No Running with These Scissors

Cardboard has nothing on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) when it comes to dulling scissors. Kuraray (www.kurarayamerica.com; Houston, TX) found its LCP material, Vectran--which is used for protective gloves, chainsaw chaps and other apparel--was just as tough on the tools used to cut it into patterns as it was protective against them. The thermal-resistant fiber, also incorporated in aerospace composites, was not only hard on traditional mechanical systems, but also on costs, in the form of dull blades requiring replacement and added time for cut-and-sew operators to assemble a final shape.

The company sought out HSGM (www.hsgm.com; Walluf, Germany) for a heat cutting solution, during which a blade is warmed up to a temperature just north of the fiber resistance. After some trials, the HSGM was successful finding the right combination of heat and blade design to rapidly slice through the Vectran fabric, producing a welded edge. HSGM settled on two specific units for Vectran, the HSG-1-VW or HSG-03-VW, with blade type HSS15°-7mm. The advantage of the hot knife systems composites containing Vectran is the edges can be melted to remove the excess fiber, resulting in a cleaner edge and an improved finish.