Technical Paper
Headliner Trimming Using Robotic Waterjet Cutting Systems
1993-03-01
930306
Accurate, high-quality trimming is critical in the manufacture of automotive headliners. And as a wide variety of headliners are trimmed with various patterns, flexibility is essential. The method of cutting headliners with a high-velocity, ultrahigh-pressure stream of water attached to a robot offers not only flexibility, but also competitive process times, clean, non-compressed cuts and no harmful fumes. In the life of a headliner, it is not uncommon to have hundreds of engineering changes. Before water jet cutting, these changes were handled by retooling cutting dies, which requires weeks of work and costs thousands of dollars. Robotic waterjet cutting can accommodate these changes in a matter of hours by simply reprogramming the robot. When robotic waterjet cutting was introduced, it was typical for a system to cost as much as $350,000 to $500,000.
