Aeronaut cutters are the tools the big lofts use because they can't take chances. And they're also the cutters that the small lofts use because they can't afford to buy a cutter which won't pay it's way, year after year. Aeronaut automated cutters have been the industry-standard tools for making panelled and string-laid sails all around the world for close to 20 years.
Aeronaut Automation began life as Aeronaut Sails. After we bought our own plotter we realised the possibilities and the limitations. To get our plotter to work properly, we had to start writing our own software to import all the various file formats we needed to plot.
Within months, this software was being sold to other sailmakers and Aeronaut Sails began to evolve into Aeronaut Automation.
The first cutter we ever built was ordered by a sailmaker, and from the first batch of machines manufactured, 60% were bought by sailmakers.
The fact that we have been plotter owners and operators means the focus of Aeronaut is quite different to the focus of most other manufacturers who supply gear to sailmakers. We designed and built the cutter we would like to own, and developed the software to allow our cutters to work with the widest possible range of jobs, materials and file formats.
We built a machine which would work reliably year-in, year-out for decades, made out of materials that would not rust or corrode, with the speed and accuracy necessary for one-design and racing where fractions of a millimetre count for everything. This dedication continues with our Elektron Mono LC and the mighty Mikron cutter.
Aeronaut automated cutters are now being used by sailmakers from Barbados to Moscow and we have cutters in all the large franchise lofts as well as owner operated lofts. Aeronaut cutters are used on everything from one design dinghys to superyachts.
Aeronaut built the first 5 metre wide machines for the D4 membrane process over 8 years ago. These evolved into massive carbon fibre gantry plotters over 10 metres wide and 45 metres long.
Aeronaut now is the undisputed leader in the field of string or yarn laid sails, supplying machinery and software to fabricators all over the world.
Dimension-Polyant (D4), Quantum Membranes Spain, Malaysia and South Africa, Evolution Membrane, Doyle Sails NZ, Renegade Sails, China Sail Factory and a gang of others all rely on Aeronaut yarn layers in narrow or wide span format. In fact, the vast majority are running the wide-span carbon gantry machines since these are considerably more productive than narrow span machines.
Aeronaut software engineers work with Sail design software developers such as BSG SailPack, SMAR Azure, Fabric and Sails Science to make sure your investment in sail design software works with industry standard nesting software and cutters.
BSG Developments SailPack: http://www.bsgdev.com/
Sails Science: http://www.sailscience.com
Fabric: http://www.cerealog.fr/
SMAR Azure: http://www.smar-azure.com
The cutter most commonly supplied to sailmakers is the Elektron Mono LC. This automated cutter is the successor to the benchmark Maxis LC. The Elektron Mono LC is a rotary blade cutter and pen plotter, which features quick-change Cam-lock tooling. This means you can fit and lock a drag blade, creaser or any one of the rotary blade toolholders in just a few seconds with perfect blade angle and height registration.
You can also fit the optional sign blade cutter for logos and insignias. The standard 28mm rotary blade can be locked so the rotary blade functions as a shallow angle drag blade which works well when cutting difficult sail cloths like PBO. The Elektron Mono LC can be supplied as a complete turnkey solution with vacuum table etc. or as a machine only ready to mount onto an existing table. The Elektron Mono LC can be driven by most commonly available sail software including Aeronauts Tangent software.
Aeronaut's newest sailmaker's cutter is the Mikron, designed to show manufacturers of entry-level cutters for sailmakers how a real cutter should be made!
The Mikron is fast, economical, tough and built to be the best in the sector of the market where buyers can't afford to take chances. The Mikron is designed for DIY installation on self-made and existing vacuum tables.
If you need edge sealed fabric for cruising sails, or you need rapid and reliable cutting on any form of sailcloth whether you run a cutting service or a sail loft, one of Aeronaut's range of laser cutters is perfect for the job. Aeronaut laser cutters range from affordable air-cooled 30 watt lasers to the industrial strength 200 watt water cooled Elektron Laser ZX.
Aeronaut's Elektron Laser Z is a low-cost laser cutter intended for production cutting of lighter fabrics including dinghy weight Dacrons and spinnaker Nylon. If you are cutting a reasonable percentage of light fabrics with a blade or a conventional laser cutter, then the Elektron Laser Z is well worth a look. And if you don't mind slowing things down a little, the Elektron Laser Z will cut and edge seal materials as heavy as 12 oz dacron with ease.
The Elektron Laser Z is capable of cutting most spinnaker Nylons at close to 1 metre per second and heavier fabrics at commercially acceptable speeds. But the cost of the Elektron Laser Z is only a fraction of the cost of a conventional laser for sail cloth cutting. In terms of production, it is probably cheaper to buy both an Elektron Mono LC and an Elektron Laser Z including vacuum tables than one conventional laser cutter, and get twice the output.
Aeronaut's Elektron Laser ZT is the newest of our line of laser cutters. Originally designed for work like paraglider and military and aerospace parachute manufacturing, the light weight and high power of this cutter make it perfect where a thicker materials or multiple layers or light fabric and small details need to be cut at high production speeds. This cutter is perfect for contract cutters and production lofts who need to cut and edge seal at high speed.
The Elektron Laser ZT is available in power outputs from 60 to 100 watts in air-cooled and water cooled versions… and it's probably the best looking laser cutter you can buy!
If your requirements are for a more powerful laser for better production speeds on a wider range of fabrics, then the Elektron Laser ZX fits the bill. This cutter is available in a range of powers up to 200 watts and can be fitted with an optional blade cutting head giving unmatched flexibility.
See the Laser Cutters category on this site for full details on Aeronaut automated cutting systems or download brochures in pdf form from the downloads section of this site.