A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes known as a cutting plotter.
Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for making corrugated boxes. The corrugated medium sheet and the linerboard(s) are made of kraft containerboard, a paperboard material usually over 0.25 millimetres (0.01 in) thick.
A decal or transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper, or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact, usually with the aid of heat or water.
In manufacturing industry, nesting refers to the process of laying out cutting patterns to minimize the raw material waste. Examples include manufacturing parts from flat raw material such as sheet metal, glass sheets, cloth rolls, cutting parts from steel bars, etc.
Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling processes. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials.
Vacuum forming is a simplified version of thermoforming, where a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mould, and forced against the mould by a vacuum. This process can be used to form plastic into permanent objects such as turnpike signs and protective covers. Normally draft angles are present in the design of the mould to ease removal of the formed plastic part from the mould.
Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other conductive metals may be cut as well. Plasma cutting is often used in fabrication shops, automotive repair and restoration, industrial construction, and salvage and scrapping operations. Due to the high speed and precision cuts combined with low cost, plasma cutting sees widespread use from large-scale industrial computer numerical control (CNC) applications down to small hobbyist shops.
A label is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed directly on a container or article can also be considered labelling.
Compression molding is a method of molding in which the molding material, generally preheated, is first placed in an open, heated mold cavity. The mold is closed with a top force or plug member, pressure is applied to force the material into contact with all mold areas, while heat and pressure are maintained until the molding material has cured; this process is known as compression molding method and in case of rubber it is also known as 'Vulcanisation'. The process employs thermosetting resins in a partially cured stage, either in the form of granules, putty-like masses, or preforms.
A paper cutter, also known as a paper guillotine or simply a guillotine, is a tool often found in offices and classrooms. It is designed to administer straight cuts to single sheets or large stacks of paper at once.
Die cutting is the general process of using a die to shear webs of low-strength materials, such as rubber, fibre, foil, cloth, paper, corrugated fibreboard, chipboard, paperboard, plastics, pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes, foam, and sheet metal. In the metalworking and leather industries, the process is known as clicking and the machine may be referred to as a clicking machine. When a dinking die or dinking machine is used, the process is known as dinking. Commonly produced items using this process include gaskets, labels, tokens, corrugated boxes, and envelopes.
Snips, also known as shears, are hand tools used to cut sheet metal and other tough webs. It is a cutting tool. Workers use various types of snips, with the cutting edges being straight or curved to various degrees. The style of edge employed will depend if a straight sheer or some type of shapes cut is necessary. There are two broad categories: tinner's snips, which are similar to common scissors, and compound-action snips, which use a compound leverage handle system to increase the mechanical advantage.
A converter is a company that specializes in modifying or combining raw materials such as polyesters, adhesives, silicone, adhesive tapes, foams, plastics, felts, rubbers, liners and metals, as well as other materials, to create new products.
Roll slitting is a shearing operation that cuts a large roll of material into narrower rolls. There are two types of slitting: log slitting and rewind slitting. In log slitting the roll of material is treated as a whole and one or more slices are taken from it without an unrolling/re-reeling process. In rewind slitting the web is unwound and run through the machine, passing through knives or lasers, before being rewound on one or more shafts to form narrower rolls. The multiple narrower strips of material may be known as mults or pancakes if their diameter is much more than their width. For rewind slitting the machine used is called a slitter rewinder, a slitter or a slitting machine – these names are used interchangeably for the same machines. For particularly narrow and thin products, the pancakes become unstable, and then the rewind may be onto a bobbin-wound reel: the rewind bobbins are much wider than the slit width and the web oscillates across the reel as it is rewound. Apart from the stability benefit it is also then possible to put very long lengths,, onto one bobbin.
Cricut is an American brand of cutting plotters, or computer-controlled cutting machines, designed for home crafters. The machines are used for cutting paper, felt, vinyl, fabric and other materials such as leather, matboard, and wood.
A wall decal, also known as a wall sticker, wall tattoo, or wall vinyl, is a vinyl sticker that is affixed to a wall or other smooth surface for decoration and informational purposes. Wall decals are cut with vinyl cutting machines. Most decals use only one color, but some may have various images printed upon them.
Pressure-sensitive tape or pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is an adhesive tape that will stick with application of pressure, without the need for a solvent or heat for activation. It is known also in various countries as self-stick tape, sticky tape, or just adhesive tape and tape, as well as genericized trademarks, such as Sellotape, Durex (tape), Scotch tape, etc.
Heat transfer vinyl, or HTV for short, is a speciality polyurethane with a heat-activated adhesive that can be used on certain fabrics and materials to apply designs to promotional products, textiles and apparel, such as T-shirts. It comes laminated together with a clear polyester carrier in a roll or sheet form, with an adhesive tacky backing, so it can be cut, weeded, and placed on a substrate for application via a heat press. The design is cut into the material with a cutting plotter in reverse. The excess material is removed with tools such as hooks or tweezers - a manual and dextrous process referred to as "weeding". The tacky adhesive between the carrier and the vinyl holds together complex designs, although the labour naturally increases the more weeding that is required. The clear polyester carrier keeps the design visible to aid positioning on the substrate. For these and other reasons, it is a popular and more robust alternative to transfer paper. Heat transfer vinyl is made in single colors and also has special options such as patterned, glitter, flocked, holographic, glow-in-the-dark, reflective and 3D puff. Heat transfer vinyl also benefits from a high degree of stretch and rebound, achieved by a memory effect, making it suitable for use on apparel and other flexible items including the garments typically used, such as sports jerseys.
A vehicle vinyl wrap is the automotive aftermarket practice of completely or partially covering a vehicle's original paint with a vinyl wrap. Generally this vinyl wrap will be a different color or finish like a gloss, matte or clear protective layer.
A cutting mat is a mat that is placed between a workpiece to be cut and the surface below to protect the surface.
