this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2024
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Surprisingly CNC cutting machines are becoming more common even in places where labor is "cheap". The technology is becoming affordable and reliable enough to replace even underpaid workers as a "cost saving" measure.
Here's the garment cutting department at a factory in Pakistan.
I once bought a used 80 ton hydraulic press from Levi's. It was used to cut blue jeans, cotton fabric dust everywhere in it. It used maple plywood and die rule cutting dies that could produce 1000's of jeans pieces a day, (polyester/cotton fabrics are a bitch to cut). The dies could be swapped in a few minutes and rebuilt in about an hour with simple tools. The cost of the dies were about $1000 US and could last up to a year.
Those hand operated cutters are fine for simple items made in small lots, but you want to make millions? They are useless.
*I rebuilt it to cut sandpaper discs and sheets using similar die rule dies that could cut 3000 to 4000 pieces per rebuild.
I can see that, way more likely than cutting dies with a press. It would be a huge cost savings as there would be way less material waste and no user fuck-ups.