Cutting Department in Garment Manufacturing Industry

Introduction:

Cutting is one of the most important stage in the garment manufacturing process. A garment manufacturing unit basically follows a general process flow. During cutting, the material is cut into desired pattern shapes based on their needs.

What are the objectives of cutting?

Precision of a cut:

A proper and a smooth cut is one of the prime objectives of cutting. If a garment is not cut appropriately it may cause disturbance, chances are it may not fit the body well. Hence, it is significant to cut the pattern shapes accurately. A precision of a cut normally depends on the method of cutting incorporated. A piece of garment can be cut either manually or by computer controlled knives.

Clean edges:

A raw edge of a fabric often leads to snagging or fraying. Such defects are a result of inappropriately sharpened knife.

Unscorched, unfused edges:

Scorching is caused due to heat build-up in the knife which comes from friction blade passing through the fabric. In the case of thermoplastic fiber fabric for example, polyamide and polyester the raw edges are fused. If the piles are forcefully separated it gives rise to snagged edges and the hard edges are uncomfortable to wear. A well- sharpened, blade with wavy edge, slowing down the speed of blade offer good solution to this problem.

Support of the lay:

Cutting should not only provide support to the fabric but also allow the blade to penetrate the lowest ply of the spread.

Consistent cutting:

The cutting system should not hold to be limited in the height of piles there are many reasons for same such as mechanical or human reasons such as toppling or leaning this can cause deterioration in cutting quality. 

How a fabric travels in a cutting department?

At the initial stage you receive a different sizes pattern for each style and garment from the pattern department. Then the cutting ratio for each garment style is decided and already sent by the merchandiser. In the meantime, you should buy the fabric according to the requirement from the store for each kind of garment style. Next up, the fabric is ready for spreading in which the fabric spread with correct height of the lay and ply tension. After spreading the next process in the cutting flowchart is marker planning, this involves placing a marker on the top layer of the lay. Then the fabric is finally cut by maintaining the marker. Once the fabric is cut in desired pattern shapes each part of different styles of fabric should be numbered to avoid mixing with other style fabric parts. And finally the pieces are shorted and bundled for next process.

The requirements of quality in cutting:

In most cases of cutting a knife blade is used. To avoid improper cutting, the pattern pieces in the marker should be placed in such a manner that it offers freedom of knife movement. If a blade has width it cannot turn a perfect right angle in the middle of pattern piece thus proper space must be given for a knife to turn such corners and the amount of space which must be left depend upon the cutting method employed. A pattern count must always be made at the completion of the planning of a marker. Correct labeling of a cut garment parts is important during sorting and bundling and it the responsibility of the marker planner to code every pattern piece with its size as the marker is planned.

Methods of cutting:  

• Manual cutting: hand operated scissors.
• Semi-automatic cutting machine: Round knife cutting, straight knife cutting machine.
• Fully automatic machine: Laser cutting machine, Water jet cutting machine, air jet cutting machine.