Abstract: A method of cutting out pieces which are to be assembled from a length of check fabric 1 in order to obtain continuity or alignment in the design on the fabric at at least some of the assembly points includes the steps of placing a length of fabric on a cutting-out table 2, storing the shapes, positions, and orientations of the pieces to be cut out in a computer memory, with a margin having a width equal to one half of a design element being reserved around some of the pieces in one or two directions, and also storing the positions of points A, B which are to coincide when the pieces are assembled. A pair of images of the fabric, each centered on a corresponding one of the points, are displayed on a screen 8 side by side, and linear and/or angular offsets between the designs are observed, whereafter any offsets are corrected such that the designs correspond in at least one direction.

Abstract: A method, and in particular an automatic method, of cutting parts out from sheet or plate material, the method comprising the steps of: placing templates (1, 2) having the shapes and sizes of the said parts upon said sheet or plate of material; recognizing the respective shapes, sizes, orientations, and positions of the templates on the material by means of distinctive signs characteristic of the shapes and sizes of the respective templates; and cutting out parts from said sheet or plate material along outlines defined by said templates; the method including the improvement of a further step in which any overlaps (3) between templates are detected and the lines of cut where the templates overlap are modified either by cutting along a straight line (6) interconnecting the points of intersection (4, 5) between the outlines of the overlapping templates, or by cutting along an average line (9) equidistant from the outlines of the templates between the points of intersection of the outlines of the overlapping temp