Burger, HPKlopper, W2009-01-212009-01-212006Burger, HP and Klopper, W. 2006. Enhancing the competitiveness of an SMME in the automotive industry through the introduction of laser based manufacturing. A case study. 1st All Africa Technology Diffusion Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, 12-14 June 2006, pp 11http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2870The Automotive Industry uses large volumes of woven synthetic cloth in their paint shops. The cloth is used to clean the car bodies prior to painting. A basic requirement for this application is that the cloth is lint free to avoid blemishes in the paintwork resulting from adherent lint. The cloth is produced in large rolls and has to be cut to size before it is used. It is of paramount importance that the cutting process does not compromise the lint free quality of the cloth. Traditional mechanical cutting methods can not retain the lint free character of the cloth primarily because of fraying of the cut edges. Laser cutting is a thermal process where the cut is produced by melting and vaporisation of material. Where laser cutting is applied to synthetic fibre the cut is produced by melting the individual fibres resulting in a semi sealed cut edge that is totally free of fraying and lint. This paper illustrates how the introduction of laser cutting into the manufacturing process not only solved the lint problem but also improved the quality of the product as well as the productivity and profitability of the companyenLaser cuttingLaser technologyAutomotive industrySynthetic clothsLaser based manufacturingLint free clothConference PresentationBurger, H., & Klopper, W. (2006). Enhancing the competitiveness of an SMME in the automotive industry through the introduction of laser based manufacturing. A case study. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2870Burger, HP, and W Klopper. "Enhancing the competitiveness of an SMME in the automotive industry through the introduction of laser based manufacturing. A case study." (2006): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2870Burger H, Klopper W, Enhancing the competitiveness of an SMME in the automotive industry through the introduction of laser based manufacturing. A case study; 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2870 .TY - Conference Presentation AU - Burger, HP AU - Klopper, W AB - The Automotive Industry uses large volumes of woven synthetic cloth in their paint shops. The cloth is used to clean the car bodies prior to painting. A basic requirement for this application is that the cloth is lint free to avoid blemishes in the paintwork resulting from adherent lint. The cloth is produced in large rolls and has to be cut to size before it is used. It is of paramount importance that the cutting process does not compromise the lint free quality of the cloth. Traditional mechanical cutting methods can not retain the lint free character of the cloth primarily because of fraying of the cut edges. Laser cutting is a thermal process where the cut is produced by melting and vaporisation of material. Where laser cutting is applied to synthetic fibre the cut is produced by melting the individual fibres resulting in a semi sealed cut edge that is totally free of fraying and lint. This paper illustrates how the introduction of laser cutting into the manufacturing process not only solved the lint problem but also improved the quality of the product as well as the productivity and profitability of the company DA - 2006 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - Laser cutting KW - Laser technology KW - Automotive industry KW - Synthetic cloths KW - Laser based manufacturing KW - Lint free cloth LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2006 T1 - Enhancing the competitiveness of an SMME in the automotive industry through the introduction of laser based manufacturing. A case study TI - Enhancing the competitiveness of an SMME in the automotive industry through the introduction of laser based manufacturing. A case study UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/2870 ER -