Home > contract manufacturing > Finding the Best Industrial Fabric Cutter for Your Business

industrial fabric cutterAre you searching for an industrial fabric cutter for your business? If so, you’ve found the right place. While Conversion Technologies International doesn’t sell fabric cutting machines, we do provide contract and toll manufacturing services to relieve the stress of production cycles involving a fabric cutting machine. Plus, we handle all the sticky details that accompany ownership of a die cutter.

Operating an Industrial Fabric Cutter

Initially, let’s explore those sticky details that purchasing an industrial fabric cutting machine presents.

First, a fabric cutter is a complicated machine. Unfortunately, you can’t simply purchase an industrial fabric cutter, push the start button and get to work. Businesses in the garment industry, or other industries utilizing fabric solutions, often need expertise to guide them through the fabric cutting process. Moreover, they need help in operating each blade and the machine itself.

Often, getting help to run an automatic fabric cutting machine translates to hiring qualified staff. Or, a company must train an existing employee to handle the fabric cutting process. Either scenario requires time and money, both of which are valuable assets that you must manage carefully.

More importantly, you must ensure safety of your staff. Notably, a knife cutting machine or a laser machine raise risks. Since you are dealing with a cutting tool that may involve a knife blade, scissors or a laser cutter, improper use can lead to injuries. Not only does this put your staff at risk, insurance and the expense of accidents can be costly.

Finally, you need extra space to store your machine and the peripheral cutting equipment. Clearly, cutting fabric requires a cutting table, base plate and appropriate cutting tools. Plus, the machine itself can take up significant space. You can’t just pop it anywhere in your building. You must deal with noise, wiring and other issues that aren’t feasible in all spaces.

Let CTI Help!

Fortunately, choosing CTI allows you to skip these steps altogether. We offer customizable slitting and die cutting services. Therefore, we can immediately take the stress of selecting, purchasing and operating an automatic cutting machine away. With the option of contract or toll manufacturing, we take on the burden of the equipment, processing, testing and all the pesky little details that go into manufacturing.

CTI offers its partners:

  • Modular, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility
  • Experienced, trained engineers and technicians who specialize in problem-solving
  • Cutting-edge machinery and equipment to handle the processes in which we specialize
  • Research and development facility that has helped companies of all sizes to create new products, test prototypes and improve existing products
  • Time-tested, five-step process that we use for every project to guarantee success

One of the main values that we offer our clients is our flexibility. We can step in as a partner at any point in the manufacturing process. Therefore, we take away the burden of a particularly complex component, so that our clients can focus on their core business.

Expertise and Customization

Plus, our facilities allow us to offer unparalleled customization. Uniquely, we’ve equipped our state-of-the-art facilities with several flat-bed die cutters which allow us the ability to cut from sheet or rolled form. We can cut materials up to 5/8” in thickness and can accommodate sheet sizes of up to 40” x 60”. For rolled materials, we can process up to 60” wide.

Additionally, we have expertise that runs across the board. We have slitting and die cutting experience in multiple industries.

Just a few of our satisfied clients include:

  • DuPont
  • Ford
  • Owens Corning
  • Kimberly-Clark
  • General Motors
  • Steelcase
  • Firestone

To get a better overview of our experience and clientele, be sure to check out our Success Stories as well!

Choosing the Right Machinery

Similarly, we can help with another task at hand – choosing the correct industrial fabric cutter machine. The type of cloth cutting machine that you need may vary according to the fabric that you wish to cut. Fortuitously, CTI has invaluable expertise with this as well. We also have years of experience cutting a variety of materials.

Included in those materials are:

  • Cloth
  • Felt
  • Foam
  • Vinyl
  • Foils
  • Cork
  • Non-Wovens
  • Neoprene
  • Rubber
  • Textiles
  • Sponge Rubber
  • Oriented Strand Board (OSB)
  • And More!

If your material isn’t on the list, don’t worry. We’ve likely already mastered it. However, if we haven’t, innovation is one of our core competencies and we thrive on perfecting new processes. Once we discuss your needs, we will be able to determine the appropriate machine and technique that fit your project best.

Answering Your Questions

Now that you know about some of the production steps that we can handle, you may have a few questions. We have answers! Lots of them. In fact, just give us a call today and we can go over your project and goals and answer any questions that you may have. In the meantime, we have a couple of common queries below.

What are the methods of fabric cutting industry?

Obviously, the method of cutting determines the type of cloth cutting machine that you need. Different methods used to cut fabric include laser cutting, die cutting, steel rule, flat bed and belt fed.

These machines may involve a:

  • Rotary blade
  • Straight knife
  • Band knife
  • Round knife
  • Laser cutter
  • Scissors
  • Dies
How does a die cutter work?

Also, you may wonder how a die cutter works. Basically, we use a custom-designed shape, or die, to cut out an identical shape in a material. Generally, we would affix these dies to specialized machinery so that they can excise large quantities at once. As mentioned above, you need different tools to complete different processes.

Some of the types of die cutting operations include:

  • Perforating
  • Scoring
  • Kiss Cutting
  • Creasing
  • Through Cutting

Ultimately, as mentioned above, the precise way the machine works depends on the cutting process that you require. Again, if you choose CTI, these are specifics that we will discuss. Of course, we’ll explain the procedure to you in the amount of detail that you prefer. We pride ourselves on being transparent in our work and keeping our clients in the loop. This improves the process and outcome on all fronts.

CTI’s Triad-and-True Approach

Speaking of the process, one of the things that makes us stand out the most is the tried-and-true utilization of our five-step process. Each step is critical to an efficient and successful production run.

1. Consultation: Having a frank discussion with our potential client can determine that we are a good match to provide the services that they require. When you are looking for a manufacturing partner, you want to be sure that you are both comfortable in the relationship.

2. Research and Development: Whether a client wants to develop a new product or improve an existing one, we explain our methods, technical expertise and test/retest ethic. Having access to a fully-equipped R&D lab is a big advantage to our clients, who usually don’t want to fund such an operation for product development in-house.

3. Testing/Sample: We strongly believe in creating a sample early on, so that we can make any necessary changes quickly and inexpensively. An experienced contract manufacturer understands that this can save time and money later on.

4. Pilot run: As a contract manufacturer’s facility, experience tells us to insert this operation between the sample and the final production process. A limited “pilot run” will find any glitches before the full production run.

5. Production: Our production runs are very calm events. We know that there will be no problems, since we have tested, sampled and created a short run prior to this stage. No surprises, just results at this point.

How Does Toll or Contract Manufacturing Work?

Now that you know more about us, it helps to understand how contract and toll manufacturing services work.

Essentially, they are both a form of outsourcing production tasks. When you need help getting a product into its final, sellable form, it often makes sense to find a company to aid you with that. Especially, this is true when you have a product to offer that requires a cutting machine that you don’t have the space or manpower to handle. When this is the case, you hire a company to manufacture part or all of a product for you. Basically, you outsource this service on demand but remain the brand owner of the final product.

The difference in toll manufacturing versus contract manufacturing is that in contract manufacturing, the company you choose supplies the raw material to compile your product as well. Rather than you exclusively sending your products to a partner for a final process (as you would in toll manufacturing), a contract manufacturer not only completes the production process for you, they also supply the materials needed. This method provides a quick and effective way for a company to extend their product line without investing in expensive equipment or storage areas.

Furthermore, this method decreases gaps that may exist in the supply chain. From ordering mishaps to delivery delays, having one source to complete all tasks generally saves time and angst.

Cutting-Edge Results

No matter the process you need for us to handle or how you wish us to handle it, you can rest assured that you are in good hands. Our years of experience combined with advanced technology perfect our outcomes. Our practiced methodology ensures that your product will stand up against any competition. With flexible facilities and practices, we are a valuable partner in growing your business and product line.

In business since 1993, we have grown, and continue to grow, with technological advances and utilize all possible equipment and machinery improvements. Our engineers and technicians also grow with each project.

As mentioned previously, we can work as a toll manufacturing company or a contract manufacturing service, depending on the needs of each unique customer. Whether your project is large or small, we have the capability and desire to handle it. Although you have seen our national well-known clients’ names, we work with companies of all sizes. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, we serve all clients with trustworthy, top-notch quality and discretion.

Additional Services

We also have a fully-operational facility with the latest equipment to handle a broad range of coatings and adhesives. Our capabilities extend to a wide variety of materials and we can process substrates from foam, cloth and polyester, to vinyl, paper and polypropylene. Whether your material needs a primer coating or surface tension decreased, we’ve got you covered.

Correspondingly, we also offer lamination services. We employ coating equipment that includes slot die, roll coating, gravure coating, hot roll lamination, hot melt spray coating, or belt lamination techniques. Additionally, we can laminate using powdered adhesive. This technique produces a lamination that is stretchable.

It’s important to note, we adhere to all industry standards including ASME and ASTM. Our reliability and reputation depend on our work ethic and our quality standards, which is why we are a trusted resource for companies who recognize the value of those attributes. No matter what company you choose, be sure to verify that they, too, live up to these standards.

As you can see, we have many ways to enhance your business and relieve you of some tasks. To learn more about how we can help, request a quote or give us a call at 419-924-5566.