Laser Points Blog

Laser Cutting Technical Textiles #1

One of the most frequent requests we get is for laser cutting textiles of all sorts.  One of the reasons for this is there are so many styles of textiles manufactured and found in all areas of our lives.  While the fashion industry comes to mind quickly, and there are no shortages of ways to use the laser to cut clothing and fashion accessories, this is not where the biggest challenges lay.  Most materials used for clothing and accessories cut with the laser very cleanly and without burning. 

The real challenges come from the laser cutting of industrial textiles used in manufacturing medical devices, sailcloth for boats, appliqué banners and flags.  The challenges here are not usually that the materials are difficult to cut but in having a laser operator who really understands how to leverage all the controls of their technology to achieve an optimal cut.  When the correct combination of settings and cutting surface are put together you can expect very clean edges, minimum to zero tanning of cuts, minimum product shrinkage and no charring of surfaces and edges. 

For instance recently we cut large stars for American flags.  The Dacron material was not difficult to cut but the adhesive on the rear of the stars created flair ups and browning of the first test cuts.  By adjusting power and pulse settings as well as the level of vacuum on the table the laser cut edges became very clean and the stars looked as white as you would expect them too.  Our clients’ production costs for the stars dropped 40% over purchasing stock stars from a bulk supplier as well.

Proprietary textiles used in the medical-tech industry presented some real challenges to be cut cleanly and without charring.  Ultimately solid settings were found to cut the material but chemical treatment of the fabric caused flaming of the cut and could not be over come to deliver a perfect char free edge.  In this case the additional chemicals used in the manufacturing process were a greater influence over the success of the cut then the laser or high-tech textile we were asked to cut.  The up side here was the client ruled out the lower cost manufacturing and testing alternatives for more expensive solutions for only a few hundred dollars.  This provided confidence in the commitment to the more expensive alternatives’ they had.