Abstract: A method for determining components of a mechanical action torsor at the guiding point of a cutting blade for a cutting machine, the blade being guided in a presser foot of a cutting head of the machine, such that the method includes the positioning of a five-component dynamometer on the presser foot, the dynamometer comprising a plurality of sensors for determining a frontal force, a lateral force, a rolling moment, a pitching moment and a yawing moment of the cutting blade, the establishment of a calibration matrix of the dynamometer, and the determination of the forces in three dimensions to which the cutting blade is subjected, on the basis of the measurements obtained by the sensors and the calibration matrix.

Abstract: A suction cutting conveyor of an automatic blade cutting machine for sheet materials, including a plurality of cutting supports rigidly connected to a drive mechanism driven along rectilinear and curvilinear trajectories, each cutting support including a plurality of bristles each having a foot rigidly connected to a sole and a head opposite to the foot and on which a sheet material to be cut is intended to rest, the sole of each cutting support being capable of being able to elastically deform following the trajectories of the drive mechanism.

Abstract: Pieces are cut out from a sheet material by means of an installation comprising a cutting-out table (12) receiving the sheet material (30) from a loading station (12), and an unloading station (16) for unloading cut-out pieces. A flexible sealing film (32) is brought onto the sheet material upstream from the cutting-out table, and it is applied by establishing suction at the surface of the cutting-out table. After cutting-out, at least the skeleton (32?) of the sealing film is separated at the downstream end of the cutting-out table in order to be recovered. The recovery is preformed by automatic winding-up outside the unloading station, it being possible to deposit fastenings on the sealing film so that they straddle the cutting-out lines, or else said recovery is performed by sucking up the fragments of sealing film by means of a rotary member bearing against the sheet material.

Abstract: A method for laying out pieces to be cut out from a remnant of flexible material, the cut out pieces being used to manufacture an article. A mask generic to remnants of a given type is generated. The at least one generic mask is subdivided into zones which correspond to different gradations of a characteristic of the remnant, e.g. leather color or leather grain. At least some of the pieces to be cut out are assigned a set of constraints including at least one value constraint for a characteristic of the remnant. At least some of the pieces to be cut out are linked to each other, for example, as a function of the constraints assigned to the respective pieces. The at least one generic mask is applied to a particular remnant of the given type to subdivide the particular remnant into zones having uniform characteristics. The pieces to be cut out are automatically laid out on the particular remnant as a function of any constraints assigned to the pieces, and in compliance with the links defined between the pieces.

Abstract: Pieces are cut out from a sheet material by means of an installation comprising a cutting-out table (12) receiving the sheet material (30) from a loading station (12), and an unloading station (16) for unloading cut-out pieces. A flexible sealing film (32) is brought onto the sheet material upstream from the cutting-out table, and it is applied by establishing suction at the surface of the cutting-out table. After cutting-out, at least the skeleton (32′) of the sealing film is separated at the downstream end of the cutting-out table in order to be recovered. The recovery is preformed by automatic winding-up outside the unloading station, it being possible to deposit fastenings on the sealing film so that they straddle the cutting-out lines, or else said recovery is performed by sucking up the fragments of sealing film by means of a rotary member bearing against the sheet material.

Abstract: Pieces are cut out from a sheet material by means of an installation comprising a cutting-out table (12) receiving the sheet material (30) from a loading station (12), and an unloading station (16) for unloading cut-out pieces. A flexible sealing film (32) is brought onto the sheet material upstream from the cutting-out table, and it is applied by establishing suction at the surface of the cutting-out table. After cutting-out, at least the skeleton (32′) of the sealing film is separated at the downstream end of the cutting-out table in order to be recovered. The recovery is preformed by automatic winding-up outside the unloading station, it being possible to deposit fastenings on the sealing film so that they straddle the cutting-out lines, or else said recovery is performed by sucking up the fragments of sealing film by means of a rotary member bearing against the sheet material.