UNIT2

CLASSIFICATION AND APPLICATION OF

CUTTING MACHINES IN GARMENT
INDUSTRY
By Nisha Pathak
 INTRODUCTION
Cutting is the process of cutting a spread into garment parts with the help of
tting templates
Fabric cutting is often carried out in two stages: rough cutting
eparating the individual pieces) and the final cutting
ccurate cutting of the individual shapes).
During fabric cutting, the friction between the fabric and blade produces the
mperature in the blade, the temperature may be up to 300 ͦ C
Fabric containing Synthetic fibers like nylon, polyester, acrylic may melt and can
ck to the each other, this can cause fabric wastage.
To avoid this, the length of the lay can be reduced, the cutting speed can be red
ti-fusion paper should be used in the lay at regular interval and the knife should
bricated during cutting.
• Certain requirements must be fulfilled for cutting quality

• Precision of Cut
• If cutting is not done in accurate shapes it cannot be assembled properly.
• Accuracy is dependent on the marker making or on the method of cutting. In
manual cutting, like using a knife, accuracy depends on well maintained and
appropriate knife and skill of the cutter.
• In both die cutting and computer controlled cutting, the accuracy comes from
equipment itself.

• Condition of cut edges

• The condition of cut edges is very important to sew accurately. Edges
that are frayed, jagged, scorched or fused are difficult for operators to pick up,
align and sew.
• Such defects come from blunt knife. Smooth edges and precise corners are
easier to align and position during sewing operations.
• The width of the spread and density of piece goods must be
kept in mind while selecting the cutting equipment.
• Using a cutting knife, appropriate for the
type of the cutting operation and the condition of knife leads to clean edges.
• Support of the lay
• The cutting system must provide the means not only to support the fabric
but also to allow the blade to penetrate the lowest ply of a spread and serve all
fibers.

• Consistent cutting
• The cutting system will cut lays up to a specified length, but this may need
to reduce as a response to deteriorate the cutting quality.
• There may be mechanical or human reasons, involving toppling or leaning,
for the height of the lay to be limited.
• METHODS OF CUTTING
• The cutting room is equipped with cutting tool which has some kind of metal
blade.
• Most of the Cutting room makes use of hand shears (scissors), round knife,
straight knife and band knife cutting machine
• HAND SHEARS (SCISSORS)
• Scissors are manually used only for cutting one or two plies. It is often used in
the sample room.
• The lower blade of the shear passes under the plies, and then cuts the fabric.
• Skilled operator can achieve accuracy in cutting to the line. Left handed shea
available for left handed persons as the cutting lines are not easily seen in right
handed shears.
• These scissors are useful and flexible to cut any pattern. The only disadvanta
of this method is, it is time consuming and therefore needs to pay
high labour cost. It is appropriate only for made to measure garments
 STRAIGHT KNIFE
Straight knife is a portable cutting knife used for bulk cutting. It has a vertical b
Which reciprocates up and down to cut the bulk accurately.
The elements of straight knife cutting machine consist of a base plate, and
pright or standard carrying a straight, vertical blade, electric motor,
sharpening device, a handle for the cutter to direct the blade
The blade height varies from 6 to 14 inches and a stroke varies from 2.5cm to 4
The operator effort is affected by the weight of motor, handle weight, stroke,
nd sharpness of blade and the effect of baseplate rollers on the table surface.
The choice of machine and its effective maintenance, both are essential factors
or any operator
• ROUND KNIFE
• Round knife cutting machine, as the name suggests, has a round blade that c
with a downward turn at the leading edge.
• It is portable cutting device which is popular, light weight and fast.
• The elements of a round knife are a base plate above which is mounted an
electric motor, a handle for the cutter to direct the blade, and a circular blade
rotating so that the leading edge cuts downwards into the fabric.
• Blade diameters vary from 6- 20 cm. The cutting capacity or spread height is
determined by the radius of the blade, motor size and speed. Because of the fla
round blade, this knife cannot be manipulated around tight curves and sharp
angles because the blade does not strike all the plies simultaneously at the sam
point as a vertical plate does
 BAND KNIFE
Band knife is a type of stationary cutter. Stationary cutters are those cutting
machines that have blade or cutting devices that remain in a fixed position.
Band knives have fine blades that rotate through a slot in the cutting table whil
utting, so operator needs to control
Band knives are faster and less labour intensive. Space must be left around
arment parts when planning the marker so that they can be
ectioned out using a straight knife and then cut exactly using the band knife
The plies are stapled together to prevent slippage. Some band knife machine h
ir floatation tables which support the block of work on a fine air cushion, enablin
utter to manage the work during cutting with the minimum disturbance
o the plies.
• DIE CUTTING
• Die cutting involves pressing a rigid blade through the lay of the fabric. The di
knife in the shape of a pattern outline including notches.
• It is the most accurate means of cutting because each and every piece is cut
the exact same shape
• The basic components of die cutting machine are a table block, ram head,
motor and ram drive system.
• When an operator engages the machine, the ram head moves into place abov
the die, applies tons of pressure to the dies, releases and returns to the position.
• These dies are made of strip steel which is bended to the shape required and
welding the joint
• Dies are frequently used to cut small pieces that require high accuracy
• Dies are manually placed so its accuracy and consistency is affected due to
improper placement of the die, irregular surfaces and damaged dies. Operator's
task is to load the garment panel to the machine, checking the alignment is corr
• The die press stacks the cut work automatically.
 SERVO CUTTING
Servo cutting system is a bridge between computer controlled and manual cutt
This system has an over head servo motor with adjustable speed and a suspens
ystem that supports the knife perpendicular to the cutting table.
It reduces the possibility of distortion and inaccurate cutting.
It combines vertical cutting and band knife cutting into one machine. Thus, ena
uch higher degree of accuracy
This system enables the operator to cut deeper spreads with greater accuracy
an with a free standing straight knife and for a lesser investment than
omputerized cutting.
• COMPUTER CONTROLLED CUTTING MACHINE
• In computer controlled cutting machines, computer generated markers are sto
and used to guide the operation of the cutting head.
• Printed markers are not required for cutting but may be used to
assist with bundling. The accuracy is the vital element of computer cutting
• A typical computer cutting system has a table with a cutting surface consistin
of nylon bristles, which supports the fabric lay but are flexible for penetration an
movement of knife blade which is supported only at the top
• The bristles also allow the passage of air through the table to create a vacuum
reducing the height of the lay and holding it in place.
• The cutting head contains a knife, automatic sharpener and a further servo m
which rotates the knife to position it at tangent to the line of cut or curves.
 LASER CUTTING
As the name suggests, laser cutting focuses a powerful beam of light
rojected into a very small spot to cut fabric by burning, melting and vaporization
It is a fine, V-shaped beam of only 0.25 mm wide which does not get blunt or n
enewing, but it does suffer from limited depth of focus.Therefore, it is suitable fo
ingle ply cutting.
There is also a risk with thermoplastic fibers that the edges may fuse together
s the heat produced tends to seal fabric edges.
Laser cuts with incredible speed twice that of automatic knife cutting accuracy
nd multi-directional ability, but with some heat emission this heat proves benefi
or fabric that ravels.
Lasers are not common for cutting garments, but they have been used in home
urnishings and for samples, low volume cuts and other similar needs.
It is widely used in textile and leather industry, but still has limitation because
f high cost of investment in equipment.
• PLASMA CUTTING
• Plasma cutting is computer operated high speed cutting system. It was origin
developed to cut steel aluminium, but it can also be used to cut textiles.
• In plasma cutting a high velocity jet of high temperature ionized gas (argon)
penetrates through textiles to cut it efficiently. It has similar features
as laser cutting but at a lower price
• WATER JET CUTTING
• It is another computer operated system. Water jet is a tool capable of slicing in
fabrics using a jet of water at a high velocity and pressure, or a mixture of water
and an abrasive substance.
• As the jet penetrates successive plies in a spread, the momentum decreases
and cutting ability is reduced.
• The jet spreads out and the cut is wider and rough at the bottom of the spread
• Here the jet of the water is normally caught and drained away. There is the da
of wet edges, water spotting and in consistent cutting quality.
• The water must be filtered and de-ionized. The water jet can cut multiple plies
without causing fusing, but it may fray and tangle the yarns of some fabrics,
which make it difficult to separate the plies.
• Its use is limited to cutting plastic, leather and vinyl fabrics. There are several
advantages of water jet cutting as, there is no heat generation, it
does not produce any dust or particles that are harmful if inhaled, the kerf width
water jet cutting is very small, and very little material is wasted.
• POSITION MARKERS
• Position marker are marks and notches which are transferred from markers to
the perimeter or internal surfaces of garment parts to facilitate the sewing opera
• During the assembly process, operators rely on marks for alignment, placeme
of parts and some special treatments.
• When an operator control cutting machine is used, the operator should transfe
the marks to the cut garment parts.
• In computer control machines it is automatically done during the cutting proce
• These marks should not damage or discolor the visible parts of the garment. A
the operators rely on these marks for the assembly of cut parts, they should be
accurately placed and readily visible. These cuts are marks that should not be vi
n finished garment
NOTCHERS
Notches are cut into the edges of garment parts to enable alignment during
wing with other garments.
Specialized notching equipment provides greater accuracy because a guide lines
cher with the cut edge to give consistent depth of notch at a consistent right ang
edge.
There are two types of notchers, knife notcher and hot notcher.
fe notcher is an upright, cylindrical device which cuts the side of the block to a
determined distance.
Both straight notches and V-notches are available
Hot notcher, is a hand held device with a vertical electrical element that scorches
ric at the point of contact.
Temperature and notch depth are adjustable depending on the fabric. This
vice is mainly used for knitted fabrics made of natural fibres. The edges of the
thetic fabrics can fuse. when used properly, it does not cut, pucker or ravel the f
 DRILL AND THREAD MARKERS
Drill markers make a small hole through the fabric layers which remains visible
r some time.
This is usually used for the position of the pockets, dart etc. The drill mounting
cludes a motor, a base plate with a hole to allow the drill to pass through, and a
pirit level to ensure that the base is horizontal and hence, the drill vertical.
on many fabrics the drill is used cold and the hole remains
sible until the sewing operator comes to use it. A hot drill is used on loser weave
brics.
All drill holes must be concealed by the construction of the garments.
Thread markers are threads tagged i.e stitched vertically through the layers and
ut of beneath the bottom ply. The thread is then cut between the single layers.
If a florescent thread is used then the mark will have improved visibility where
tra-violet lamps are installed at the sewing machine or other equipment.
The thread markers is used when a drill would damage the cloth.
THANK YOU