Page 164 - Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials

Automated laser cutting 10

of textile materials ☆

10.1 Introduction

Laser cutting technology was invented in the 1960s. At the end of the 1970s, the
cutting of metal sheets was adapted to industrial processes. The first industrial laser
cutting machine was probably introduced by Messer Griesheim around 1972, but dif-
ferent sources give varying views on the invention and introduction of this technology.
Further development and innovations during the 1970s and 1980s led to the wide-
spread use of laser cutting, including the areas of electronics, information technology,
medicine, industry, entertainment, science, and the military.
A number of different laser applications are designed for specific industrial use.
Lasers are used to cut metals, stones, plastics, rubber, ceramics, leather, textiles, and
other materials. Laser cutting systems are capable of a wide range of tasks, such as
through cutting, kiss cutting, perforating, drilling, engraving, marking, creasing, abla-
tion, structuring, and welding.
The three main types of lasers include CO 2 laser (best suited for cutting, engraving,
welding, and boring), Nd or neodymium laser (for boring and welding materials requir-
ing high energy and low repetition), and Nd-YAG or neodymium-doped yttrium alu-
minium garnet laser (for high-power engraving, welding, and boring). Comparatively,
soft materials, such as wood, laminates, sheet metal, plastic films, sheet plastics, foam-
core, paper, cardboard, leather, and textiles, may be cut by carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) lasers.
CO 2 laser is used to cut a wide range of textile materials. As there is no physical
contact between the cutting device and the material, very fragile materials and parts can
be cut with little or no support, and contaminants cannot enter or become embedded in
the material. Lightweight fabrics can be cut by laser in high quality and very fast, often
much faster than by knife cutting systems. Laser cutting is highly accurate and can easily
and precisely create complex shapes. Laser power can be accurately controlled to per-
form different laser treatments on textiles by the same laser source: cutting, kiss cutting,
engraving, marking, and perforating. Laser cutting is a tool-free processing that does not
have extra costs related to the purchase and maintenance of the cutting tools. There are
no delays in the work process because of tool changing and replacement. Many software
improvements are incorporated into today's optimized laser cutting systems.

☆ We thank company Eurolaser GmbH, Germany and Mr. I. Knifka for their kind support in development
of the chapter.
Industrial Cutting of Textile Materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102122-4.00010-X
Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.