Dieless cutting is the cutting of materials without the use of a form to stamp it out. Most commonly the cutting machines use water or a knife to make a continuous cut around the outline of the object.
Why go dieless?
Any of the following conditions make dieless your best choice:
No waiting for cutting dies.
Save money on cost of dies.
Reduce lead times-design a component and produce it in seconds.
Short runs and 1 off production is viable.
Reduce material waste.
Materials are very thick.
Accurate cutting is needed.
Shapes are either simple or too complex for die cutting.
No cutting by hand or with templates.
You are using a CAD/CAM system to design patterns.
Nesting to suit today's production mix.
Types of dieless machines: Waterjet and Knife cutting
Waterjet Cutting Systems
Advantages of Waterjet cutting:
Faster Cutting Speeds
Thicker or Harder Materials
True Production System
Ideal for converting a wide variety of thick foams and specialty gasket materials
Replacement Nozzles are inexpensive
ATOM waterjet cutting systems pressurize water to over 60,000 pounds per square inch and force it through a microscopic, small opening. This extremely fine jet of water can cut accurately and repeatability to within thousandths of an inch, making it ideal for a wide range of man-made materials, including gasket material, cork, rubber, leather and similar materials. Atom dieless cutting systems are ideal when customers are using a CAD/CAM system to design their patterns, just-in-time production is required, materials savings is critical, materials are extremely thick and need accurate cutting and are either simple or to complex for traditional die cutting. They completely eliminate recast layers, work hardening, thermal stress, heat affected zones and toxic fumes. Atom waterjet is the most flexible and effective cutting solution available for a variety of industrial needs.
FLASHJET 3000DA: The Total Leather Cutting solution. This system can accommodate half or full cow hides. Acquisition of hide contours and marking of quality areas are performed by a dedicated Intelliview System designed to recognize the usable areas of the hide and then automatically nest the desired patterns into the cutting system. These systems are highly abundant in the automotive seating industries and specialty leather garment industries.
FLASHJET 2000DA: The total production machine. Equipped with a three head cutting nozzle, this system is the ideal machine for high production companies. The machine comes standard with dual automatic material handling pallets so there is no down time. The pallets are designed with a steel structured table to hold the material in place and to reduce the back splashing affect. These systems are highly used in the gasket and packaging industries due to their nesting capabilities and impressive speed.
FLASHJET 1600SA: This dieless cutting system is equipped with a single cutting nozzle and two manually operated material handling pallets. This is the logical system for just-in-time-production and material savings at an economical price.
Knife Cutting Systems
Advantages of Knife Cutting Systems:
Economic Price
Ideal for wovens, non-wovens, industrial fabrics, technical textiles, composites, hybrids, laminates, corrugated materials, etc.
Capability of kiss cutting, printing, scanning, routing, milling, creasing, etc.
Vision Systems (Reverse Engineering).
Cost of running the system is much less.
Special table sizes up to 60' in length
Sheeted or rolled goods can be processed.
Double ended working.
Conveyorized beds available.
Replacement knives are inexpensive.
ATOM Dual Knife Cutting Systems
FLASHCUT 2600: This dual tangential/oscillating knife cutting system was designed for certain materials that cannot be in direct contact with water. Designed with the same state of the art technology, integrated nesting software and incredible speed it is the logical choice for companies who do not want to cut with pure water. Used in all types of industries yet highly abundant in the clothing and textile field.
Options for Dieless Cutting Systems
INTELLIVIEW LAYPLANNING
The Intelliview Layplanning System is an optional accessory to your dieless cutting system and highly beneficial. It is used for either leather hide scanning or synthetic material recognition. Acquisition of contours and quality areas in leather hides enables the system to automatically nest the desired shapes into the machines software saving companies 5-15% in material. This system was enhanced for the cutting of synthetic materials. Ideal for the gasket industry, it can recognize scraps and or center and cut the desired shapes from them. No need for scrap storage because this feature will basically eliminate your material waste. Both layplanning stations can be either attached or separated from the cutting system.