Find out if Laser Die Cutting Matches Your Application

Spartanics Laser Die Cutting Applications Laboratory provides no-cost engineering studies of the substrates you plan to use to fabricate products to determine if state-of-the-art laser die cutting technology can meet application requirements.  Get Your Company’s Materials “Laser Die Cutting Capable’ Certified  Spartanics Laser Die Cutting Applications Laboratory also provides such engineering analyses to materials vendors, officially certifying the tolerances and specifications for handling specific material brands with laser die cutting technology. To apply for Spartanics’ “Laser Die Cutting Capable” certifications, write to Mike Bacon, mbacon@spartanics.com .  Up-to-date Materials Research Studies  Spartanics laser die cutting applications engineers have extensively tested laser die cutters with varying laser strengths and software configurations with a wide range of materials (0.030 mm maximum thickness) including:  Plastic films  Magnetic materials  Non-wovens  adhesive tapes  pressure sensitive substrates  polyesters  polycarbonates  foams  textiles  laminates  abrasives  metals  ceramics  paper, paperboard, cardboard  polypropylenes  rubber  polymides   ..and more –from the fast evolving world of materials innovations spanning nanomaterials to plastics with unprecedented tensile strengths.  Application Guides for Your Industry  Spartanics Laser Die Cutting Applications Engineers have developed an extensive knowledgebase on best practice laser die cutting methods for a wide range of applications. Contact Spartanics Laser Die Cutting Applications Engineers with your product specifications.  Labels  Membrane switches  Packaging  Automotive components  Gaskets  Flexible circuits  P-O-P displays  Industrial textiles  RFID tags  Medical device components  Discs  Belts  Novelty magnets  Signs  Direct mail advertising inserts  Cards   For more information call +847-394-5700 ext. 1960.

A wide variety of automotive products can be die cut or laser cut on a Spartanics cutting system. These products are frequently automotive graphics, nameplates, or a variety of products manufactured on a polycarbonate substrate.

The system configuration for automotive die cutting is separated into two basic approaches: one for processing rolls of web material, and one for processing sheeted material.

For die cutting sheeted materials, the material can be fed into our die cutting system by our Automatic Sheet Feeder, by our Autocutter, or by our M73 Strip Starter. Our Automatic Sheet Feeder and our Autocutter handle an 18” (46 cm) high stack, and sheet sizes can be up to 29” x 30” (73 cm x 76 cm). The Automatic Sheet Feeder simply feeds the sheets without any cutting into the die cutting press. The Autocutter can be used to cut the sheets into strips or to perform edge trimming before feeding the material into the die cutting press.

When material either uncut or cut by the Autocutter is fed into the die cutting systems press, the material will be accurately positioned in the press by a registration feed that corrects for XY or XY & rotation errors in printing. The material is now positioned correctly in die, and the mechanical press will cycle and cut the desired parts. If the parts are cut using a steel rule die, or a compound male/female die, they will remain inserted in the sheeted material. Various types of modules exist to remove these parts and discard the residual scrap sheets—parts extractors and pneumatic knockouts are commonly used. Using a standard male/female hard tool die results in the die cut parts being pushed through the die and onto a conveyor in a shingled fashion eliminating the need for part extraction.

A basic die cutting system for die cutting a variety of configurations of automotive parts from sheeted materials consists of the following modules:

1. M95 Autocutter or M96 Automatic Sheet Feeder or M73 Strip Starter
2. Mechanical Die Cutting Press
3. X, Y or X, Y & Rotation Axis Registration Feed
4. Either a Steel Rule Die or a Standard Male/Female Die or a Compound Male/Female Die can be used
5. Part Removal Module if a Steel Rule Die or Compound Male/Female Die is used in the system
6. Parts Collection Conveyor

For rolled web materials, the material can be feed into the die cutting system by our Automatic Unwinding Module which accurately controls the slack loop of material between the Unwinder and the Mechanical Die Cutting Press.

When the web material is fed into the die cutting sysems press, the material will be correctly positioned in the press by a registration feed that corrects for XY or XY & rotation errors in printing. The material is now positioned correctly in die, and the mechanical press will cycle and cut the desired parts. If the parts are cut using a steel rule die or a compound male/female die, they will remain inserted in the waste material. Various types of modules exist to remove these parts and discard the residual scrap web—parts extractors and pneumatic knockouts are commonly used. Using a standard male/female hard tool die results in the die cut parts being pushed through the die and onto a conveyor in a shingled fashion thus eliminating the need for part extraction.

A basic die cutting system for die cutting a variety of automotive part configurations from web materials consists of the following modules:

1. Unwinding Module for roll web material
2. Mechanical Die Cutting Press
3. X, Y or X, Y & Rotation Axis Registration Feed
4. Either a Steel Rule Die or a Standard Male/Female Die or a Compound Male/Female Die can be used
5. Part Removal Module if a Steel Rule Die or a Compound Male/Female Die is used in the system
6. Parts Collection Conveyor
7. Web material Rewind Module

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Laser Cutting Equipment is an excellent alternative many times to the use of die cutting systems to produce cut parts. Laser cutting is normally performed on a wide array of materials that are in web or sheet form where it is desired to cut a complex part. Abrasives, polycarbonates, vinyls, adhesives, thin flimsy materials and many other materials that are difficult to cut to cut by die cutting are good applications.

Intricate part shapes and sharp corners without burnouts can be cut with the Spartanics Finecut Laser Cutting Equipment because our proprietary software provides truly outstanding control of the laser beam during cutting.

Quick change-overs from one job to the next are possible by our easy to use Finecut software which controls all system settings from cut-path to laser power to web tension, in a single integrated control environment. Jobs are saved and recalled with all of their settings-camera registration, lamination pressure, slitting, cutting, rewind tension and batch sizes-as one easy-to-access job file. As a result, it is now possible to do prototyping or run very small jobs on these systems because of the economies provided by this fast job turnaround.

Cut-Path drawings can be generated in a variety of CAD and Illustrator programs and imported directly by the Finecut System software as common DXF and DWG files. Lasers with power ratings ranging from 100 watts up to 1000 watts, spot sizes down to 210 microns in size, and working areas to 600 x 600 are configurable to excel in your applications for kiss cutting, through cutting, engraving, serial numbering, scoring, and perforating providing quality and speed to meet today’s demanding requirements.

Typical Laser Cutting Equipment for laser cutting a variety of configurations of automotive parts from either sheeted or roll fed materials is shown below:

1. Insertion module to introduce material to the laser cutter; web fed, sheet fed, or both.
2. 200 Watt sealed CO2 laser with water cooling
3. 350 x 350 mm (13.8 x 13.8”) effective cutting area
4. Parts Extractor for sheets, a Parts Extractor or Pneumatic Part Knockout along with material rewinding for web material

Options include:
Slitting, waste material stripping (weeding), pressure laminating, and fume scrubbing.