Laser cutting bridge

Last updated

In textile manufacturing, a laser cutting bridge system is an industrial machine for cutting and engraving textile materials (i.e. fabrics). It is formed by a galvanometric laser head and carbon-dioxide laser (CO2 laser) source that runs along an horizontal beam (the bridge) supported by two lateral columns and sometimes by central columns. This system is placed over one or more embroidery machines, more frequently multi-head rather than single-head machines, cutting tables and roller devices to cut out and/or engrave embroidered fabrics. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The first laser bridge for embroidery machines was invented and realized in 1998 by GMI srl an Italian company based in Vittorio Veneto (TV), Italy. The Laser cutting bridge was first presented to the public at the IMB exhibition of Cologne, Germany, in 2000. GMI srl continues manufacturing laser bridges and since 1998 has largely improved the quality of its cutting systems.[ citation needed ]

Before the advent of the laser bridge, fabrics were first die-cut and then appliqués were sewed or embroidered on the base fabric. Usually used as an 8 mm thick steel die with heights ranging from 50 to 100 mm depending on how many pieces were to be cut at once. This process proved to present numerous difficulties.

Technology

A cut piece of cloth (the appliqué) is placed above the base material that is in the embroidery machine (having a first seam reference), is fixed and finally embroidered. [3] More recently,[ when? ] the manual method of cutting has been replaced by the laser cutting technology, laser plotters first, and then by laser bridges. The laser ensures better accuracy compared to manual cutting. [4] It allows users to imitate a jagged or irregular cut as if done by hand, with the advantage that the laser solders the borders of synthetic fiber, avoiding unpleasant unthreading which is called "the clean edge". [5] The combination "laser plus embroidery machine" offered by the laser bridge also avoids double work: no longer is it necessary to cut by hand after embroidering appliqués. [6]

The process also guarantees more accurate results, because the laser works on the same frame where the embroidery machine works avoiding positioning errors. The technology uses software that guides the cutting laser head along the bridge and the reflecting mirrors (moved by electromagnetic motors). This method provides a degree of accuracy and speed of cut much greater than traditional systems (1/100 mm instead of 1/10 mm).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embroidery</span> Art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn

Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on caps, hats, coats, overlays, blankets, dress shirts, denim, dresses, stockings, scarfs, and golf shirts. Embroidery is available in a wide variety of thread or yarn colour. It is often used to personalize gifts or clothing items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textile</span> Various fiber-based materials

Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the only manufacturing method, and many other methods were later developed to form textile structures based on their intended use. Knitting and non-woven are other popular types of fabric manufacturing. In the contemporary world, textiles satisfy the material needs for versatile applications, from simple daily clothing to bulletproof jackets, spacesuits, and doctor's gowns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sewing</span> Craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread

Sewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeologists believe Stone Age people across Europe and Asia sewed fur and leather clothing using bone, antler or ivory sewing-needles and "thread" made of various animal body parts including sinew, catgut, and veins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machine embroidery</span> Technique of embroidering with a sewing machine or purpose-made embroidering machine

Machine embroidery is an embroidery process whereby a sewing machine or embroidery machine is used to create patterns on textiles. It is used commercially in product branding, corporate advertising, and uniform adornment. It is also used in the fashion industry to decorate garments and apparel. Machine embroidery is used by hobbyists and crafters to decorate gifts, clothing, and home decor. Examples include designs on quilts, pillows, and wall hangings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser cutting</span> Technology that uses a laser to cut materials

Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser most commonly through optics. The laser optics and CNC are used to direct the laser beam to the material. A commercial laser for cutting materials uses a motion control system to follow a CNC or G-code of the pattern to be cut onto the material. The focused laser beam is directed at the material, which then either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chenille fabric</span> Type of yarn and the fabric made of it

Chenille is a type of yarn, or the fabric made from it. Chenille is the French word for caterpillar whose fur the yarn is supposed to resemble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Textile design</span> Creation of designs for the manufacturing of woven, knitted or printed fabrics

Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of cloth or fabric, which is subsequently printed upon, or otherwise adorned. Textile design is further broken down into three major disciplines: printed textile design, woven textile design, and mixed media textile design, each of which uses different methods to produce a fabric for variable uses and markets. Textile design as an industry is involved in other disciplines such as fashion, interior design, and fine arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embroidery of India</span> Any of the various styles of embroidery indigenous to India

Embroidery in India includes dozens of embroidery styles that vary by region and clothing styles. Designs in Indian embroidery are formed on the basis of the texture and the design of the fabric and the stitch. The dot and the alternate dot, the circle, the square, the triangle, and permutations and combinations of these constitute the design.

The manufacture of textiles is one of the oldest of human technologies. To make textiles, the first requirement is a source of fiber from which a yarn can be made, primarily by spinning. The yarn is processed by knitting or weaving, which turns yarn into cloth. The machine used for weaving is the loom. For decoration, the process of colouring yarn or the finished material is dyeing. For more information of the various steps, see textile manufacturing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African textiles</span> Textiles originating in and around continental Africa or through the African Diaspora

African textiles are textiles from various locations across the African continent. Across Africa, there are many distinctive styles, techniques, dyeing methods, and decorative and functional purposes. These textiles hold cultural significance and also have significance as historical documents of African design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutwork</span> Needlework technique

Cutwork or cut work, also known as punto tagliato in Italian, is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile, typically cotton or linen, are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embroidered patch</span>

An embroidered patch, also known as a cloth badge, is a piece of embroidery which is created by using a fabric backing and thread. The art of making embroidered patches is an old tradition and was done by hand. During the first half of the twentieth century they were commonly embroidered using a shiffli embroidery machine. High-speed, computerized machines have led to mass production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shisha (embroidery)</span> Type of embroidery

Shisheh or abhla bharat embroidery, or mirror-work, is a type of embroidery which attaches small pieces of mirrors or reflective metal to fabric. Mirror embroidery is common throughout Asia, and today can be found in the traditional embroidery of the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, China, and Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slip (needlework)</span>

In needlework, a slip is a design representing a cutting or specimen of a plant, usually with flowers or fruit and leaves on a stem. Most often, slip refers to a plant design stitched in canvaswork (pettipoint), cut out, and applied to a woven background fabric. By extension, slip may also mean any embroidered or canvaswork motif, floral or not, mounted to fabric in this way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bead embroidery</span>

Bead embroidery is a type of beadwork that uses a needle and thread to stitch beads to a surface of fabric, suede, or leather.

Gota patti or gota work is a type of Indian embroidery that originated in Rajasthan, India. It uses the applique technique. Small pieces of zari ribbon are applied onto the fabric with the edges sewn down to create elaborate patterns. Gota embroidery is used extensively in South Asian wedding and formal clothes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuba textiles</span> Textiles indigenous to the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kuba textiles are a type of raffia cloth unique to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, and noted for their elaboration and complexity of design and surface decoration. Most textiles are a variation on rectangular or square pieces of woven palm leaf fiber enhanced by geometric designs executed in linear embroidery and other stitches, which are cut to form pile surfaces resembling velvet. Traditionally, men weave the raffia cloth, and women are responsible for transforming it into various forms of textiles, including ceremonial skirts, ‘velvet’ tribute cloths, headdresses and basketry.

<i>Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology</i>

Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology was an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that showcased the dichotomy between Manus, also known as haute couture, and Machina, also known as prêt-à-porter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art debuted this exhibition during the 2016 Met Gala and ran it from May 5, 2016 to September 5, 2016. It included over 120 pieces from designers like Chanel and Christian Dior, varying from the 20th Century to present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audrey Walker</span> English textile artist (1928–2020)

Audrey Walker was an accomplished textile artist, embroiderer and teacher, who was active from the 1970s and 1990s in United Kingdom. Walker became known for developing an innovative style of embroidery based on fine threads applied by machine and by hand, to create striking figurative wall-hung works of art. Walker described her work as evolving from fairly fluid ideas, and the process as being akin to drawing with fabrics.

References

  1. Hace, A.; Jezernik, K.; Curk, B.; Terbuc, M. (1998). "Robust motion control of XY table for laser cutting machine". IECON '98. Proceedings of the 24th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (Cat. No.98CH36200). Vol. 2. Aachen, Germany: IEEE. pp. 1097–1102. doi:10.1109/IECON.1998.724249. ISBN   978-0-7803-4503-4. S2CID   9176333.
  2. Gao, Bill (2021-12-18). "Best 10 Laser Engraver & Cutter for Beginners". Novelty Maker. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  3. "Cutting and joining - Textiles: Manufacturing techniques - Eduqas - GCSE Design and Technology Revision - Eduqas". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  4. Hung, On-na; Kan, Chi-wai (2017-11-13). "Effect of CO2 Laser Treatment on the Fabric Hand of Cotton and Cotton/Polyester Blended Fabric". Polymers. 9 (11): 609. doi: 10.3390/polym9110609 . ISSN   2073-4360. PMC   6418992 . PMID   30965909.
  5. Loasby, G. (1951). "The Development of the Synthetic Fibres". Journal of the Textile Institute Proceedings. 42 (8): P411–P441. doi:10.1080/19447015108663852. ISSN   1944-7019.
  6. Boscariol, Chiara (2021-03-09). "Laser embroidery techniques: the clean edge". GMI srl - Laser bridge cutting system and embroidery software. Retrieved 2022-10-22.