Laser Cutting of Leather: Tool for Industry or Designers?

Abstract Currently technologies which are applied for leather cutting include slitting knifes, die press techniques and manual cutting. Use of laser technology has grown significantly during recent years due to number of advantages over conventional cutting methods; flexibility, high production speed, possibility to cut complex geometries, easier cutting of customized parts, and less leftovers of leather makes laser cutting more and more economically attractive to apply for leather cutting. Laser technology provides advantages in cutting complex geometries, stable cutting quality and possibility to utilize leather material in economically best way. Constant quality is important in industrial processes and laser technology fulfills this requirement: properly chosen laser cutting parameters provides identical cuts. Additionally, laser technology is very flexible in terms of geometries: complex geometries, individual designs, prototypes and small scale products can be manufactured by laser cutting. Variety of products, which needed to be cut in small volumes, is also the application where laser cutting can be more beneficial due to possibility to change production from one product to another only by changing geometry without a need to change cutting tool. Disadvantages of laser processing include high initial investment costs and some running costs due to maintenance and required gas supply for the laser. Higher level of operator's expertise is required due to more complicated machinery in case of laser cutting. This study investigates advantages and disadvantages of laser cutting in different areas of application and provides comparison between laser cutting and mechanical cutting of leather.