Personal safety is the top priority for rescuers and protectors. Police, the Federal Armed Forces, fire brigades, and fire protection as well as all security companies throughout Germany therefore rely on modern high-tech textiles.
However, their processing presents the manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE) with new and demanding challenges. The modern materials can hardly be cut mechanically. This serves a purpose since, for example, stab-resistant textiles should prevent knives and other sharp objects from penetrating the fabric. This is where the laser cutting machines from eurolaser come into play. The laser cuts even the most demanding materials and also offers other attractive additional options that make processing easier and more economical.
Typical PPE garments, whose fabrics can actually only be cut with a laser, are protective vests, splinter protection, head protection, ballistic shields, but also work clothing with a protective effect, for example for industry, forestry, and agriculture. Besides, manufacturers of leisure sportswear, for example of paintball and air-soft as well as motorcycle clothing, use the laser cutting machines from eurolaser.
Cutting protective equipment: conveniently and automatically with the laser cutting systems from eurolaser
eurolaser has long made a name for itself in the industry for cutting all conceivable materials. What many users do not know, however, is that eurolaser also attaches great importance to simplifying the everyday work for its users. The laser professionals from Lüneburg have a large number of useful features for their laser machines, especially for the textile industry. For example, eurolaser can equip its entire range of machines with automatic unwinding units. The fabric to be cut then comes directly from the roll and is positioned on the cutting table of the machine via the conveyor and unwinding unit. In addition, eurolaser guarantees the perfect position of the material through a specially developed edge control. The machines can also be equipped with camera recognition with pattern matching for printed textiles so that the cut patterns match each other perfectly; fully automatic! The eurolaser software function Smartfeed ensures the optimal feed to match the cutting data, for faster production for textile manufacturers.
It starts with the fiber: Cordura
The material properties of Cordura can best be described as “fascinating”. The properties of the polyamide fabric include in particular its very high stability and enormous tear resistance. Cordura is therefore mainly used in protective clothing and PPE.
Delcotex is the professional for the weaving and subsequent finishing of Cordura. With almost 300 years of textile experience, Delcotex has specialized in the manufacture of technical textiles for the immediate protection of the health of its users in recent years. And the focus of production is the Cordura fiber, which the Bielefeld textile specialists process into a variety of special fabrics. The material is based on a spun polyamide fiber. And it is characterized by its high stability and tear resistance.
Laser cutting for clean and filigree cut edges
Since the laser cuts through the materials to be cut by heating, the plastic components in the material fabric create a cleanly sealed cutting edge. This is important because the sealing does not fray the cut edge – unlike the cutting with knives or punches. “eurolaser gets bonus points when cutting our Cordura textiles, which we sell under the Delinova brand name because we save the customers of our technical textiles one step”, says Kai Uwe Bielecki, sales Account Manager at Delcotex. “This also makes further processing even more economical, because the sealing of the edges with the laser cut eliminates the need to chain, i. e. sew around the edge.
PALStex: polyamide fabric for rough use
Delcotex processes the Cordura fiber into a laminate-based fabric. The textile professionals call the wonder textile PALStex. PALStex is resistant to harsh environmental influences and suitable for use in different climate zones. There is no material breakage even in the extreme cold. And even high temperatures or high humidity do not delaminate the material. This makes it an excellent base material for the manufacture of all kinds of personal protective equipment. Also, thanks to the laser cutting with the laser system from eurolaser, PALStex receives tear-proof cut edges that do not have to be additionally edged. As a result, for example, carrying systems on protective vests for the police and the military are durable and stable and equipment can be easily attached to them.
Deliflame FR – flam retardant fabric
Deliflame is the fire-resistant variant of the Cordura fabric Delinova. It combines the properties of Cordura with flame-retardant PU coating that Delcotex applies to the textile after weaving. “The PU coating gives Deliflame FR its flame-retardant effect,” explains Delcotex Sales Account Manager Bielecki. “The police in particular rely on this high-tech textile.”
Finally affordable: precise and filigree cuts
The top priority is to pay attention to quality and precision right from the production of protective clothing. eurolaser combines the most important criteria for cutting modern high-tech textiles in its CO2 laser systems. From the stress-free material feed on the conveyor to contactless processing, precise and filigree cuts are finally possible. Steps in further processing (e.g. edging) are omitted with thermal laser cutting by sealing the cut edges. Besides, printed materials can also be easily cut using eurolaser’s optical recognition system.
Furthermore, the machines specially tailored by eurolaser for the textile industry offer further advantages. For example, from the automated processing and material removal of the textiles from the roll to adapted table sizes for all common roll widths to optical position detection for printed materials. In addition, the automatic suction of the laser machines ensures good air during laser cutting. And the user benefits as well because fixation is no longer necessary due to the downward suction. The laser machine is controlled by software specially programmed for the textile processing industry.
The advantages of the eurolaser machines for cutting technical textiles at a glance
Economics
• Due to sealed cut edges, linking / edging is no longer necessary
• No tool wear
• Low maintenance
• Dust-free cutting – less cleaning effort
• Automated processing directly from the roll
• Faster and more efficient cutting regardless of the fabric structure
• Significant savings potential through nesting function for high-quality raw materials
Product quality
• Sealed edges prevent the products from being torn off at potential weak points
• Laser cutting of any fine, filigree contours
• No material fixation is required on the conveyor as it is non-contact and force-free processing
