What is a Knife Cutter?
A good quality knife-cutter is the ideal entry point for developing CAD/CAM as an important strand in the Design and Technology curriculum. The machines are quiet and inherently safe to use which makes them the most child-friendly option for a huge variety of project outcomes in just about every area of the subject. Knife cutting is the only way to cut delicate ‘applied media’ in the form of textiles vinyls and only knife cutters can offer registration mark recognition and the fine control needed for print and cut work. Perfect for combining sublimation printing with cutting - for example when cutting nets to make up textile containers or lanterns.
Why Choose a CAMM 1?
Roland CAMM 1 machines have set the standard for school knife cutters since their introduction over 15 years ago. The GS-24’s servo motors give fast and smooth cutting, while preserving pinpoint accuracy. Roland’s Optical Print Alignment System (OPAS) is standard on all GS-24s - this allows students to exploit high quality colour printing from modern ink-jet, sublimation or laser printers, and to align the printed graphics to a cutting path for bespoke products.
GS-24E handles media from matchbox-size off-cuts, to 584mm widths up to 25m long, so it will accommodate any of the roll or sheet materials TechSoft supply with no trimming and no wastage. For print-and-cut work this means A4 and A3 printed sheets are no problem and, if you have access to a large format printer, you can even print and cut A2 size nets, stencils, etc. 2D Design V2 has been designed to work with OPAS. Once the design page has been set to match the GS-24, all the machine settings are automatically sent to the machine on output – no buttons to press. The maximum speed of 500mm/sec means that simple individual projects will cut in a few moments and large or ‘nested’ sets of class work will take minutes at the most.
Which CAMM 1 Do I Need?
Most schools and colleges will find that a GS-24E will give them everything they need in a knife cutter at an excellent price with no compromise to capacity or performance.
How Does This Fit In With Textiles?
For easy surface decoration, textile vinyls can offer a wonderful array of colours, whilst the flock version also gives that extra textural interest. The introduction of retro-reflective vinyls give the opportunity to be creative with technical textiles within the classroom. Simply cut out your image from vinyl and use a heat press to adhere it to the fabric. Very quick and easy to do in the classroom, yet it achieves the professional look that the students require.
TechSoft are stockists of a range of technical non-woven fabrics that lend themselves to being cut both on the knife cutter and the laser cutter. Of course the Vilene S80 and Decovil Light cut well on the GS-24E and TechSoft can offer a cutting blade that will optimise the cleanness of the cut. In all cases of cutting fabrics on the GS-24E, the fabric piece should be ironed onto freezer paper to support it and then in turn stuck to the sacrificial backing card with TechSoft's low tack double sided tape. This will stop the fabric from tearing and moving around during the cutting process. Intricate cutting is not recommended – you would be better using the laser cutter – but for simple shapes and appliques, this is a quick, accurate and repeatable way to cut out fabric.
Replace the knife blade with a pen and you have a large plotter for drawing out original pattern pieces, ready to pin onto your fabric. It really is industrial practise in the classroom.
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