"Specialty Specialty" is a core criterion in the slitting industry, and materials with different characteristics must be equipped with matching processes, blades, and equipment settings. Both washable marks and resin-based ribbons are materials that require extremely high slitting precision, and any imperfections can directly affect the final print result and customer experience.
Special slitting technology solutions for specialized materials
1. Material Characterization (Knowing Yourself and Knowing Your Enemy)
1. Washable Label
◦ Substrate characteristics: usually soft textiles (such as ribbon, nylon, cotton), non-woven fabrics or specially coated papers. The material is soft and elastic, the edges are easy to fluff, and the fibers are easy to fall off.
◦ Slitting Challenges:
▪ Burr/loose edges: Unsharp blades or improper craftsmanship can lead to loose edge fibers, affecting aesthetics and use (eCard printers).
▪ Deformation: Improper tension control can easily lead to tensile deformation of the material, resulting in printing registration difficulties.
▪ Contamination: Debris and dust generated during the slitting process can contaminate the material surface and printhead.
2. Resin Ribbon
◦ Coating characteristics: Ink coatings based on resin have a hard and brittle texture. It is mainly used for labels in extreme environments, such as high temperature resistance, chemical resistance, and scratch resistance.
◦ Slitting Challenges:
▪ Bursting/chipping: Blade impact or excessive pressure can cause brittle ink layers to crack and fall off, forming jagged edges and white lines when printing.
▪ Cutting through the inner core: Excessive winding tension or too deep knife pressure may cut the paper core, resulting in ribbon breakage.
▪ Dust: Brittle inks are prone to dust when slitting, polluting the working environment and affecting print quality.
2. Core slitting technology solutions (prescribing the right medicine)
| Technical links | Wash mark slitting scheme | Resin-based ribbon slitting scheme |
| 1. Slitting method | Preferred: Rotary Shear Cutting
uses a double circular knife (upper and lower cutterheads) to cut in a "scissor style".
Advantages: Low shear force, less extrusion on the material, can effectively avoid deformation and fluffing of soft materials. | Preferred: Razor Slitting uses
a single-edge razor blade or an ultra-thin flat knife for overhanging cuts.
Advantages: Instantaneous cutting, minimal impact on brittle materials, and smooth and non-chipping cutting surfaces. |
| 2. Blade selection | Material: Powder metallurgy steel with high hardness and high wear resistance (such as CPM series).
Cutting edge: sharp edge at a large angle (such as 45°-60°). Thicker edges have high strength, are less likely to chip when cutting fibers, and can effectively press down on fibers and reduce burrs.
Treatment: Mirror polishing to reduce friction resistance. | Material: Supercarbide (tungsten) blade or ceramic blade.
Cutting edge: extremely sharp small angle (such as below 30°) cutting edge. The cutting edge is required to have no microscopic notches to achieve "clean and neat" cutting and avoid squeezing edge chipping.
Processing: High-precision grinding to ensure the straightness of the cutting edge. |
| 3. Tension control | The principle of "low tension and high precision".
A full closed-loop servo tension control system is used to keep the tension constant and slight. The starting and ending tensions need to be set precisely to prevent the coil from "indenting" or "strangling" marks. Excessive tension is the primary cause of deformation of washed marks. | The principle of "medium tension and stable attenuation".
The tension can be slightly higher than that of a washed mark, but it must be extremely stable and free of any fluctuations. As the coil diameter increases, the tension needs to decrease linearly. Any tension peaks can cause brittle ribbon breakage or core crushing. | |
| 4. Winding method | Preferred: Center Winding
is more suitable for soft, deformable materials with a neat coil shape that avoids surface friction damage.
Recommended fit: Use sponge sleeves or EPE foam core tubes, whose elasticity can adaptively adjust the winding pressure to prevent indentation. | Preferred: Surface Winding is
driven by friction rollers, which can provide a more stable and uniform winding force, effectively avoid the phenomenon of "cabbage heart" (tight inside and loose outside), and ensure the consistent hardness of the coil inside and outside. |
| 5. Environment and Assistance | Cleanliness is essential!
Install an electrostatic eliminator to prevent fibers from absorbing dust and winding equipment.
Equipped with a vacuum cleaner to immediately suck up fiber debris at the slitting point.
Keep the ambient humidity stable and prevent moisture absorption and deformation of the material. | Dust protection is the number one priority!
The slitter must be equipped with a powerful vacuum system that sucks up ink dust directly from the edge of the knife.
The environment needs to maintain constant temperature and humidity to prevent the ribbon from being damp or over-drying to aggravate brittleness. |
3. Key control points of the process
1. Preparation:
◦ Confirm the material specifications (width, length, inner diameter of the core).
◦ Select the specified blade and confirm that the blade is thoroughly cleaned and free of residue.
◦ Clean all guide rollers, tension sensors with alcohol and a dust-free cloth.
2. Parameter setting and debugging:
◦ Wash mark: Start debugging with low tension, low speed, and shallow tool depth. Slowly increase the speed, observe the quality of the facet, and fine-tune the amount of blade overlap (for round knives) or depth of cut (for flat knives) until the cut edge is smooth and burr-free.
◦ Resin-based ribbon: Set medium tension and medium speed. The knife pressure is small rather than large, and it is just enough to cut it completely. After starting slitting, check the trimming edges of the first few meters of the product with a magnifying glass to ensure that there are no chipping before increasing to normal speed.
3. Online Monitoring and Quality Control:
◦ Must be equipped with a CCD in-line inspection system or a high-light LED lamp to monitor the quality of the slitting edge (burrs, chips) and curling defects (bumps, scratches) in real time.
◦ The operator needs to take samples regularly (such as per volume) and use a 40x microscope to check the shape of the section.
4. Blanking and packaging:
◦ Use film to wrap the packaging to avoid moisture and contamination.
◦ Paste the logo to clearly indicate the material model, specification, slitting date, batch number, etc., to achieve quality traceability.
summary
• Washed mark slitting core: anti-fluffing, anti-deformation. The key is circular knife shearing, large-angle wear blades, ultra-low and constant tension control, and efficient cleaning and dust removal.
• Resin-based ribbon slitting core: anti-chipping and dust-free. The key is flat cut, ultra-sharp super-hard blades, smooth tension decay and powerful vacuuming.
The implementation of the "special material special" slitting scheme can not only greatly improve product yield and reduce waste, but also provide customers with high-quality core consumables and enhance market competitiveness. Investing in the right slitting technology and precision equipment is an essential choice for businesses specializing in this type of material processing.
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