CLICKING, OR CUTTING UPPER LEATHERS

The cutting of upper leathers is an important branch of the manufacture of boots and shoes. It
requires a knowledge of the materials to be cut, and the keen judgment to dispose of the
various parts of the skin in the most satisfactory direction. Rigid adherence to the systematic
placing of the pattern on the skin cannot be advocated, owing to the character of the material
cut into uppers. Skins which come from the same class of animals differ in their quality. The
various parts of the skin differ in their relative quality, so that it is impossible to give rigid
instructions in the cutting, which would not have to be considerably modified in the practice
of actual cutting. Although the want of uniformity in the skins prevents the utilization of
defined systems, the study of systems of placing the various patterns, the disposition of the
leather in the boot (either to produce a cheap cutting or a good quality line) to produce the
best results in manufacture or wear, etc., is not to be despised. The very want of uniformity in
the material operated upon demands the systematic training of the mind and the ready
manipulation of the patterns upon the skin.

The art of clicking is acquired by a considerable experience, and much valuable time could be
saved by a careful preparation outside the board practice. Many failures in the earlier stages
of a clicker's career are through the want of not knowing what to do rather than not being able
to do it. The more a cutter gets to know about the after processes of his trade the better for his
productions, always assuming that he is able to adapt his knowledge to his work.

Hides (the skins of larger animals, such as oxen, horses, etc.), Skins (from calves, goats,
sheep, deer, seal, etc.), and Kips (the small or yearling cattle) are used for the manufacture of
upper leather. They vary considerably in thickness or substance, and quality. In proportion to
the improvement in the breed of cattle do the hides become less thick; in the higher breeds
they are thin and spready. The difference in substance and quality of the skin from the same
class of animals is accounted for by the age, kind of breed, state of health, or the food of the
animal from which the hide is taken. Large animals of a class afford skins or hides that are
thick and heavy in proportion in the neck. Skins from the younger animals are the finest in
the grain, and take the dye better when coloured. The sex of the animal from which the skin is
taken affects the quality of the leather produced therefrom, that made from the female being
finer in texture and lighter in the necks than those from the male. The mode of preventing
purification of the skin, during its removal from the place of slaughter to the tanyard, affects
the quality of the leather when it is made. Some are dried, others are salted, and before the
tanning operations can be commenced, the skin has to be restored to its green condition.

DIE CUTTING EXPLAINED

The term "die cutting" is loosely applied to many types of cutting process but in our sphere of
application and activity it applies mainly to the cutting out of shapes from soft or semi-rigid
materials in single or multiple layers.
The process itself is, in fact, very simple but the machinery to perform the process has
become increasingly sophisticated.

The closest analogy is to imagine a hand-held pastry cutter being pressed by hand through a
sheet of pastry. For 'pastry cutter', think cutting die or tool. For 'hand', think cutting press.

The advantages of the die cutting process are speed, accuracy, use of unskilled labour,
material saving, relatively low cost tooling.

Tooling

The tooling is commonly referred to as a cutting die, cutting tool, cutting knife or cutting
forme and these are available in three main types:

• Wood forme - Cutting blade to the shape required is set in a plywood backer.

• Strip steel - This is usually a heavier gauge steel, bent to the required shape, possibly
with re-inforcing struts.

• Forged steel - This is a heavy duty construction where the highest precision is
required, usually for long runs and also, usually, for harder materials. It is also the most
expensive.

HYDRAULIC DIE CUTTING MACHINES OR PRESSES - PRINCIPLES

For many years now, the vast majority of cutting presses have been hydraulically powered to
enable high cutting forces to be developed safely and quietly to cut the most demanding of
jobs.

In simple terms, a motor drives a pump, which then delivers oil under high pressure to a
hydraulic cylinder or cylinders, thus driving the cutting head down to effect the cut.

All hydraulic presses require two main settings to be made before commencing work – (a)
adjustment to the ‘cutting stroke’ which determines the depth to which the cutting die
penetrates after it has cut through the material and (b) adjustment to the ‘daylight’ which is
the gap measured between the upper and lower platens after the cutting head has returned to
top position.

Die cutting presses usually have a polypropylene, PVC or nylon cutting pad on the bed of the
press for the cutting blade to cut against (like a chopping board) and this works well with
most materials. However, automatic systems may use a special nylon belt as a cutting barrier
in order to make sure cut components feed out of the machine – this can avoid sticking or
snagging of materials in the cutting area.

KISS CUTTING AND STEEL TO STEEL CUTTING

The main exception to cutting onto a plastic cutting barrier is when steel to steel cutting is
required and a specialized die cutting press is used to permit this.
The requirement usually arises if the material to be cut cannot be cut through or parted off
cleanly due it its fibrous nature. Cutting against a precision hardened and ground steel plate
can often solve this problem but the cutting press must have additional depth control
equipment, in the form of a precision mechanical positive stops, to ensure that the cutting
blade literally ‘kisses’ the steel surface in order to avoid blade damage.

This type of press can also be finely adjusted in order to cut self adhesive materials which
have a bottom carrier paper. By careful adjustment of the mechanical stops, the end of the
stroke cut position can be set to cut through the material but not the carrier paper. In this way,
the cut product remains on the carrier paper and is rewound for later peel off and dispensing.
This process is also called ‘kiss cutting’.

COMMON TYPES OF HYDRAULIC DIE CUTTING PRESSES and principal functions

SWING ARM CUTTING PRESS (SWING BEAM)(CLICKING PRESS)

Did you know?

That these machines are often known as ‘clicker presses’ due to the historic way of cutting
patterns in the shoe industry? Originally, leather cutting operatives used to produce cut parts
by using a hand held knife which they would run around a pattern or template. These patterns
had a brass edging to protect the template and as the blade ran round the brass edging it
produced a clicking sound. Hence the operatives became known as ‘clickers’. With the
development of swing arm presses to do this job, the machines became known as clicker
presses or clicking presses. The term remains in use to this day.

The most widely used model with thousands in daily use. These machines are also commonly
known as Clicking Presses or Clicker Presses. For cutting sheets of material (including
leather hides) with small cutting dies. The operator manually places the cutting die onto the
material, swings the arm or beam over the die, the press arm descends and presses the die
through the material.

TRAVELLING HEAD CUTTING PRESS

These versatile machines use small to medium sized cutting dies to cut material which can be
in sheet form, long lays, or direct from the roll.

The principle is just the same but the cutting head is motorized so that it will traverse from
side to side within the press frame. The operator manually positions the die on the material
but uses controls to traverse the cutting head over the die and deliver the cut.

Materials can be up to 2 metres wide (or more) and are fed in through the rear of the press.
AUTOMATIC TRAVELLING HEAD CUTTING PRESS

For fully automatic operation, the cutting die is mounted on the head of the press. The head
and the feed system are programmed so that the head travels accurately from side to side,
delivering cuts, and the feed system moves the material forward for each successive row of
cuts. The head can also rotate to any angle so that cuts can be interlocked to make the best
use of the material. Whilst a plastic cutting barrier board can be used, it is more common to
cut on a special conveyor belt which carries the cut parts out of the cutting area.

FIXED BEAM CUTTING PRESS

For larger components or multiple small components. Higher cutting forces permit large or
densely bladed dies to be used.

On manual machines, material in sheet form is commonly processed while automatic models
can be fed with rolls of material or stack fed with sheets. Feeding systems and component
stripping apparatus can be specified.

RECEDING HEAD CUTTING PRESS

This most versatile cutting machine has all the features of the fixed beam press with the
advantage of the cutting head or beam retracting (receding) after the cut. This facilitates the
use of larger sheets and roll form material with improved visibility, ease and speed of
operation.

KISS CUTTING/STEEL TO STEEL CUTTING MACHINES

Where perfect quality of cut for difficult materials is required or self-adhesive components
need to be cut onto a backing material, these machines work automatically and at high speed.
Additional positive, mechanical stops allow precise setting whilst rewind stations will wind
up the scrap web and the backing material with finished components still in place.

With specialized tooling and equipment these machines can be specified to heat seal the edge
of products as well as cutting them out in the same cycle.

OPTICAL REGISTRATION DIE CUTTING PRESSES

Where products, typically printed ones, demand accurate cutting to registration, it is possible
for systems to be equipped with fibre optic or laser sensors which ‘see’ registration marks so
that the material is accurately fed and cut to precisely align with the printed image.