Marine Fabricator March/April 2024 - MFSupp22

Plotters and Cutters
" You need to set
yourself up for
success. The key
is to start with
simpler projects,
then you work
your way into the
more complex and
difficult projects. "
-Gary Unitt
Autometrix Inc.
How have things changed from
the old days? Where are the scissors?
This Precision Custom Canvas Inc. unit
may be on the cutting edge, but owner
Jeff Newkirk (pictured) says, " You need
to recognize that hand skills are not
obsolete- and they are important. "
Photo: Precision Custom Canvas Inc.
are comfortable with the processes.
We also have partners such as Prodim
that teach the fabricators how to go out
on a boat and create digital patterns.
" But if a place is not fully committed
to making a change, the transition
can be difficult, " she says. " The
companies that provide the technology
are committed to the customer, but we
also need that commitment from the
customer that they're fully on board. "
According to Carlson, his company's
training includes the joke that the new
machine will be the newest employee
named Carl. " Carl shows up on time
every day and always cuts exactly what
you tell him to cut, " he says. " Learning
to tell Carl what to do is the challenge
and the real focus of our training. We
start out telling him to do simple things
and not the world's most complex project.
In time he'll be cutting everything. "
" The larger the shop, the more
challenging it can be, because you are
implementing changes on a wide scale, "
says Arthur. " You also have to look at
what the culture is. Are people open to
change, do they embrace the change,
or they are afraid of change? Learning
an entirely new way of doing things can
be uncomfortable but ultimately makes
the job easier. It's the change that can
be hard. People need to be changeagile
in today's work environment.
'We're changing this to improve,
not to make it more difficult.' "
Success can depend on how a
fabricator promotes the change,
Arthur adds. " Help employees
understand why you are making the
change-it benefits them, it's more
profitable, there's no more crawling
around on hands and knees, it's easier
on the body. You can be a lot more
profitable and pay people better. "
Choose the right model
The biggest decision fabricators
face when deciding to go digital is
what specific type of plotter/cutter
might be right for their shop. Most
manufacturers don't have more than
a handful of models, but each is made
for specific purposes. The equipmentmakers
work with fabricators to
determine the right choices.
If fabricators have 60-inch-wide
rolled goods, and their current table
is 24 feet long, that's a good starting
point for sizing the automated cutting
table, says Unitt. There are two types
of tables, he explains-a " static " table,
which is a table that is a fixed size. The
operator covers the table with fabric, the
machine cuts the patterns, and then the
operator picks them up and starts again.
" The other, which is gaining a lot of
traction and becoming more and more
popular, is a conveyorized table, " he
says. " This has a fixed-width table, and
the fabric moves on a conveyor belt.
Fabric feeds on one end of the machine
and cut parts come off the other end.
You're limited only by the length of
the fabric on the roll-and you can
save a lot of space in your shop. "
20 Marine Fabricator Tips & Trends | 2024
Marine Fabricator March/April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Marine Fabricator March/April 2024
