Case Studies

The Challenge

A Dutch international manufacturer of movie screens requested a solution to automate the cutting and sewing of their products. Movie screens are made with a costly PVC-coated material to enhance the quality of the projected videos. The patterns are rectangular, with straight or curved edges and small holes that are used to mount the screen on an aluminum structure. After the cut, velcro straps are sewn to the back of the fabric.

The Solution

For this project, we combined two of our flagship products, the SM-375-TA cutting machine and the SM-100-CA linear sewing station, into a single production line with two individual workstations. The first station pulls the fabric off the roll and cuts the patterns according to a CAD drawing. The fabric is then forwarded to a second station. Fabric transportation is made easy using the “flying carpet method”, an air cushion underneath the fabric. A single operator can easily forward even the largest movie screen cuts from the cutting to the sewing station.

The sewing station consists of a high-performance sewing head that runs along the side of the machine. To allow the operator to safely monitor and guide the fabric and velcro strap during the operations, we created a platform with chair that travels together with the sewing head so that the operator can safely sit during production.

Creation of high-end products

We installed two high-power welding heads on the left and right side of the tool bridge to fold the fabric into a pocket and insert the core that is used to attach the fabric to the awning structure. As the machine works at exceptionally high speeds (up to 15 m/m), we integrated an accumulator before the cross-cutting station so that the machine does not have to slow down or come to a full stop, instead continuing the welding process during the cut.

With their new cutting and sewing machine, our customer is now able to produce movie screens in a fast, continuous cycle. While the sewing station attaches the velcro straps to the back of the product, the cutting station automatically spreads and cuts the fabric, so that there are no dead times in the process.

The machine was successfully installed in the Netherlands.