Fabric cutting system and method

Inventors

Severino, Danny • Van Hulle, Paul • Warner, Timothy

Assignees

Atex Technologies Inc

Abstract

A fabric cutting system and/or method can include a mandrel having a body and first and second legs, a centered chuck, and an offset chuck, each chuck configured to receive either one of the legs or body to rotatingly support the mandrel between the chucks. When one of the legs is inserted into the centered chuck and the mandrel body is inserted into the offset chuck, the mandrel can be rotated and the fabric mounted on the mandrel can be cut about the leg at a location beyond the end of the other leg. One of the legs can include a leg extension removable from a leg base that when removed allows the other leg to be cut beyond the end of the leg base. The fabric can be cut with a cutting laser, which may be a multi-axis laser, and/or have low power.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a method of cutting a tubular fabric having a plurality of fabric legs using a mandrel comprising a body, a first leg, and a second leg shorter than the first leg. The first leg comprises a leg extension removably attached to a leg base, and a centered chuck supports insertion of the first leg at a center of the centered chuck, while an offset chuck supports insertion of the mandrel body at a point offset from a center of the offset chuck.

The mandrel is rotated between the chucks to cut the entire circumference of the fabric about a selected leg portion at a location beyond an end of an opposing leg or base. After cutting about the first leg at a location beyond the end of the second leg, the mandrel is removed from the centered and offset chucks, the leg extension is removed from the leg base, and a portion of the fabric leg extending beyond the leg base is folded back onto itself on the leg base.

The second leg is then inserted into the center of the centered chuck, and the mandrel body is inserted into the offset chuck at the point offset from the center of the offset chuck, so that the mandrel is rotated again to cut the entire circumference about the second leg at a location beyond the end of the leg base of the first leg. In additional processing, the mandrel body is inserted into the centered and offset chucks again to perform cutting about the mandrel body, with an asserted cutting order in which fabric about the first leg and the second leg is cut before cutting about the mandrel body.

The described system and method further include cutting performed with a programmable laser, including focal distance programming and, optionally, a multi-axis laser with multiple power heads and selectable focal distances. The described approach produces cut edges that are evenly cut and completely sealed, and it includes mechanical changes to remove a removable leg extension and fold fabric back for access to the next cutting location.

Claims Coverage

The partial content identifies three independent claims: clm-00001, clm-00002, and clm-00003. Across these claims, the inventive features center on a mandrel with a longer first leg and a shorter second leg, sequential circumferential cutting at locations beyond leg ends using rotation between a centered chuck and an offset chuck, and additional handling and ordering steps that enable further cutting about the second leg and the mandrel body.

Collectively, the independent claims cover a tubular fabric cutting method that uses a mandrel with unequal leg lengths and a removable leg extension, supports the mandrel between a centered chuck and an offset chuck, and performs sequential full-circumference cuts at locations beyond leg ends. The claims further require specific intermediate handling, including removal of the leg extension and folding the fabric back, and define an additional cutting about the mandrel body with a defined cutting order.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications