Markers and Pens for High Speed Plotting

In most textile cutting work, markings are at least as important as the cutting process because pieces have to be seamed, welded or glued together accurately and most products have pattern numbers and markings for labels, straps, webbing and attachments. Many customers have told us that markings are what makes their automated cutter work for them because it saves so much time and so many mistakes during the fabrication process.

Aeronaut's concentric marker holder aligns the tip of the marker so that it's always the same distance from the reference cutting tool axis otherwise seam allowances would vary with the diameter of the marker. The holder will take almost any marker from ball point pens to paint pens and felt tips to mark on almost any material. There's a special holder for pressurised ball point refills. 

Most markers will work well under the weight of the marker holder but if not, the Aeronaut pen assembly will allow you to ballast or load the pen so it marks reliably at speed. Our pen system has flow controls so you can adjust the drop and lift rate of the pen assembly to get the best results. Most supermarket ball point pens are OK but when plotting at speed on materials like Dacron sailcloth, the ball will often melt and fall out of the pen leaving an ugly ink blot on the job. Pressurised ball point refills don't do this and are worth the money for critical applications.

If you are doing a lot of marking, then inkjet print heads are worthwhile, both for seam allowances as well as pattern numbers and reference markings, especially on coarse woven or mesh materials. There are inks suitable for almost all substrates and since the head does not contact the substrate while printing, the marking process is fast and reliable.