Frankfurt, Germany, November 14 – 17, 2017 formnext.com


Simply limitless.


Engineers think like children. There are no limits, only possibilities. Join us and be inspired at formnext, the international exhibition and conference for Additive Manufacturing and the next generation of intelligent industrial production.


Where ideas take shape.


Jeanologia has supplied more than 1,000 laser systems for marking jeans


300dpi or higher. She then cuts the design into layers of silk, cotton, and synthetic, scaled to fit the laser cutter’s digital environment. Her art is inspired by human internal organs, and an intricate dress modelled on lung vasculature showcases the detailed feather-like designs that she cuts by laser. Epilog Laser offers affordable and easy-to-use


laser engraving and cutting systems that have found their way into many fashion and art applications. Te company’s Legend, Zing,


and Fusion models incorporate a 30-120W, air-cooled CO2


laser


into a desktop machine. A client can scan the desired image and quickly set up a custom, one-time engraving, ‘just like printing on paper’, said James Stanaway, director of marketing for Epilog. ‘One thing we’re proud of is how easy our [laser] is to use. You’re not learning custom soſtware; you can print with whatever soſtware you’re already using. You create the graphic quickly and send it right to the laser,’ he added. It’s simple to adjust speed and power settings


for different kinds of textiles – for example, a fleece requires higher power because there’s more material, while removing dye from cotton requires less power.


High-performance sportswear Synrad, in Mukilteo, Washington, develops laser sources for high-throughput industrial applications. Customers requesting solutions that did not yet exist led the company into new niches of fabric processing. ‘For textiles, and in particular the high-


www.lasersystemseurope.com | @lasersystemsmag


it is possible to achieve… endless designs, vintage looks, precise breaks, total prints


Thanks to lasers,


performance sportswear markets, there’s been a trend in getting away from traditional methods and looking at laser cutting,’ observed Justin Conroy, applications engineering manager at Synrad. With lasers, holes can be strategically placed in polyester and lycra sportswear for ventilation or aesthetic embellishment; the designs can easily be altered with soſtware for on-the-fly processing. ‘We’re competing against


old-school mechanical techniques,’ Conroy added. One disadvantage for mechanical techniques is that cutting certain types of fabric can result in frayed edges and loose threads. Laser cutting naturally seals the edge.


For best throughput, the laser energy needs


to be absorbed efficiently by the material. While synthetic fabrics absorb the long wavelength (typically 10.6µm, but 9.3µm for polyester and lycra) produced by CO2


lasers,


using a pulsed laser can further improve throughput. Pulsed lasers deliver short pulses with high


peak power, reducing the heat affected zone and fabric roughness, while allowing faster scan speeds. Lower power lasers are suited for marking


and engraving, while systems above 100W are suited to cutting. A recent test compared Synrad’s continuous wave i401 series (400W) and pulsed Pulstar p250 (250W) lasers, using a galvo scanning head for high-speed processing, to illustrate the advantage of a pulsed laser for perforating high-performance polyester, spandex, and nylon materials. While the


@ formnext_expo # formnext


Jeanologia


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40