cutting

Cutting is the pre production process of seperating (sectioning, carving, severing) a spread into garment parts that are prcise size and shape as the pattern pieces on the marker

 While cutting the blade does not remove any material from the fabric (unlike wood cutting blades) The knife blade must point in the direction of travel through the fabric when cutting straight or at tangent to the line of cut on a curve

Methods of cutting
Hand shears Straight knife Round knife Band knife Notchers Drills and thread markers Computer controlled cutting knives

Methods of cutting
Die cutting Laser cutting Plasma cutting Water jet cutting Ultrasonic cutting

Methods of cutting: Hand Shears

Used for cutting one or two plies of fabric Left hand shears are also available Teflon coated shears are sharp for a longer period Is time consuming Has high labour cost Its commonly used for MTM (made To Measure) garments

Methods of cutting: Straight knife

Has a base plate that moves on rollers for ease of movement An upright or standard carrying a straight , vertical blade with varying edge characteristics Electric motor above it Handle to guide the blade/ motor Has hand held power tools , an overhead cable feed and statuary safety precautions

Methods of cutting: Straight knife

Motor power drives the reciprocating blade. The motor power needed is derived from the height of the lay, construction of the fabric, curvature of the line being cut (which causes the rear of the blade to press against the cut fabric plies). The greater is the power of the moor the heavier is the machine Operator power drives the knife through the lay

Methods of cutting: Straight knife

The taller the cutting blade is, the thicker is the cross section and greater is the width adding resistance to forward movement Normally the blade height varies from 10cm to 33cm Normally the strokes vary from 2.5 cm 4.5 cm Length of blade varies from 6-14 inches

Methods of cutting: Straight knife

Operator effort is affected by weight of the motor, shape of the standard, handle height, stroke, sharpness of the blade, effect of the base plate rollers on the table surface Normal blade has straight edge, varying from coarsely ground for use with densely woven and coated fabrics , fine edge for loosely woven fabrics, synthetics, knits Wavy edges to reduce friction and hence heating and interply fusing of synthetic fabric or by varying the speed of the blade the problem can be overcome

Methods of cutting: Straight knife

Advantages: Most versatile Portable Cheaper than band knife More accurate on curves than a round knife (band knife can be used in main cutting operation and straight knife can be used to separate the lay into sections for easier handling) Relatively reliable Easy to maintain

Slasher
Its an adapted version of a vertical knife Used to remove a section of fabric without cutting into the area. It cuts into the spread from above like jigsaw and cuts around the section of fabric to be removed

Methods of cutting: Round Knife

Base plate Electric motor is mounted above Handle to direct the blade Circular rotating blade. Its leading edge cuts through the fabric Blade diameter varying from 6cm-20cms Its only for straight lines or for fewer no. of plies. Cannot work on tight curves or armholes..

Methods of cutting:Bandknife
Comprises of a series of 3/more pulleys Has an electric motor with a continuously rotating steel blade One edge of the blade is sharpened Band knife passes through a slot in the cutting table in a fixed position and the section of the lay to be cut is moved past it Blade is usually narrower than straight knife. Hence is apt for cutting around tight curves and sectioned cutting/ block cutting

Methods of cutting:Bandknife
When small parts like cuff/ pockets are cut a metal or fiber template can be put on the top so as to cut exactly against the hard edge Used to cut large garment parts such as jackets/ overcoats hence more commonly used in menswear than in womens wear Wavy edges are used for plastics and vinyl Saw type blades are used for cutting canvas

Methods of cutting:Notchers
They are cut at the edges For better alignment of pieces Other cutting modes can be used to make notches but the accuracy level is higher by using a notcher Notcher gives more accurate notches of consistent depth and is always at 90 degrees to the fabric edge Notches may be straight notches or V notches Hot notchers scorch fabric in area of notch making to prevent disappearing or fraying..

Methods of cutting: Drills and thread markers

Drill mounting includes a motor, base plate with a hole to allow the drill to pass through, a spirit level to ensure that the base is horizontal andhence drill a vertical drill The cold drll makes a hole which is visible till the sewing operation. In loosely woven faric whre the dril might close up, a hot drill may be used

Methods of cutting: Drills and thread markers

Hypodermic drill Threaders

Methods of cutting: Computer controlled knives

Most accurate Highest speed Commonly used in central cutting facilities which supplies to multiple factories.. Table with nylon bristles which are flexible to facilitate movement of knife as well as to crate vacuum (to reduce the lay height and hold the lay in place)( a sheet of airtight polyethylene is placed at the top)

Methods of cutting: Computer controlled knives

Carraige supporting the cutting head has two synchronised servo motors which drive it on track on the edges of the table Third servo- motor positions the cutting head on a beam across the width of the carraige. The two movements are coordinated to give a knife position at any point on the table

Methods of cutting: Computer controlled knives

Cutting head has a knife, automatic sharpener, servo-motor which rotates the knife to position it at a tangent to the line of cut on curves To avoid deflection of knife at curves another facility eqaulises the pressure on each sid of the blade Has a contol room

Methods of cutting: Computer controlled knives

Spreading may be done on a conventional table using a perforated sheet a the bottom and can be later transferred to a comuterised cutting table

Methods of cutting: Computer controlled knives

Disc is loaded in the computer Operator positions the cutting heads origin light over the corner of the spread. This provides the computer with a reference point Lift and plunge enables the knife to negotiate the sharp corners and straight or V notches Motorised drill behind the cutting head can provide drill hole as required Height of lay to be cut is 7.5 cm in compressed state Knife Speed can be as high as 80m/min whereas speed of cutting varies from 5-12m/min

Methods of cutting: Computer controlled knives

cutting requires less time so there can be 4 spreading tables feeding one cutting table. Cutting requires even les time than bundling It cuts as per the commands fed into the computer rather than following a paper pattern placed Hence a small error can lead to major losses

Methods of cutting: Die cutting

Pressing a rigid blade through the lays of fabric Die (cicker is used commonly in leather industry) has the shape of the pattern to be cut across the periphery including notches ( and seam allowance) . Tie bars secure its stability Steel die are cut and welded but cannot be sharpened and hence changed when they become worn / dull

Methods of cutting: Die cutting

Forged dies use heavier guage mtal which can be resharpened Position of tie bars determines the depth of the cut which is generally greater with forged dies Free standing dies cut smaller parts of larger garments

Methods of cutting: Die cutting

Its faster than knife cutting Has higher precision Its more economic for small parts which need to have sharper periphery Die press generally has a cutting arm supported by a single pillar at the back of the machine It swings to the side to allow placing of dies on the top of the fabric

Methods of cutting: Die cutting

One disadvantage of die cutting machines is the grater consumption of fabric It forces a narrow wedge of fabric in between the dies hence the gap between two dies must be minimum of 2-3 mm Foam inserts within the dies helps in stripping out the fabric swatches after cutting

 In addition to metal blade of some form or the other powered by hand or machine, high energy sources can be used to cut fabrics like: Laser cutting Plasma cutting Water jet cutting Ultrasonic cutting

Methods of cutting: Laser cutting

Laser produces a beam of light which has very high density This energy is transferred to the material There is a sharp rise of temperature of the material Cutting takes place by vaporization

Methods of cutting: Laser cutting advantages and disadvantages:

Does not become blunt Hence doesnt need renewing But suffers from limited depth of focus. This limits the depth of fabric that can be cut Best results are found when single plies are cut When several plies are cut there is a V cut rather than a straight line There is risk of edges fusing together

Methods of cutting: Laser cutting

system has a stationary gas laser Cutting head carrying a set of mirrors which reflet the laser beam to the cutting line A computer And a means of removing the cut pieces of garment from a single ply of fabric Cutting speed may be as high as 3040m/min

Methods of cutting: Laser cutting

Automatic single ply laser cutting is faster than multiple layer knife cutting Commonly used in cutting of sails where single ply cutting is required and slight fusing of cut edge of synthetic materials is desirable

Methods of cutting: Plasma cutting

Originated in steel industry Cutting is achieved by means of high velocity jet of high temperature ionised gases like argon Not used commonly

Methods of cutting: Water jet cutting

High velocity small diameter, stream of water is created by applying high pressure water to a nozzle As the jet penetrates deep into the layers its velocity decreases and hence cutting ability is reduced. Jet spreads out and the cutting is wider and rougher at the bottom plies Water needs to be drained away Used for leather and plastic Has danger of wet edges and water spotting Water must be filtered and de-ionized Compute controlled, has high costs involved

Methods of cutting: Ultrasonic cutting

Ultrasonically driven knife blade vibration frequencies of the order of 20HZ produce vibration of 1/20 mm movement in the blade Disposable knives lasting for 10-14 days are used 2 cutting heads are used , moving in different but synchronized paths Up to 10 plies can be cut at a time Low vacuum is needed

Quality parameters of Cutting

Frayed edges Cause: improper cutting tool, dull knives Impact: impedes cutting by clogging the knife action and The fabric has ripped/ pulled yarns The amount of fraying may depend on the fabric construction and finish

Quality parameters of Cutting

Fuzzy, ragged / serrated edges Cause: poor cuttign elements like faulty knife edges like burrs, chips,or dullness Impact: impeded sewing/ dimishes sewing quality

Quality parameters of Cutting

Ply- to-ply fusion: very common and troublesome as the operator cannot pick up a single ply during an operation Occurs due to friction and heat generated during cutting Can be averted by: checking knife speed, keeping knife sharp, place wax paper/ interleafing paper in between two plies while spreading, lubricating cutting blade, increasing RH of the cutting room

Quality parameters of Cutting

single edge fusion: single ply whose cut yarn ends are fused to form a britlle rim on cut edge. At times it may be desirable to prevent faying but generally its not desirable as it results in uncomfort to the wearr and impedes in sewing manipulation

Quality parameters of Cutting

Pattern Precision: misshape or distortion of pattern perimeter as cut . It may be undercut or overcut, poor lines of marker. After a cut the top, medium and bottom plies must be checked against the pattern

Quality parameters of Cutting

Notches: too deep notch is shown even after a garment is sewn Too small notch- the operator wastes time in searching for it leading to lower efficiency Misplacement of notch may be due to improper spread marker, poor control of cutting machinewith cutters notching tool stroking diagonally instead of vertically Incorrect marker leading to mismatch of mating parts

Quality parameters of Cutting

Drilling: too large/ too small in diameter Drill hole may be too hot due to high speed or wrong size causing plies to fuse together at the drill hole Drill must strike th cutting table horizontally . But it may not necessarily happen due to interply shift

Quality parameters of Cutting

Drilling: due to the nature of certain fabrics, even slight movement of yarns leads to closure of drill hole. For such fabrics hollow drills carrying marking ink is used which deposit the marking ink when the drill recedes the fabric. The marking ink should last till the stitching process but should be easily removable after processing

Factors causing inaccuracies in cutting

Wide/ vague lines on the marker Imprecise following of lines on the marker Variation in the cutting pitch Shifting of the spread or block Allowing fabric to bunch up or push ahead of the knife Using improper equipment Improper cutting sequence as parts are cut Higher depth of spread/ greater number of plies

Cutting pitch
Its the angle at which the cutting device contacts the spread. It determines uniformity in size of pieces in the whole lot Uniformity is maintained by keeping the knife in vertical position