Rotary die cutting is a process that converts a material and changes its shape and design by cutting, forming, and shearing it. It is a quite versatile process that can customize the shape of a material. This process is used for handling a wide range of materials. It finds its applications in many industries, such as manufacturing, labeling, heat shields, etc.
There are many types of die-cutting processes like flatbed die, laser, and rotary die-cutting. The flatbed dies cutting utilizes a flatbed die and press. The laser uses a high-speed laser cutting machine. The rotary die cutting uses a cylindrical rotary die and a rotary press. The die-cutting application demands different requirements and specifications of things such as the materials, sizes, tolerances, number of materials used, costs, turnaround times, and much more. Each one of them has its advantages and disadvantages.
The rotary die-cutting process is smooth and quick. To work on an optimum capacity, it is important that the rotary cutting machine’s configuration and settings are optimum. The results also depend on the type of material being cut and its properties.
Rotary die cutting has a custom-designed cylindrical die that is attached to the rotary press. The flexible material can be in the form of roll or sheet. It is put into the press’s die-cutting area where there is cutting die cylinder and anvil cylinder, rotating in separate directions. The rotary cutting die can be flexible or solid. It is the tool that performs the cutting operation. When the material is fed, the cutting die’s edge compresses the material against the anvil cylinder and the edge cuts and slits the material.
It is ensured that the cylinders and web in a rotary die cutting machine, run at the same speed because it is imperative to have the die cuts properly aligned. Sometimes the machines also use servo motors to achieve better accuracy and consistency.
Rotary cutting machine uses many materials such as thin metal, plastic, paper, foam, fabric, laminates, etc. The type of material and its properties decide the configuration and settings of the rotary die cutting machine. The property of the material also impacts the design of the rotary cutting die machine. When there is a requirement for cutting thicker material, the blade must be greater, and the angle needs to be steeper. While cutting thinner materials, the blade height needs to be shallow.
The two main types of dies are flexible cylindrical rotary dies, and solid cylindrical rotary dies. Flexible dies use a thin sheet of metal attached to a magnetic cylinder, and solid dies use engraved solid metal cylinder. Both of these machines can cut almost all types of materials.
