Cutting tools and equipment Cutting requires the use of the different types of tools and equipment and some of the their main features are

1. Hand Scissors:Hand Shears are used when cutting samples and limited quantities of garments. Hand shears are limited to the cutters physical strength, but usually no more than two layers of fabric due to the loss of accuracy as the shears lifts the fabric off the cutting table. This method is slow and unproductive.

2. Powered Scissors:These are used for cutting one or two plies and are often used in the sampling room.

3. Straight Knife: The Straight Knife or “Up and Down” (Vertical Knife) is a machine with a straight vertical blade. Straight knives are available from 3” to 14” tall, capable of cutting lays from 2 ½” to 13 ½” in height. Depending on the density of the fabric, this may represent a wide range of plies. When encountering notches, the straight knife may be used to cut notches by pushing the blade into the notch mark on the patterns above each bundle. Straight Knife cutting machines weight is in the range of 12-18 kg’s. The power requires for the machine varies from model to model from 0.55 HP to 1.25 HP.

4. Round Knife: This is a very fast machine, excellent for cutting the straight lines or gradual curves. Blade sizes range from 4 cm to 20 cm in diameter and the effective cutting height is about 40% of the blade diameter.

5. Band Knife: The narrow blade of this machine allows the finest of the shapes to be cut very accurately. Some band knife machines have air flotation tables which support the block of work on a fine air cushion, enabling the cutter to man oeuvre the work during cutting with the minimum disturbance to the plies.

6. Computer Controlled cutting knives The input for this operation comes from the markers generated on a computerized marker generating systems. The marker data is transformed to the cutting unit by means of tapes, floppy disks or directly from the marker planning system itself. Computerized cutting is six to eight times faster than any type of manual method and cut components with a consistent level of accuracy. Although a computerized cutting system requires a substantial initial investment, it is considered to be most effective investment for large-scale cutting production. Less expensive systems are available for factories having smaller quantities to cut and these systems also pay their way.

7. Die Cutting:Die Cutting is an off-table cutting method that provides cutting quality close to perfection. Steel rule dies used most often in fashion manufacturing, are made with a wooden form wrapped by a sharpened steel cutting edge. A die is required for every part in every size that must be cut. This represents a large investment at over $100.00 per die. In this process, Fabric blocks are included in the marker for the parts to be cut by die. The blocks are shifted off the cutting table. At the cutting machine (known as a “clicker”) the dies are placed (by size, etc. As needed.)Down on the cloth, and the machine head presses the dies down through the fabric lay. Every part comes out the same exact shape and size when die cut correctly. A limitation is the height of the cutting die. The tallest cutting die can only cut approximately 2 inches in height.

8. Laser cuttingLaser cutting is a method of manufacturing that (surprise, surprise) uses a laser to cut materials. All of the advantages -– extreme accuracy, clean cuts and sealed fabric edges to prevent fraying -– make this method of design very popular in the fashion industry. Another benefit is that one method can be used to cut many different materials, like silk, nylon, leather, neoprene, polyester and cotton. Also, the cuts are made without any pressure on the fabric, meaning no part of the cutting process requires anything other than the laser to touch a garment. There are no unintended marks left on the fabric, which is particularly beneficial for delicate fabrics like silk and lace.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

There are three main types of lasers used for laser cutting:

The CO2 laser. The neodymium (ND) laser and ,

The neodymium yttrium- aluminium -garnet (ND-YAG) laser.

For the most part, the CO2 laser is the method of choice when it comes to cutting wearable fabrics. This particular process involves firing a high-energy laser that cuts by melting, burning or vaporizing material.

9. Plasma cuttingThis is a cutting system utilizing heat generated by arc discharge between the cutting object material and the electrode inside the torch. Arc discharge heat forms working gas into the plasma state of high temperature; the plasma jet of high temperature and high-speed is blown out from the nozzle; and the cutting object material is fused to be cut

What is plasma?Heating a gas to a high temperature makes kinetic energy of its molecule or atom large, such particles vigorously collide each other; electron inside the atom is taken away resulting in positively charged ions and negatively charged electrons being mixed up; as a whole, each charge offsets one another, producing a state of electrically neutral, which state is called plasma. This plasma appears when a gas is heated to 5 to 7 thousand degrees or higher at the atmospheric pressure.

10. Water Jed cutting A water jet cutter is an industrial tool capable of cutting a wide variety of materials using a very high-pressure jet of water or a mixture of water. The cutter is commonly connected to a high-pressure water pump where the water is then ejected from the nozzle, cutting through the material by spraying it with the jet of high-speed water.

Advantage of Water-jet Cutting Machine:

Most effective to cut hard materials such as leather & plastic. Sound of cutting is less. Excess heat is not produce. Higher cutting speed. The table is not cut as catcher is used. Since there is no solid knife so, no sharpening is required.

Disadvantage of Water-jet Cutting Machine:

There is a danger of wet edges. Water spot may occur on fabric. High costly. Hard water causes rusting. So water must be filtered & de-ionized before use. As in the lower lay, water jet spreads out & then cut is wider & rough at the

bottom of the spread. Not suitable for high lay of fabric. The sound of jet need to control.

11. Ultra sonic cutting MachineUltrasonic cutters are designed to give the best possible edge seal on all fabrics without having to adjust for different fabrics or thickness. This leads to higher productivity and less down time changing cutting heads for different fabrics. Due to the characteristics of ultrasonic cutting, all fabrics finish with a superb edge seal, which most importantly prevents fraying. This is due to the intense heat that is rapidly concentrated on the cutting/sealing head.

Advantages of ultrasonic cutting: Built in electronic amplitude setting allowing

the user to choose amplitudes through generator between70% to 100% without changing the Booster.

Can be employed to cut/seal un-laminated, laminated, antistatic PP, PE, HDPE, LD, Woven / Non-woven Fabrics.

Due to high vibrations of Ultrasonic tip, the cut edges are not only mechanically separated but also thermally sealed.

Neat, clean & smooth edges can be obtained without formation of beads on the cut edges.

No emission of cutting fumes in the cutting area so reduces the expensive suction system.

12. NotchersMany garments parts require notches in the edges of them to enable easy alignment during sewing with other garments parts. This notches can be made by straight knife or other cutting machine but accuracy depends on the operator. Notchers is used to identify folding line, seam line etc.

Types of notchers: Cold Notcher

The Cold notcher is a manually operated, spring-loaded device with a short blade mounted on a plunger. Placed at the edge of the bundle, the cutter lines the blade up with the notch. In a single stroke downward, the notch is cut into the edge of all of the fabric plies.

Hot NotcherWhen the fabric is a soft weave or knit, the cut notch will be lost in the edge fraying during handling each part. To create a more lasting notch, a hot notcher is used. The hot notch utilizes a vertical heated edge which burns a notch into the edge of the bundle. The temperature is controlled, so as to leave a brown burn mark without melting or doing excessive damage to the fibers.

Ink NotcherThe ink notcher is similar to the hot notcher Instead of burning a notch into the edge of the fabric; this device leaves a trace of UV marking ink on the edge of the fabric. This ink is visible under UV lights at the sewing station.

13. Cloth Drills Cloth Drills are used when a mark is needed inside the body of a part to indicate the point of a dart, marking buttonholes, location of a pocket slash, or position of an interior component such as a patch pocket, or appliqué. Drill holes are a more productive alternative to chalk marking parts individually.

Types of Drills: The Cold drill

The Cold drill works in a similar manner to a punch cutting a small circle of material as it bores down through the layers of fabric. The shaft rotates like a wood drill, cutting the hole as it moved vertically downward.

The Hot drill The Hot drill uses a solid shaft that is electrically heated. The drill leaves a burn mark to leave a lasting mark on loose weaves and knits.

The String marking The String marking is a device that uses a needle that penetrates all the plies of the lay. The needle carries a thin cord which is left in the fabric marking a drill hole location. This is used on very loosely knit or woven fabrics where a not notch would damage the fabric. The sewing operator pinches each ply at the string, holding the point as a reference for sewing.

14. End CuttersEnd cutters are used to cut the end of every lay spread on the table for starting a new end of the fabric. They provide fast and perfectly straight end cutting as a requirement of marker planning.

15. safety gloves These metal mesh safety gloves are manufactured to comply with all major international safety standards (UL, CSA, EC, GS). These gloves provide an excellent measure of protection against cuts and stab wounds, while allowing maximum flexibility. These gloves should be used by cutter during cutting .

1. Inside Slasher The Inside Slasher is a device used to cut the inside slash for interior “slash” pockets. The cut is entirely internal on the part, so cutting from the edge is not possible. The Inside Slasher has a double edge blade that reciprocates, and is inserted from above the part bundle, where the part bundle is moved under the knife