Case Studies

The Challenge

The largest manufacturer of roller blinds in zebra and other fabrics in Brazil requested a custom-sized cutting plotter that would allow them to cut an infinite range of technical fabrics in a single machine. The company uses polyesters, acrylics, PVC-coated fiberglass, blackout PVC, and crystal (clear) PVC. The shapes are generally square or rectangular but can include cuts in triangular or other complex shapes. An additional challenge was that the company is located in the center of Sao Paulo, where available warehouse space was limited, and they were required to process rolls with widths up to 3,2 m.

The Solution

Based on the customer’s requirements, we recommended an SM-375-series cutting plotter. These machines can cut X-Y patterns, curves, circles, and very complex shapes. SM-375-TA installs a wide range of cutting technologies. To ensure all fabrics our customer uses could be processed, we installed an ultrasonic blade, a rotary knife, a drag knife, and a 30W laser cutting on the machine. The tool bridge also features a Teflon-coated pressing bar that slides over the fabric to hold it down during the length and cross cuts to make sure the panels are a perfect square, no matter how tough the fabric.

A custom CAD-software enables operators of any skill to easily create squares, rectangles and even highly complex patterns. They can even import orders from the company’s own order database.

Tailor-made solution.

By reducing the standard cutting width of 3,5 m to 3,2 m and “tucking in” the bridge structure and control panel to the outer perimeter, we reduced the footprint so that it perfectly fits our customer’s production hall. We even mirrored the machine's operational position by moving the dynamic zero-point and the computer station from right to left so that the machine could be perfectly integrated into the workflow.

The machine was installed in São Paulo in the Summer of 2018.