apparently guides operators to focus on situation-critical information and make the right decisions instantly – helping to optimize quality faster.
Valmet IQ connects seamlessly with Valmet’s industrial internet (VII) solutions. With this cloud-based solution, Valmet says that quality data moves from paper mills to converting, automating the optimization of the entire value chain. Similarly, paper producers can reportedly utilize feedback directly from the converting process while optimizing production performance and costs.
“Our customers have moved from reactive to data-driven quality management and witnessed significantly more stable production quality and decreased amount of broke. The automatic optimization of the entire value-chain has increased the production performance while simultaneously saving raw materials, chemicals, and energy”, Toskala continues.
