Cutting

BY:JYOTI PAL

 Cutting means to cut out the garment pieces from lays of fabric with the help of cutting templates (marker). Generally the marker is drawn, traced stuck, clipped or pinned to the top ply of a lay. Cutting is often in two stages, rough cutting (separating the individual pieces) and the final cutting (accurate cutting of the individual shapes). Different types of cutting tools have different degree of precision.

Circular cutter

Circular cutter
Circular cutting tool is rotating blade. It is used mainly for dividing a lay into sections. It is suitable only for cutting in straight lines on very gradual curves in depth of about 150mm. The cutting capacity depends on the radius of the blade, motor size and speed. It can not be manipulated around tight curves and sharp angles. The blade does not strike all the plies simultaneously at the same point as a vertical blade .

Knife blade
Factors that affect the performance of blade are blade edge, surface texture, coarseness or fineness, blade composition. Blade edge could be flat ( general purpose), saw toothed ( cutting canvas), serrated or wavy ( plastic and vinyl),striated surface (to reduce heat build up during cutting).

Straight knife

Straight knife
It has a vertical blade which reciprocates up and down. It is capable of both coarse and precise cutting to a depth of 300mm. Corners and curves can be cut accurately. Since all of the layers are cut at the same place and provided the knife is held vertical , then all of the pieces cut from the layer are identical. Recently the straight knife is available with a travelling suspension system. It makes the knife more accurate and easier to operate.

Band knife

Band knife

Band knife
The band knife cutting machine contains a narrow , sharpened, endless steel band moving vertically through the layers of fabric. The fabric layers are guided by the hand against the blade. An air cushion will often be provided below the fabric layers to make it easier to guide the material. The plies may be stapled together to prevent slippage. Band knife blade are finer and narrower than than reciprocating blade. Band knives are used for precision cutting to a depth of 300mm. Corners, tight curves and pointed incisions are cut precisely.

Die cutter

Die cutter
A die cutting machine is provided with pre fabricated cutting tools (cutting dies) having the exact shape of the garment pieces. The fabric pieces are stamped out on a base plate. Die cutters ate used mainly for leather, coated and laminated material and in areas where the same patterns are used over a long period e.g. production of working clothes. Dies are pre shaped metal outline with one cutting edge and are expensive to make.

End Cutter

Notcher

Notcher
The hot notcher is used to make the position marks at the edge of a stack of fabric plies. The temperature and depth of the notch are adjustable. The device is mainly used for knitted fabrics made of natural fiber. The edges of synthetic fabric can fuse.

Factor for quality problem

Wide and vague line of marker Imprecise following of lines on the marker. Variation in cutting pitch(angle at which the cutting device touches the spread) Shifting of the spread or block Fabric bunching or pushing ahead of the knife Improper equipment Improper cutting sequences as the parts are cut

Alternate method to separate material

Laser cutting-.25mm of high density light energy cuts by vaporization when comes in contact with a material. It has limited depth of focus so best for single ply cutting. Plasma cutting- ususally for stainless steel and aluminum but can be for fabric also. Done by high velocity of high temp ionized gas. Much faster in single ply cutting. Water jet cutting-high velocity small diameter stream water, tears the fibers on impact. Effective with leather and plastic. Ultrasonic cutting-vibration frequency of 20kHz produce 1/20mm movement in the blade, small enough to remove the need for bristle base to the cutting table. Upto 10 plies can be cut , no sharpening.

Off loading

It is the process of removing cut parts from the cutting tables, counting, ticketing and grouping them. Depends on the production system, how the material is to be transported to sewing facility and if any additional operation is to be completed. Cut parts are work-in-process inventory and counted and tracked through out the production process by bundle ticket that originate with cutting orders. Purpose of bundle ticket-monitor the progress of each garment, assure that all the correct parts are assembled together, compensate operator for their work on each garment. The labels have to be clearly visible but must not interfere with the further operation of fusing and sewing. Modern labeling have data in computer readable form. Shade marking- each part of the garment that has been assembled has been cut from same ply. Ply number is marked on each piece with the style and size number. Fusing is often a pre production process. After fusing the bundles are regrouped and the bundles are now ready to go to sewing room.