CAD Cutting Systems - The Art of The Cut

Although the process of CAD cutting printed materials on a flatbed cutting machine has been around for quite some time; the “art of the cut” has taken a drastic leap. I think designers are just starting to catch on to all the cutting capabilities available with the new equipment. Here’s a bit about CAD cutting:

Let’s start with the machines; of which there are four major manufactures, each of which have a bit different piece of the market:

* Multicam  - primarily found within acrylic, wood and metal fabrication shops utilizing router and metal cutting attachments. They have a rather small following within the graphics industry. It’s rather popular within the sign fabrication industry.

* Kongsberg -  This is an extremely popular cutting table for the folding carton and corrugated design industry. Their most popular tables have fixed beds; they are the number one table in the package design community.  Parent company is Esko; also furnishes the CAD software, Artios.

* Colex – This is a relatively new entry for small printers and graphics shops entering the wide format display market. It’s a foreign made machine, with few features and few tools. I’ve run some work on one and its designed for the basics. The tool availability, safety features, noise and place several limits on this machine. It’s an introductory machine and priced that way too.

* ZUND – Very popular cutting system made in Switzerland. The tooling head and cutting blade availability is outstanding. Plus ZUND supports the user with tons of profiles for cutting various and difficult substrates. This is perhaps the most popular machine for graphics and wide format suppliers. Like Kongsberg, ZUND are very well made pieces of equipment. I’ll be focusing this post on the capabilities generally available using ZUND equipment. 

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The above image shows a ZUND table setup for cutting tear drop shaped banner flags prior to sewing.

On this smaller ZUND model there is a feed roller on the bottom that aligns the printed roll prior to its entry onto the table. This model utilizes a roll feed table rather than a fixed table; and enables the machine to feed the fabric. The tooling requirements for this substrate would be a blade rather than a router. During each cut an electric eye seeks a printed register target on the substrate, aligns the cutter head to the electronic pattern and performs the cut.

NOTE to designers: When a file is submitted to a vendor for cutting/trimming, it needs to be a vector file and the “path needs to be completely closed from start to finish”. Paths that stop and start can cause the cutting result to be rough and uneven. Cutting files are normally setup as a separate layer and the path is normally colored to quickly identify it. The vendor will add optical targets to the print file that will image outside the live area.

 

 

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Here is a close up of the tooling heads. Both tools are interchangeable; these heads happen to be knives rather than spinning routers. The head on the right has a simple attachment to keep the substrate from popping up during an “up and down” cutting process; there is a spring inside. The center hole you see in the image contains the electric register eye. 

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Yellow star: The above picture shows the vertical alignment rod which allows the tool to slide up and down during the machining process.

Purple star: The black drive belt allows the tool to twist and properly follow the machining path.

Red star:  The electric eye housing. 

Blue star: This is the locking collar that holds the tool in place. 

 

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For routing and similar processes or substrates that create dust and particles, the vacuum attachment removes the waste material in and around the cutting area. 

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This is a good example of how the proper tool can cleanly cut a difficult material. All materials cut differently; selecting the right tool and cutting bit, adjust for the optimum speed and cutting profile and operator experience will greatly improve the quality of your job. Lots of materials require multiple passes at different depths. Experience and operator skill are critical for successful cutting of challenging substrates. 

 

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In this image, a unique box shape is being engineered. Note the scoring wheel tool on the right side of the machine head. 

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Fancy engineered direct mail piece

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Google’s popular voting paddles from 3mm Sintra (image courtesy of Christopher Wong).

 
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This is ZUND’s latest innovation; a cutting system especially designed for short run folding cartons and folding board substrates. With an infeed system and basic delivery, short run projects can be produced without the expense and additional time requirements of conventional steel rule cutting dies. 

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The above image shows how a cutting system can accurately and cleanly cut ½” or ¾” graphic board.

  

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This acrylic logo sign was cut on a Multicam using a router bit. Clear acrylic was printed on the reverse (yellow) prior to cutting. The printed sheet was then CAD cut on the Multicam. The black letters were also cut on the CAD. Once trimmed, the letters were glued to the face of the acrylic. Stand-offs were added to secure the sign to the wall. (Printed acrylic is designed for interior use only.)

 

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This is a wall of fancy cut packaging samples from Tre Well of Sweden. I really like the way the projects are showcased.  

We’re currently using the ZUND system for the kissing cut of short run labels produced on the HP Indigo digital press. There are no dies to make; we can produce complex cutting patterns that aren’t possible using steel rule dies and the project is controlled completely in-house saving the customer time and money.

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We're also using the ZUND system to produce 4 color corrugated box comps for marketing firms requiring presentation dummies.

The newest ZUND machine software allows the operator to setup a job, align the ZUND to the printed targets and then flop the sheet onto the unprinted side; the machine then re-registers the project using the sheet edges. This is the perfect solution for cutting and scoring pre-printed corrugated from the correct direction.

 

 

 

Saving lives with Paper?

I ran across this TED.com talk and I just had to post it:

Manu Prakash and his students at Stanford develop a $0.50 microscope that will help save lives especially in third world countries. Fascinating talk: 

https://www.ted.com/talks/manu_prakash_a_50_cent_microscope_that_folds_like_origami

The North Face FlashDry Display

We manufactured this retail display for The North Face to launch their new FlashDry fabric. Produced over a year ago; it surely was one of those challenging projects we all run across every few years. Not  only were many operations required but the client was out-of-state. 

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The primary specification from the client for this project was to utilize a honeycombed paper-based graphic display board as the main support structure. This light weight corrugated product is environmentally friendly, 63% recycled, rigid and 100% recyclable. This material is available under several trade names “BioBoard” and “Falcon Board” are the two most popular.

For this type of project, a client should typically specify the general shape, size and style of the display.

Questions will certainly arise and such answers will help the vendor meet the client’s expectations:

* How long will the campaign last?

* Will the display’s structural style meet the client’s lifespan requirements in a retail environment?

* How much weight is the display required to support?

* Will the display be refilled?

* Will the display be shipped flat or assembled with product?

* How will the display be distributed? What about drop shipping?

* Who shall be responsible for the display assembly, store personnel or retail reps? Displays assembled by store personnel generally need to have very clear and concise assembly instructions. Professional setup teams can generally handle more complex displays with less supervision.

After the set of specifications were received we generated the first round of CAD structural samples. This particular display was complex because the honeycomb board (side and center supports) and the display strips require CAD cutting while the corrugated shelves can be traditionally die cut. Honeycomb board can’t be die cut and thus is more expensive to trim/finish. We produced an unprinted blank display for the customer to review. I recall we produced a couple of rounds of samples and eventually produced two rounds of digitally printed samples for approval. One of the biggest challenges with this project; the shelves had to angle inwards a few degrees to keep the product from spilling onto the floor. This affected not only the shelf holes but also the side support holes and the position of the center support slots. Three crucial alignment points that needed to match using different cutting methods and machines.

The BioBoard was a custom order size a) it was a mill order quantity anyway b) the custom sizes allowed us to keep the budget intact and reduce waste.

Once we received structural approval, the race was one. Color approval proofs were produced and sent to the client. Due to the quantity of displays ordered, digital printing was not an option. Oversized 4 color litho sheets were printed and mounted to the BioBoard on two sides. The outside facing sheets had to be mounted consistently in the same position which reduced the need to CAD align each board during the cutting process. The inside support panels were 100% rich black ink and the register was not important, there was simply plenty of bleed.

The trays were printed and mounted in a similar fashion as the vertical supports; however after die cutting the standard B-Flute corrugated tray covers they were sandwiched around a middle layer of ½” BioBoard. This created a very strong shelf with accurate positioning holes.

The CAD cutting of the vertical supports and the shelf sign panels required production time on two different ZUND cutters to meet the client’s schedule. The BioBoard material can’t be cut using a spinning router bit; an EOT “electric oscillating tool” must be used (which holds a knife blade with a special profile). Of course these are expensive as compared to traditional die cutting and take time to cut properly. 1-1/2 weeks of ZUND cutting was required. There were 600 panels to cut @ about 11 minutes per panel. My next blog post will be about the ZUND cutting system.

Once the panel and shelf sign production was started, the schedule required us to start the pack-out and shipping. Each panel was foam wrapped and secured to protect the printed surface, the additional parts (fasteners etc.) were gathered and all the elements were placed inside a large one piece shipper.  Don’t forget to insert the store premises assembly instructions which were provided by the client.

A word on the little black fasteners (the round dots on the sides of the image); they are inter-locking snap-fit fasteners (64 per display, bagged).

The shipping addresses were furnished as an Excel file. Some shipments were individual while others were multiple sets to the same address. And of course bulk sets were sent to The Northface distribution warehouse.

Unique Black Corrugated Packaging Material

The below images show a corrugated product that might be of interest for those of you requiring elegant packaging, gift boxes or unique marketing materials. Its called triple black e-flute. The material is vat dyed (not printed); it's  then converted into corrugated e-flute sheets. It's a rich deep black color with depth that is available only through the dying process. Flood coating won't give you the results. The raw material is about 4 times the price of plain kraft e-flute. It's called triple black because both outside liners and the inside flutes are dyed black. When compared to SBS board, you'll find e-flute offers increased stiffness, lighter weight, a bit more cushion and a different tactile feel. The material takes embossing and foil stamping well and provides great contrasts against graphics.

The project in the photos is a small box we produced about a year ago. The material is available in small quantities for custom projects, or we can order the corrugated sheets directly from the mill and convert locally.(There is only one corrugated mill in the states that makes this product).

Make sure you click to enlarge the images to show additional detail.The material is somewhat two-sided which means the top side feels and looks a little smoother than the 2nd side.

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Basics about Binders

You’ve all bought binders of one sort or the other from the large office supply stores. The big stores are producing their own private label vinyl binders. (common brand name binders are Avery, Wilson Jones and Cardinal) These binders are typically offered with a clear face (front, spine and back) to insert a pre-printed cover. This type of binder is typically known as a “Vue-Binder”.  The metal binder mechanism is called the “ring metal”. Private label products are generally lighter duty (thinner chip board) and utilize a lightweight ring metal. The basic store-available binder has a tough time lasting an entire middle school year. This type of product is made of vinyl (including vinyl softeners) and chip board. The vinyl is heat sealed using hi-frequency sonic welding equipment.  If you review the below image you’ll see the exposed holes that allow for the rivets to be fastened and the clear cover.

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The pre-manufactured binder is an economical solution for standard binder quantities up to 100 to 200 pieces. If you poke around enough, you can find a 1” view style 3 ring white binder for $1.50 each plus shipping. But enough about standard vinyl binders.


Above 200 units you’ll find custom binders become more affordable and can be manufactured using higher quality ring metal, wider ring size/style choices, vinyl color choices and pocket choices. Additional options include fully wrapped covers (turned edge).

For higher quality and longer lasting binders with branding options, consider the following project I recently completed:

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This construction is turned edge style (like a case-bound book) utilizing a “Euro-style” hinge. This type of hinge is a single continuous piece of chip board (rather than 3 piece construction) and thus is heavier duty. The cover is traditionally printed and film laminated. When applying the cover wrap, hot moist glue is applied to the wrap, the edges are folded over (turned) and smoothed.



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The inside wrap is glued and mounted in such a way as to cover the outside wrap. Once the binder is wrapped, holes are punched for the ring metal. Rivets are inserted from the back and the ring metal is installed over the rivets. The rivets are then fastened. In the above picture you can see the heavy duty score lines required for Euro-style binders. You can also see the “d-ring” metal mechanism.

The below picture shows the exposed rivets. If you desire hidden rivets, the rivets are installed before the cover is wrapped. Once the cover is fully wrapped, the ring metal is installed and the rivets are then fastened. When using a hidden style rivet, some minor marking of the outside cover will occur because an anvil is utilized as a support base for the rivet.

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Ring metal is available in different sizes (ie 1”, 1-1/2”, 2” capacity) and ring style. The style is either “round” or “straight d-ring” or “slanted d-ring”. A “slanted d-ring” style was specified for the Brown Jordan binder. Slanted d-ring mechanisms allow a predictable slant of the contents for easier reading. And since D-ring style binders are fastened on the back cover, the spine artwork is left undisturbed.

Most ring metal is also available with thumb boosters, facilitating the frequent opening and closing of the mechanism. Specifying a mechanism without a thumb booster provides a more lean look for binders that won’t see frequent operation. You certainly wouldn’t specify a ring metal without boosters for a school binder. The boosters are used to properly open and close a binder without distorting the metal rings.

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The first image above shows a close-up of a slanted d-ring style mechanism with thumb boosters. The second image shows a D-ring mechanism without boosters. The third image shows the ring metal after powder coating. You can have the mechanism powder coated for color matching.

Here is an example of a binder with a quarter bind cover. Quarter binding is primarily a decorative look. If you want to increase a binder’s longevity, a fabric support is added internally, not externally.

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From Toy to Marketing Tool

If you aren’t familiar with Quad-copters (aka Quadrotor helicopter), they have become very popular with amateur model aircraft enthusiasts.

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This “hobby” has quickly grown from ready-to-fly (RTF) toys to home-grown parts/kits and accessories. There are all kinds of modifications, tweaks, parts and custom kits available on the internet. RTF units start around $400.00. A popular RTF unit including a video mount and GoPro camera starts at $1,200.00.

(Walkera Ready-to Fly)

But this post isn’t about the quad-copters themselves but more about the results you can achieve if you have access to an aerial photographer who utilizes small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and HD video cameras.  

• Huge cost savings vs the alternative (manned helicopter with additional videographer)
• They are quiet
• Images and close shots that can’t be achieved with conventional aerial photography
• Lower costs allow you to capture and present video’s that haven’t been affordable in the past
• New content that can now be streamed from your website
• The perfect solution for capturing an event
• Excellent for showing real estate and property in a completely different format
• Destination and travel videos that just can't be duplicated with conventional photography

Important considerations about selecting an aerial videography service:

• Is the “pilot” skillful and experienced to deliver a smooth video?
• Is the quality of the video image up to your expectations?
• Once the video shoot is complete, the hard work begins. Who is responsible for the editing?
• Do they have the computer horsepower and editing software to create a killer video?

Here are some links to a few “best-of” quad-copter videos:

Team Blacksheep shoots the Costa Concordia wreck like you’ve never seen using a pair of quad-copters (apparently they were arrested in Italy for trespassing due to this video shoot).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESYr2y-WOeE

Team Blacksheep shoots Venice Italy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saEDf6EV9wg

Team Blacksheep shoots the Golden Gate Bridge with a combination of a quad-copter and a fixed wing UAV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce4uESM1thQ

Short video about getting started with videography using UAV and a short discussion about FAA warnings regarding commercial usage and regulations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNQvUVQdnNw

Raffaello D’Andrea talks about the athletic power of quadcopters on TED:

http://www.ted.com/talks/raffaello_d_andrea_the_astounding_athletic_power_of_quadcopters.html