2004 Series Rotary Knife

The 2004 series is the big brother of the 2003. Based on the same simple principle, it allows a "Pizza" wheel type cutter to perform the cutting. The initial penetration of the material is pneumatically operated, so heavier materials can be cut. Again, commercially available blades can be used so reducing the operating costs.

Typical applications include: The cutting of paper, cardboard, vinyl and most fabrics used in the manufacture of print blankets, clothing, shoes, tents and sails, to name but a few.

Overview

This method of cutting uses a tangentially steered “pizza wheel” to cut through paper, cardboard, vinyl, clothing, shoes, tents, sail cloth, print blanket fabrics and many more in a simple rotary cutting method.

The operation of this system is the same as that of Spectrum’s other cutting systems.  It features user friendly front-end software that makes production an extremely simple task. Utilizing on screen overlays and allowing varied setup configurations, relating to different cut jobs or materials, to be stored – the software saves time and effort which can be better spent elsewhere.  Upon commencement of a cut, the software commands the motion system to move to the start position, and then follow the programmed cut path accurately to within 0.25mm.  No further interaction is then required from the user until the cut is completed.

During operation, the blade rotates as it cuts through the material, pneumatically rising and lowering as and when cut pressure is required.  The pressure is manually adjustable for different weights and thicknesses of material.  4 axes are used to drive the cutting tool.  The axes are: X axis (Machine length), Y axis (Machine width), Z axis (Vertical control), and C axis (Circular control).

2 blade sizes are available – 28mm and 45mm.  Both are commercially available, either singularly or in bulk purchase.

Typically, cut speeds with a rotary knife are very high – 1 meter per second is not uncommon.  Generally, the only limiting factor is the shape that is being cut and the radius of curves and bends.