Anti Slip Tape Die Cutting Processes

Surely my blog posts must be the most exciting in the whole world, a whole article on die cutting? Although die cutting might appear a mundane subject to some it is something that is vitally important to many. Die cutting is a method of changing our roll stock into individual pieces that are cut to a specific shape. A die cut section allows almost any size or shape to be produced ensuring that the customer suffers no waste and receives a part that is exactly perfect for their requirement. We use two die cutter types;

Flat bed die cutting

For cutting abrasive anti slip tapes and large format non-abrasives we use heavily modified fully automatic 30 ton presses that are web fed. The machines are controlled by light curtains and provided with material from a master roll at the rear. Being full width, web fed this ensures that labour costs are kept at a minimal level; the light curtain controls allow for rapid pressing, not a second of time is wasted. All our flat bed presses have the same cutting size; 900mmx1600mm. We utilise rule tooling but also have the capability to use real tooling. All the tools are laser cut and have an accuracy of 0.1mm. On request we produce kiss cut abrasive materials dependent on quantity and setup costs.

Rotary die cutting

Solely for non-abrasive anti slip materials we produce die cuts using rotary die cutting. Rotary die cutting is a much faster method of producing die cut pieces, unlike a flat process which requires an up-and-down press this uses a form of mangle, pressure cut, the rotary tool drags through the material and cuts it to shape. Rotary tools are highly precise pieces of equipment; each tool can perform multiple tasks including: die cutting, kiss cutting, sheeting, slitting, butterfly/­snap-backed liners etc.