Manual cutting processes for leather

Cutting rules, variance of the leather properties on its surface and elongation directions of the footwear pieces.

leatherwear manual cutting processes and techniques
leatherwear manual cutting processes
manual cutting techniques for leather
leatherwear manual cutting techniques
manual cutting processes and techniques for leather

knowledge

sector-specific

Manual cutting processes for leather is an essential knowledge of the following occupations:

Bespoke footwear technician: Bespoke footwear technicians perform activities in small production environments (e.g. workshops) where footwear is typically custom-made. They design, prepare, cut and sew, assemble and finish custom made footwear.
Leather goods production supervisor: Leather goods production supervisors monitor and coordinate day-to-day production activities of a leather goods manufacturing plant. They oversee quality control as well as manage the leather goods production staff. The work also involves organising the work flow as well as taking care of production plan and costs.
Orthopaedic footwear technician: Orthopaedic footwear technicians design footwear and make patterns, using manufacturing technology. They compensate and accommodate foot and ankle fitting problems, design and manufacture footwear and its orthopaedic components, including orthoses, insoles, soles and others.
Cutting machine operator: Cutting machine operators check leather, textiles, synthetic materials, dyes and footwear. They select areas of materials to be cut in terms of quality and stretch direction, take the decision of where and how to cut and programme and execute specific technology or machine. The equipment used for large surfaces of materials is frequently an automatic knife. Cutting machine operators position and handle leather or other materials. They adjust cutting machines, match footwear components and pieces, and check cut pieces against specifications and quality requirements.

 
Leather goods hand cutting operator: Leather goods hand cutting operators check leather and their materials and cutting dies, select areas  to be cut, position pieces on the leather and other materials, match the leather goods components (pieces) and check cut pieces against specifications and quality requirements. All the activities and tasks are performed manually.
Footwear production technician: Footwear production technicians perform a wide range of activities regarding footwear manufacturing. They are involved in all phases of the process including product engineering and different types of construction. They aim at maximising productivity and reducing production costs, assuring the functionality and quality of product and customer satisfaction.
Footwear production manager: Footwear production managers plan, distribute, and coordinate all necessary activities of the different footwear manufacturing phases ensuring the adherence to quality standards and production and productivity pre-defined goals.
Leather goods artisanal worker: Leather goods artisanal workers manufacture leather goods or parts of leather goods by hand according to the specifications of the customer or their own design. They do repairs of leather goods such as shoes, bags and gloves.
Footwear production supervisor: Footwear production supervisors monitor and coordinate day-to-day production activities of a footwear manufacturing plant. They oversee quality control to ensure that the end product is in alignment with production specifications, and manage the footwear staff. The work also involves negotiations with suppliers as well as taking care of the production plan and production costs.
Shoe repairer: Shoe repairers repair and renew deteriorated footwear and other items like belts or bags. They use hand tools and specialised machinery to add soles and heels, replace worn-out buckles and clean and polish shoes.
Shoemaker: Shoemakers use hand or machine operations for traditional manufacturing of a various range of footwear. They also repair all types of footwear in a repair shop.

Manual cutting processes for leather is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this knowledge may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Footwear product developer: Footwear product developers provide interface between design and production. They engineer the footwear prototypes previously created by designers. They select, design or re-design lasts and footwear components, make patterns for uppers, linings and bottom components, and produce technical drawings for a various range of tools (e.g. cutting dies, mould, etc.). They also produce and evaluate footwear prototypes, grade and produce sizing samples, perform required tests for samples and confirm the customer’s qualitative and pricing constraints.
Automated cutting machine operator: Automated cutting machine operators send files from the computer to the cutting machine, place the material to be cut, and they digitize and select the fault in the materials surface in order to perform the nesting of the parts,  unless the machine makes it automatically. They give the order to the machine to cut, they also collect the cut pieces and does the final quality control analysis against specifications and quality requirements. They also monitor the status of the cutting machine working devices.
Leather goods CAD patternmaker: Leather goods CAD patternmakers design, adjust and modify 2D patterns using CAD systems. They check laying variants using nesting modules of the CAD system. They estimate material consumption.
Leather goods warehouse operator: Leather goods warehouse operators are in charge of the warehouse of leather, components, other materials and production devises. They classify and register the purchased raw materials and components, forecast purchases and distribute them across different departments. They ensure that all the necessary raw materials and components for the production are ready to be used and to be placed in the production chain.
Footwear CAD patternmaker: Footwear CAD patternmakers design, adjust and modify patterns for all kinds of footwear using CAD systems. They check laying variants using nesting modules of the CAD system and material consumption. Once the sample model has been approved for production, these professionals make series of patterns (grading) to produce a range of the same footwear model in different sizes.
Toymaker: Toymakers create or reproduce hand-made objects for sale and exhibition made of various materials such as plastic, wood and textile. They develop, design and sketch the object, select the materials and cut, shape and process the materials as necessary and apply finishes. In addition, toymakers maintain and repair all types of toys, including mechanical ones. They identify defects in toys, replace damaged parts and restore their functionality.
Footwear patternmaker: Footwear patternmakers design and cut patterns for all kinds of footwear using a variety of hand and simple machine tools. They check various nesting variants and perform material consumption estimation. Once the sample model has been approved for production, they produce series of patterns for range of footwear in different sizes.
Leather goods designer: Leather goods designers are in charge of the creative process of leather goods. They perform fashion trends analysis, accompany market researches and forecast needs, plan and develop collections, create concepts and build the collection lines. They additionally conduct the sampling, create prototypes or samples for presentation and promote concepts and collections. During the collection development, they define the mood and the concept board, the colour palettes, the materials, produce drawings and sketches. Leather goods designers identify the range of materials and components and define the design specifications. They collaborate with the technical team.

References

1. Manual cutting processes for leather – ESCO