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CARE AND MAINTENANCE: CUTTING DIES AND CUTTING SURFACES
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- Written by Robert Larson
I like to compare a cutting die and its corresponding cutting surface to a pair of scissors. If either blade of a pair of scissors becomes dull or has a nick or a damaged section, the pair of scissors would not cut paper or fabric properly. The same thing holds true with a cutting die and its corresponding cutting surface. If the die is dull or has nick marks in the blade from misuse and if the cutting surface is uneven from excessive use between resurfacings, you will not obtain an optimum diecutting situation.
This discussion is focused mainly on the “INTO” cutting method where a die slightly penetrates into a cutting surface vs. the “INTO” method where a die strikes against a hardened cutting plate.
The whole equation of successful diecutting takes in the cutting die, the cutting surface, the cutting press and the material to be diecut. In this article, I am going to assume that your maintenance personnel have checked out your cutting press and that the press is properly adjusted so that top and bottom platens are in a parallel condition.
The material that you are diecutting plays a big role in selecting the type of cutting die and cutting surface that you should use to obtain the best diecutting results. If you are diecutting upper leather you would probably use a 3/4" single or double edge die and the overall sharpness of the edge is not to critical but, on the other hand, if you are diecutting Kevlar™, you need a very sharp blade, possibly a serrated blade to obtain proper die cuts. Also, your cutting surface should be harder than the material that you are cutting so that you obtain clean diecuts without beating up the cutting surface or penetrating too far into the cutting surface to obtain clean diecuts.
The proper selection of the right die and corresponding cutting surface is a whole subject by itself and can be addressed in a future article. This article will deal primarily with the care and maintenance of cutting dies and cutting surfaces. In the leather industry for example, most diecutting is done by piece work. Your diecutters try to diecut as many pieces per hour as possible to make good days pay and generally speaking, they are not overly concerned with pad maintenance and the repair of a die.
That responsibility falls directly upon the cutting room foreman and management. Today a large percentage of diecutting in leather related industries is still done on swing arm clicker presses. We will see more and more automated diecutting systems to diecut man-made materials and proper maintenance procedures are even more important to maximize production and reduce downtime to an absolute minimum due to the investment and cost of operating these expensive systems. In a recent conservation with Ray Allen, former President of Schoen Machinery USA, Ray mentioned that many shoe manufacturers have "price shock" when they hear a price of $ 300,000 to $ 400,000 for a completely automated CAD/CAM diecutting system. Automated diecutting systems are cost effective and produces diecut parts very economically for a manufacturer, but, the cutting dies and cutting surface must be properly maintained to keep downtown to an absolute minimum.
Robert Larson – Larson WorldWide, Inc.