Method for preventing dust generation in die cutting process

Dust and loose fibers are terms used in flat plate and die cutting to describe damage to the die-cut edge of a carton. In practice, this term means the production of loose particles and fragments, as well as the accumulation of fiber filaments, which adhere to the die-cut edges of the paperboard. It should be noted that most of these particles and fibers come from the surface of die-cut cardboard. This raises three issues:

How to flatten die cutting process

To accurately describe the flattening die-cutting process using a steel die-cutting die, this process will be defined as a moving process consisting of two progressive steps. The first step is called blasting penetration and the second step is called blasting separation.

In the simultaneous die-cutting process, the full length of the die cutting edge is in contact with the surface of the die cut material. When die-cutting, the die-cutting blade exerts pressure on the cardboard material. Although we describe die-cutting as a cutting process, it is more accurate to say that this is the process of breaking a cardboard under pressure. When the tool is drilled into the cardboard to the anvil pad, the cardboard surface is squeezed, stretched, and compressed. Finally, the surface of the cardboard cannot withstand these pressures and it bursts through.

The use of the word blasting to describe the breakage of the paperboard surface is most accurate, however, because the sharp edges of the paperboard exert a strong stretching force and compressive force, thus causing the surface of the paperboard along the die cutting edge to collapse.

After the cardboard surface is broken, the sharpness of the cutting edge is not as great as that of the previous step, because the double bevel of the tool/wedge translates the pressure in the vertical direction into the lateral movement force. When the tool penetrates into the board, the beveled surface of the tool pushes the board vertically.

Under strong fracture pressure, the cardboard was completely torn before the tool and anvil pad contacted. This blast separation process is divided into surface cracking, tool wedging, and paperboard breakage.

Even under backward production conditions, the cardboard will still break under strong burst pressure as long as it is equipped with sharp steel cutters, smooth liners, and an optional die-cutting setup system.

What causes dust and loose fibers

Dust and loose fibers are caused by damaged die-cutting blades, and excess force causes the blades to strike the liner plate surface. As a result, the blade edge is widened so that the pressing force and the stretching force applied to the surface of the cardboard are greatly increased. The cardboard is further compressed and the tension is slowly increased until the cardboard breaks. This process is too hard to produce debris and dust molecules.

As the pressure on the tool increases, further compressive forces dull the blade. The cardboard is compressed and stretched beyond the normal range and its surface is broken into three pieces.

From the description of this process, we can conclude that dust and loose fibers come from the cardboard surface, which is caused by the progressive damage of the die cutting edge.

How to avoid dust and loose fibers

The way to avoid this problem is to maintain the good condition of the steel blade. There are several ways to choose from, and one of them can be used alone in practice, and multiple methods can be used at the same time.

These methods are:

Use soft or small thickness die-cut liners;

Calibrate flat and flat die cutting machine to prevent excessive force;

Calibrate and balance die-cutting pressure on the tool to ensure accurate z-axis control of the cutting edge;

Use floating knife operation for important tools in production planning;

Accurately integrate double board and zone repair technology into a joint repair process to achieve uniform press-cutting.