Technical textiles specialist Arville has installed a new laser flatbed cutting table at its fabrication plant in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
The five-figure investment marks the latest in a series of technology upgrades for the innovative manufacturer. A recent £1m overhaul of Arville’s textile coating plant in Bury was completed earlier in the year , followed by the commissioning of an additional stenter line to increase capacity at the team’s Wetherby finishing plant .
The laser-guided CNC cutter will now further improve the efficiency, speed and quality of Arville’s fabrication capabilities – reducing job working times by up to 90% in some cases. A complex multi-pocket filtration bag for a pharmaceutical client would previously have taken up to two hours to cut by hand, for instance, whereas, using this CNC machine, the fabric will now be ready for assembly in only a matter of minutes.
Capable of cutting virtually any type of natural or man-made fabric into any shape, the equipment achieves greater precision with the ability to exactly reproduce complex cutting work time-after-time at the press of a button. The contactless method of cutting means that manual handling of fabric has been reduced to a minimum and, as the laser cuts without affecting surrounding fibres, it finishes with a high-quality stable edge which eliminates fraying.
Commenting on the machine’s effectiveness, Arville spokesperson Andy Smith said: “In-built software enables cutting patterns to be nested for maximum efficiency, eliminating unnecessary fabric wastage and reducing costs.”
“Electronic templates and cutting patterns can also be programmed, stored and easily recalled for the quick turnaround of future jobs, with minimal set-up time. It’s all part of our investment in the future, and our commitment to providing a ‘best in class’ approach to technical textile manufacturing , from design through to fabrication.”
Established in 1954 and with a customer base that spans over 50 countries worldwide, Arville is a privately owned business employing a 100-strong team across the group’s UK manufacturing sites.
