Shade & Shutter Expo

"Before purchasing Carlson Design's widest plotter/cutter model available, the WT-174", Shade & Shutter expo in beautiful Myrtle Beach were losing time and productivity cutting their material to the large sizes needed for their customers. "

About Shade & Shutter Expo

Shade & Shutter Expo, located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, offers custom fit, retractable, and motorized window shades, awnings, and much more. Owner and operator Danny Fergus started the company in 2003 with his wife, Julie, after realizing he could create a business out of a DIY shade kit he assembled in his garage.

For the past 14 years, Shade & Shutter has been providing their high-quality, custom-made products to businesses and residents all over the Myrtle Beach area, and they aren’t slowing down. In fact, they’re doing the opposite with their newly installed plotter/cutter.

Installation Details:

Model:	Wide WT
Attachments:	28mm Rotary Blade
Plotter Width:	174"
Table:	20'
Blowers:	--
Applications:	Shades
Materials Cut:	Marine Vinyl, Shade Cloth, Sunbrella

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What was unique about this install?

Shade & Shutter Expo purchased the widest machine we provide, the WT-174″. The machine sits on a 20′ x 15′ table that the customer built himself and is vacuum-less. We typically always recommend vacuuming to some degree to help secure the fabric to the table while it’s being cut. This ensures a clean, accurate cut. However, the material being cut at Shade & Shutter is 90% shade cloth which is a) an open weave which means the vacuum would be lost and b) quite heavy so it likes to lay flat under it’s own weight. Running the machine slowly can also help with a vacuum-less table situation. We started at 5 inches per second and eventually found we could cut at 15 inches per second once we were comfortable and confident the material would not move while being cut. Using Plotmaster, Danny and his team could quickly create and nest the simple squares their shades are made from.

The WT-174″ is perfect for wide cut applications such as shades and awnings.

The material spreader we initially attempted to use, we later found it was easier to just put the material on the table and roll it by hand.

Danny and his team learning to use Plotmaster and run the machine.

The WT in action cutting a black shade cloth material.

Material is taped down to help secure it when cutting close to the edges.

Real Results

The WT-174″ performed beautifully for Shade & Shutter Expo; it’s the perfect machine for their application. Allowing them to cut 2 – 3 pieces ranging anywhere from 30′ – 50′ a piece, they have upped their cutting production drastically with one operator running it half a day. By the end of the training, Danny was running production cuts and had caught up on all of their time-sensitive customers, proving the machines worth right then and there.

Learning the ropes on how to create patterns and run the machine.

Install & The solution

Installing such a large machine can be time-consuming, but Danny saved us a lot of time by ensuring the table was assembled and leveled. Installation was a breeze and set up the next two days nicely for focusing on software and running production cuts.