INDEX
What is Cutting Room?
Cutting Room WorkFlow
Cutting Room Planning Process
Cutting Room Capacity
Planning Capacity Calculation
Cut Order Plan
Marker Efficiency Economical
Cutting PLan
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What is cutting room ?
The cutting room is an unit or division in a factory
that produces clothing where the process of cutting
fabric is carried out. Using industrial machinery,
garment components or parts are cut from the
textile fabrics to create ready-made clothing. A
clothing industry must cut hundreds of garments per
day to produce them in bulk.
In an industrial production system, a separate
department for cutting activities is usually established
on the same level as production or on a distinct floor
in a multi-story structure. A cutting manager (or
cutting room in-charge) oversees the cutting room
and often reports to the project coordinator of a
garment manufacturer.
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Compared to other materials used to make clothing,
fabric is an expensive item. As a result, the cutting
room plans ahead, creates markers, and cuts
precisely to limit fabric loss.
Fabric is a pricey material when compared to
other supplies needed to produce garments. In
order to minimise fabric waste, the cutting room
prepares ahead of time, makes marks, and cuts
accurately.
Due to the possibility of orders containing various
sizes and color, the cutting room is essential for
cutting clothing.
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In large businesses with several manufacturing facilities, a centralised cutting room used to
be built up. Cutting bundles (cut portions) are transferred to the manufacturing facilities
where sewing operations are carried out after the fabrics have been cut for the various
orders. Large organisations want centralised cutting rooms for a variety of reasons,
including better utilisation of the equipment and labour. Fabric cutting is done in the cutting
room of the garment exporters, even for manufacturing job-work.
Different kinds of textiles and trimmings are employed in
certain clothing designs with many colour combinations.
To prevent errors during the stitching process, cutting
departments control the cutting and bundling of all the
components.
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Cutting Room Overveiw
Cutting is the first step in the creation of clothing. The cloth is chopped into sections
during this operation (shapes or patterns of different garment parts, i.e. front, back,
sleeve, collar shapes, etc.).
Multiple layers of cloth are spread out on a table during mass manufacturing, and
many outfits are cut at once. Stack of placed cloth is referred to as a lay.
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cut plan and cut ratio received from planner cutting section
Fabric received Fabric
fabric spreading
from fabric Relaxation
store (if needed)
Paper pattern/marker received from
Maker making on the lay CAD department
Cutting the lay using cutting machine
shorting
and
Checking bunding
Shorting panels Store bundles and
cut and Ply dispatch for
components numbering sewing section
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The cutting process includes a number of sub-processes and
the flow of the processes is as follows.
1. Pattern / Marker:
Different garment sections' patterns are created on pattern
paper and cut into pattern pieces based on the design and fit.
These pattern pieces are used to create markers for manual
usage. However, with a CAD system, patterns are created on
a computer. Later, marks are created on the sheet using a
plotter marker. In the second instance, a ready marker is sent
to the cutting department.
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2. Receiving the cut ratio: 3. Fabric receiving:
Before cutting, the cutting department receives a The amount of fabric needed for an
work sheet from the planning department, the order is determined by the average
merchandiser, or the production manager that amount of fabric
consumed by the marker. If ordering
includes the total number of garment pieces to be numerous shades, a requirement is
cut, the ratio of the garments, and a established according to each colors. Fabric
sizes by color. One or more is distributed by the fabric department for use
breakdown
markers areof prepared
sizes by the cutting in cutting (generally requisition slip is used).
depending on the size and color ratio. At this step,
crew
the number of cuts to be made and the marker
length are planned.
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4. Fabric relaxation :
It is an optional step. specifically for fabrics that knit. The cloth
stretches as it is rolled. Therefore, it is crucial to put the cloth
on a firm form because otherwise, the finished garment would
shrink. The cloth roll, or thn, is spread out and left for around
24 hours in order to relax.
5. Spreading (Fabric Layering):
During this stage, fabric sheets are stacked one on top of the
other while keeping the proper ply tension and a manufacturer
length that has been predetermined. To prevent issues with
cutting quality, fabric is layered up to a particular height.
Spreading can be done manually or automatically using a
layering machine. The cloth edge is oriented at one side while
layering it.
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6. Marker Making:
After a lay has been layered, the top layer of the lay is
covered with ready-made paper designs (or ready
markers created by a plotter). Marking chalk is used to
draw markings around each pattern form while
manufacturing handmade markers. Making markers is
the name of this technique. All parts of the garment are
placed in a marker.
7. Cutting:
Lay is cut following the marked lines on the top of the lay.
Cutting is done using a straight knife or other cutting means.
In the cutting process, the garment component are
separated. On the basis of pattern shape, different cutting
methods/machines are selected.
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8. Numbering:
Separated garment components are numbered to ensure that in stitching all components from
the same layer are stitched together. It is important to avoid shade variation in a garment.
Between the cutting and sewing processes cut components may be passed through other
processes like printing and embroidery. There is a maximum chance of mixing the components.
If there is a layer number in each component then at the time of stitching only correct
components will be stitched together.
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9. Sorting:
According to the production system (Make through, progressive
bundle or one-piece flow system) cut components are sorted. In
sorting all components of a garment placed together. Size-wise
sorting and in case multiple colours are cut in a single lay, colour
wise sorting will be required.
10. Bundling:
A specific number of pieces with complete components are linked
together in accordance with the demands of the manufacturing
line. Bundling is the term for this action. Each bundle is identified
by the number of the bundle, the style name, the size number,
and the number of pieces in that bundle. Cuttings may now be
sent to a production line to be stitched.
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SPREADERS
PLANNING MARKERS
PRODUCTION
MANUAL
SPREADING
MACHINE
MACHINE
CUTTING DIE PRESS
COMPUTER
SHADE MARKING
PREPARATION
FOR TICKETING
SEWING
BUNDLES
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Cutting Room Capacity
Planning
Planning and optimizing the use of cutting machines with respect to the parameters of the
production orders and the required cutting method.
List of functions :
Workplaces management
Adjustment of production capacity for workplaces Shifts and breaks management
Service breaks planning
Automatic or manual planning of production
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Capacity Calculation
1. Do cycle time of Jobs (time study for 5 – 10 cycles)
2. Do performance rating ( Assess how fast or slow the operator doing the job in
1-100 scale)
3. Calculate Basic time (Basic time = cycle time X performance rating)
4. Add allowances (machine allowance + personal fatigue)
5. Calculate standard minutes (SAM = Basic time + Allowance percentages)
Cutting capacity (in pieces) = (Capacity in hours*60/product SAM)*line efficiency
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Cutting Plan
Cut Order Plan is basically optimizing the cutting process under certain
constraints by following certain parameters.
Cut order plan is also referred as lay plan or cut plan in apparel industry. A good cut
order plan will require less time and effort for spreading and will use lesser fabric per
garment
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Inputs required for creating a cut order plan
1. Number of garments to cut – Order quantity
2. Size wise breakup , Like S:M:L:XL = 100:200:200:100
3. Maximum Number of sizes on a marker.
4. Available Fabric information – Width , Shrinkage , Shade and quantity.
Cut Order Planning
1. It translates customer orders into cutting orders.
2. It is the process that coordinates customer orders with all the variables of marker
making, spreading, and cutting to minimize total production costs and meet customer
demand for timely products.
3. It seeks most effective use of labor,equipment, fabric and space.
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Results of
Cut Order Planning
Cutting Orders
Leads to
Marker planning Lay planning
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Marker
Efficiency
This is the ratio of fabric actually used on the marker to total available fabric. Marker
efficiency is calculated for one marker at a time and cannot be generalized for the entire
order. This metric is mostly automatically calculated by CAD machines.
Area of marker used for garment: The CAD system calculates the area of all the patterns
placed on the marker.
Total area of marker: This is simple multiplication of length X width.
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Economical Cutting
Plan
An economical cut order plan is a logical division of an order quantity into lays (spread)
of fabric such that desired number of garment pieces can be cut in the required size ratio.
Economical cut order plan is made to minimize time and effort in cutting as well as to
utilize fabric efficiently.
EXAMPLES
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Example 1 :- Size :- 38404244
36
Quantity :- 100 150 200 175 75
Single gmt marker :- 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 ,2.3 ,
2.4. length
1gmt 2gmt 3gmt 4gmt
Spreading time/ply (mins) :- 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90
Fabric saving %: 0 2 3 6
Marker Preparation time (hr) 0.75 0.90 1.0
0.5
Fabric cost is Rs 4.00 per meter
Cutting time per garment marked 15
minutes Maximum no of garment per
marker - 4 Maximum no of plies -100
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End allowance 4 cm per ply
1. Compare with reference to size 44, the economic of cutting:
(a) a shallow lay using a multi-garment marker
(b) a deeper lay using a single garment marker
2. Calculate the total cutting room cost using an economical lay plan
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Solution:-
A shallow lay using a multi- garment marker
Marker length: (3X2.4)X97/100 = 6.984 m Ply
length: 6.984+0.040= 7.024 m
Lay length:7.024X25=175.60
Material cost: 175.60X4.00=Rs 702.40 Labour
cost:
Time for marker making 0.90X60 = 54.00
minutes Time for spreading 0.85X 25 = 21.25
minutes Time for cutting 15.0X3 = 45.00 minutes
Total time requirements
120.25 minutes
Labour costs: (120.25/60)X2.00 = Rs 4.01
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A deeper lay using a single garment marker
Marker length :-2.4m
Ply length 2.4X0.04 =2.44m Lay length
2.44X 75 =183.00m
Material cost 183.00X4.00 =Rs 732.00
Time for marker making 30.00X1 =30.00
min Time for spreading 0.75X75 =56.25
min Time for cutting 15.0X1 = 15.00 min
Total time requirements =101.25 min
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Total cutting room cost using an economical lay
plan The marker plan selected is
Lay 1 – 75 plies 44 38 38 42
Lay 2 – 100 plies 40 40 36 42
Material Costs
Marker length (lay 1) (2.4+2.1+2.1+2.3)X94/100=
8.366m Marker length (lay
2)(2.0+2.2+2.2+2.3)X94/100= 8.178m Ply length (lay 1)
8.366+0.040= 8.406m
Ply length (lay 2) 8.218+0.040= 8.218m Lay length (lay
1) 8.406X75= 630.45m Lay length (lay 2) 8.218X100=
821.80m
Material cost (lay 1) 630.45X4.00= Rs 2521.80 Material
cost (lay 2) 821.80X4.00= Rs 3287.20
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Time for marker making (lay 1-2) 1.00X60=60.00
min Time for spreading (lay 1): 0.90X75 =67.50 min
Time for spreading (lay 2): 0.90X100=90.00 min
Time for cutting (lay 1-2) 15.0X4 = 60.00min Total
time requirements (lay 1) 127.50 min Total time
requirements (lay 2) 150.00 min
Total time requirement =277.50 min
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Example 2
Suppose a factory has 8 sewing lines and each line has 25 machines. Total 200 machines and
the working shift is 10 hours per day. If the factory is producing only one style (Shirt) of SAM
25 minutes and used all 200 machines daily production capacity at 50%
Total factory capacity per day is 2000 hours (200 machines * 10 hours)
= (2000*60/25)*50% Pieces
= (2000*60*50) / (25*100) Pieces
= (6000000/2500) Pieces
= 2400 Pieces
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CONCLUSION
Before planning of cutting, availability of material must be planned according to daily
requirement. Number of garments to be cut of each design multiplied with consumption per
garment = daily requirement of fabric of each design. This may be only an idea to plan and
measure the cutting department work and accordingly crosscheck the outcome of plan. This
idea is based on basic machinery, which is used by most of the factories. Factories, which
are using CAD / CAM, auto spreader, auto cutter etc would plan as according to their
improved machinery.
Along with plan a proper work-study is required to monitor for any loopholes and any method
improvement required for achieving the target and goal. Through proper plan waiting time
may be reduced hence optimum utilization of infrastructure and employee / manpower, may
be achieved.
Reference:
https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2021/08/what-is-cutting-room-in-garment-
industry.html
https://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2011/01/cutting-room-overview.html https://www.
onlineclothingstudy.com/2021/03/cut-order-planning-making- economical.html
https://leanstitch.com/what-is-a-cut-order-plan/ https://garmentsmerchandising.com/
how-to-estimate-production-capacity-of-a-garment- factory/
