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A true elliptical 9-cell will probably use 21 different pattern shapes (even a semi elliptical will use 14). In 8 canopy sizes this is 168 (or 112) patterns you will need to generate, make, store, organize and pay for. 
The Panelmaker Cutting System is a Practical Canopy Design Tool and a Practical Canopy Production Tool.
What are the advantages of the Panelmaker hot knife cutting system compared with hand cutting.
What are the disadvantages compared to hand cutting.
What are the disadvantages compared to laser cutting.
Click on the images for screenshots of the software in action. Here's the deal ! We provide:
You provide:
The Cost:
About Us At NZ Aerosports we have been building ram air canopies for over 14 years. For much of that period we had been hot knife cutting our canopies by hand. The software and cutting system we use has revolutionised our canopy design and production so much that in 1995 we decided it was a marketable product to other canopy manufacturers. To date there are 7 canopy manufacturers world-wide using our system.
Background In 1991 we started using commercially available CAD programs that were designed for producing technical drawings (Generic CADD, AutoCAD etc.) for drawing and scaling our patterns. We would get our patterns plotted for us by a CAD company then copy them to our template material. When we first started building ellipticals we rented time on a laser cutter and would laser cut our canopies transferring DXF files from our drawing programs to the laser system. This was accurate but very time consuming and consequently we were unable to do custom colours viably. In 1993 we started researching a laser system and came up against a brick wall with our minimum investment being over $200,000 and $80,000 for a second hand system and laser reliability being a problem. There were however several X,Y axis "plotting only" systems available used by sailmakers for designing sails then plotting the panel shapes directly to the fabric by pen. These were more realistically priced for us and had most of the working parts but were unable to cut. We had ideas about modifying a sail plotter to drive a hot knife and purely by chance found a plotter manufacturer only several blocks from our factory. They agreed to let us use their workshop to play with this idea and after a few weeks we had a plotter that not only drew but pushed around and lifted and lowered a soldering iron with a specially shaped tip to cut our fabric. It was very slow but worked fine and cost a fraction of the cost of a laser system. The system only ran on the sail design software that was written for the system. Over the next few months we worked with the designer who modified the sail program to one specifically for building ram air canopies. Whenever we found a new feature we wanted they wrote it into the program for us until we had exactly the program we needed for the job. The program is for designing and managing panels, as opposed to technical drawing, and is far simpler to use than any other CAD program we've seen (but would be clumsy to design a house or office block on). 
Four years on we were still using our original cutter with
great success and reliability. Since then the plotter
manufacturing company has grown in size several fold and now
has a much more advanced pizza wheel cutting machine for
cutting sails. We have also modified the head on this system
to carry a hot knife. The hot knife blade rotates and is
pneumatically lowered and raised giving a much cleaner and
faster cut than our older system. Plus the move and draw
speeds are faster so productivity is much greater. For the
last 4 years we have been selling this system and our
software to other canopy manufacturers. Currently we are working on a 3D sail program that has been modified for calculating our surface panel shapes for ellipticals and are considering editing this into a full-on 3D canopy shaping program. About the machine The cutter consists of a machine that runs the full length (X axis) of a cutting table. On the machine there is a carriage that travels the width (Y axis) of the table. On the carriage there is a pen that is lifted and lowered by a solenoid, and a hot knife that is pneumatically lifted, lowered and mechanically rotated to the direction of travel of the carriage. The machine, carriage and hot knife rotation are driven by stepping motors that are connected to power and data cables that, as well as a small compressed air line, run freely along a wire above the cutting table to a power supply unit and the controller box. More data cables then run to an I/O card that fits into a standard card slot in the back of your PC. When the machine is set up it is calibrated to allow for both accurate measurements and squareness. Any discrepancies due to belt tensions, table inaccuracies etc are corrected by the software and allowed for from then on. The Table Not being a laser, the system does not require a vacuum table to hold the fabric in position and at the right height for the focus of the laser. The hot knife will weld the fabric edge to a sacrificial card table surface to hold it in position (the card needs to be replaced every couple of months). Using sacrificial card allows the panels to be lifted as soon as they are cut so as the machine finishes cutting there is a clear table immediately ready for the next lay. This can not be done with a conventional vacuum table as the vacuum is lost when a panel is lifted. The overall production capacity is now comparable with the highest speed laser cutters. A vacuum table is another option for holding the fabric in place. We can supply plans and information on building a vacuum table. There are some commercially available tables that are suitable also. The last few machines have been mounted to custom sized Philocraft cutting tables, these are perfect for the machine as they are very true and much simpler than trying to build your own. They cost around $1500 for a 15m x 1650mm (cuttable) and require assembly that takes a couple of days (you will need to have it assembled before we arrive). We can organise you a table and add it to the purchase of a machine. The Software The software has 3 quite separate sides to it:
1) Panel design In most CAD programs a drawing is made from a series of lines. In Panelmaker, a panel is a closed object with a minimum of 3 sides. Each corner can be positioned using X,Y co-ordinates and each edge may be left straight or curved to any complexity. This will give any required shape. Now we can add any number of internal lines (straight or curved), circles, points, etc. and select them for cutting or marking. We can also add any seam allowance to any panel edge. Inputting existing patterns is simple with a steel rule and square. A rib pattern with cross ports and reinforcing tape marks can be put in and drawn for checking in about 5 minutes. If your patterns are already on a CAD program they can be imported using the HPGL format. Panels or whole canopies can be scaled as a fraction or a percentage in one or both axis without scaling the seam allowances. Symmetrical panels may be half shaped then mirrored. Measuring units can be in Metric or Imperial. The hot knife may be disabled within the software to allow the machine to operate as a plotter only for checking or viewing panels. 2) Nesting Once all the patterns are in the computer the full canopy of panels will appear on the screen. These are coloured as per the order form and automatically grouped by colour. The panels then must be nested on the screen by clicking and dragging into position and using jam together functions. (The nesting is not totally automatic). You will be updated continuously on fabric usage and percentage of wastage until you have the most efficient nesting arrangement. With practice this will only take 10 minutes for a complex design and 30 seconds for a solid colour. (Save all of your most efficient lays for solid colours and similar colour layouts). Nesting can also be done in batches of canopies. All the blue for say 10 canopies can be cut in one lay, the canopies serial number will be plotted within the seam allowance of each panel. 3) Driving the machine This is totally automatic and requires no operator input apart from starting the machine by clicking on plot. The software automatically calculates the most efficient path for the machine to travel and guides it around using a series of signals sent to the stepping motors, pneumatic valves and solenoid that allow for acceleration and deceleration of the machine as well as lifting and lowering the pen and hot knife at the appropriate times. The computer is not able to be used for anything else while it is driving the cutter. Operating the machine A single layer of fabric is laid in place then the machine will make 2 passes. First it will mark (any pen type may be used) the whole table lay while it is still in one piece with pre-determined panel markings, match marks, sewing lines, seam allowances (if needed) and panel numbering (if needed). Then it will make a second pass cutting out the panels. The machine then homes itself awaiting the next cutting frame as the operator removes the cut panels and rolls out the next fabric colour to be cut. The machine has a emergency stop button or may be stopped from the computer any time by pressing any key. To continue the machine will home itself then resume cutting or plotting where it left off. During both the cutting and drawing operations the machine will only cut or draw outwards, from a set distance towards the edge of the fabric (if required). This keeps tension in the fabric and avoids dragging the edge in slightly. Setting up the system As canopy manufacturers ourselves, we have done all the figuring out and been through the teething problems associated with automating the canopy design and cutting process. For you it will be simple. We will install, calibrate and test run your machine on your table. This should only take a couple of days. You will need to provide a few basic tools and be available for a day or two of training on the software. We will input a set of canopy patterns with you until you are up to speed with the panel design (or several depending on your patterns). After this we will cut several canopies together until you are comfortable with the production aspect. We will leave you to it for a few days (but won't be far away) as you go through a few of your own teething issues, then spend some more time to go over any queries you may have after operating it for a while. This whole process should take around a week, but we will stay as long as you need. After this we are only a fax or phone call away should you need any further help. We will also give you instructions and teach you how to install and calibrate the machine yourselves should you need to shift premises or move the machine. Conclusion There are currently over 190 of these plotter/cutter systems being used throughout the world. Out of all the machines and software we have investigated for cutting canopies the Panelmaker Cutting System with the hot knife is by far the most practical and cost effective we know of. The software is very useable and will match your needs like no other currently available. And it is still flexible enough to design containers or shirts on. There are several nice laser systems around that will out perform the Panelmaker cutter for around 8 x the price. But, they also have very high laser running costs. (Our software can also run these machines). Two Panelmaker systems will out perform one of these by half again and be very reliable. If you are considering automating your canopy cutting process ... DO IT !! THIS IS THE FUTURE !! we have never looked back and you won't either. If you require a demonstration or demo disk of the software or need more information please contact us!
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