Low-cost and portable automatic sheet cutter

Abstract

Process automation is crucial to increase productivity, more efficient use of materials, better product quality, improved safety, etc. In small-medium enterprise (SME) businesses related to household retailing, one of the process automation needed is the measurement and cutting of the mat or sheet, made of rubber or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials. Most of the household retailers that selling the sheet, the process of measuring and cutting according to the customer’s requirements are manually performed using a measuring tape and scissors. These manual processes can cause inaccuracy in length, inefficient use of material, low productivity and reduce product quality. This paper presents a low cost and portable automatic sheet cutter using the Arduino development board, which is used to control the process of measuring and cutting the materials. The system uses a push-button where the user can set the required length and quantity of the sheet. Once the required information is set, the stepper motor rolls the sheet until the required length is satisfied. Subsequently, another stepper motor moves the cutter horizontally and cut the sheet. With the automatic sheet cutter, the material is cut with acceptable precision. The design of the automatic sheet cutter is low cost and portable which significantly suitable to be used by SME household retailers.