Discover a Range of Knife Cutting Machines for Different Industrial Applications
1. What is CNC Knife Cutting Machine?
1.1 Definition
The combination of oscillating knife, tangential knife, drag knife and router bits make CNC knife cutting machine. This robust cutting tool is designed with greater versatility and used for high-precision cutting of heavier flexible and semi-rigid materials.
This high precision CNC machine is equipped with a variety of knife tools and blades. The blade of this cutting tool moves on the surface of the material as per the configured tool path. You can either move only the knife or both the knife and the material for cutting the material.
From garment to knitting, packaging, graphics, leather, and textile industry, large manufacturing firms are using CNC knife cutting machines to process all types of material involved with the tasks like cutting, routing, creasing, scoring, plotting, punching, etc.
Also known as vinyl cutter or sign cutting machine, the distinguishing characteristics of the machine is that it can cut the material by pressing the tool into the material.
Unlike other tools such as spinning tools, laser heat, or water jet cutting machine, CNC knife cutting machine transfers no heat while cutting the material. As a result, the knives and blades of the machine remain clean, simple and save in different environments.
1.2 Different Kind of Knife Tools and their Functioning?
CNC knife cutting machine also known as digital cutting machine helps in processing a wide range of materials that have more than one cutting head.
With multiple cutting heads, you can ensure that the machine is configured to meet your unique business needs.
When combined with different cutting technologies, the machine provides versatility by offering a routing spindle and two knives that can either be tangential, oscillating drag, vinyl or a combination of them.
1.2.1 Drag Knife: This type of knife is used for cutting different materials at the speed and precision of a CNC router. Drag knife cuts a wide range of materials up to a depth of 1/4 inch. The tip of the blade is slightly offset from the center of the collet so that the knife can rotate as per the moving direction the CNC machine.
From a box cutter blade in a holder to hardened alloy made the blade, this knife is custom-made. Drag knives can be easily fitted as well as replaced but the only trouble that you might face is with abrasive materials. More the material is thicker; the blade may produce increased friction pushing the material out of its place.
1.2.2 Tangential Knife: Apart from the drag knife tool, this type of knife is controlled by a motor. The tangential knife is more robust in nature and process thicker, heavier, and hard materials very smoothly.
It is used for processing both thick and tough materials. Multiple blade options of this knife help in cutting a wide range of harder and heavier materials. It allows the machine to accurately cut square corners and maintain part accuracy.
The tangential knife system has a range of optional and interchangeable blade holders which allows it to cut rubber, composites, duct liner and a mixture of soft and semi-rigid materials.
1.2.3 Oscillating Knife: This type of knife options is considered as one of the most important for businesses that help in processing flexible materials like packaging foam, foam core, gator foam, corrugated plastic, and cardboard.
The oscillating knife slices the material with ease giving clean and fine cut edges with almost 0 percent chance of abrasion.
Oscillating knife system ensures to deliver accurate and even cuts on thicker materials without making excessive cuts. The oscillating knife is versatile in nature and has the ability to cut a wide range of materials maintaining small detail and curves.
1.2.4 Creasing Wheel: Often known as Rotary Blade, it is used for cutting hard to abrasive materials. Hardness is one such benefit of this type of tool.
Owing to its hardness, creasing wheel can resist the abrasive composites and experience less friction.
On the other hand, jagged tools add enough stress while cutting creating deformations like stretches, tear-out, etc.
1.2.5 Kiss Cut Knife: It is one of the special types of tools used for vinyl cutting. The cutting depth of the tool is controlled by downward depth pressure. This type of knife can be easily attached without the need to remove the spindles.
It is an effective plotting machine for creating different patterns on the material. The cutting process is made easier and efficient with the help of kiss cut knife.
CNC knife cutting machine is fully programmable with 360-degree servo rotational capabilities in either a single- or dual-knife configuration. The optional cutting heads include oscillating, drag, kiss-cut, pizza wheel, creasing, and bevel.
Knives are standard on all digital finishing machines and optional on all CNC router and plasma machines. But the functioning of the machine depends on the speed and the variety of material used.
2. Industries that CNC Knife Cutting Machine Serves?
Knife cutting machine has the flexibility to cut the material with high precision. Both small and large scale industries are seeking the help of a CNC knife cutting machine. As compared to manual operations, a CNC machine improves the level of production exponentially.
Industries that a CNC knife cutting machine serves include:
2.1 Leather Industry
Processing leather becomes economical now. Unleash creativity with CNC knife cutting machine. This digital cutting system increases the productivity and flexibility in the leather industry.
Now, you can process leather, shoe sole, lining, and shoe upper with an optimum level of accuracy.
2.2 Fashion and Apparel Industry: Fabric cutting machine have been helping world’s leading apparel manufacturing companies to maximize the quality and profitability and get their products to market at a much faster, smarter and better rate.
2.3 Graphics Industry: Whether cutting out intricate graphics or banners, with the help of advanced digital cutters, cutting and routing have become way easier over the traditional technique.
The cutting solution of the CNC knife cutting machine technology is meticulously designed to meet the needs and deliver both quality and productivity that you expect.
You can create shelf signage, hanging signs, floor graphics, textile fabric banners, vehicle graphics, light boxes, etc., with this new and extraordinary solution.
2.4 Packaging Industry: Packaging plays an important role in protecting the product and ensuring that the product is delivered safely. A good packaging cardboard box, folding boxes, honeycomb boxes, cardboard folder, etc., is created with a versatile and easy to use digital CNC knife cutting It helps in increasing the productivity and efficiency of the company, while reducing the production cost, downtime, and waste. CNC machine helps in converting your ideas into reality and presenting proposed design in a matter of seconds.
2.5 Textile Industry: No matter what type of textiles you need to cut, CNC knife cutting machine help you do it faster and more efficiently.
Garments, upholstery, airbags, flags, sun-shades/umbrellas, car, and airplane seats, are a few applications of this industry.
Be it paper-made, cardboard, or plastic-made textile, knife cutting machine a variety of textile materials with flawless precision.
2.6 Honeycomb Cardboard Industry: OMNI CNC knife cutting machine helps in automating their design and cutting processes to improve the productivity and minimize labor.
CNC knife cutting machine can produce beautiful designs maintaining the correspondence of the design with utmost precision.
Fit for cutting complex patterns on honeycomb cardboard maintaining high precision while cutting. As compared to laser cutting machine, oscillating knife cutting machine makes smooth and clean edges.
It neither causes smoke nor any sort of smell while cutting. User-friendly is one of best features of this machine.
2.7 Composite Industry: Manufacture products with perfection with the help of CNC knife cutting machine. This highly advanced machine offers you a modular, flexible, cost-effective expandable cutting system for processing various materials that too with such an impeccable precision.
It offers a robust and tailor-made solution for industrial applications such as defense, functional textiles, rotor blades for wind wheels, aircraft, and automotive parts, etc.
2.9 Felt Cutting
2.10 Tool Foam Shadow Box Cutting
Get Shadow Box Cutting Solution
2.11 Carpet & Foot Mat Cutting
2.12 PVC Film Cutting
3. Advantages and Shortcomings
3.1 Advantages
3.1.1 High Precision: The multiple spindle motor saves the time of the tool and enables to mass production.
This advanced tool performs at a higher speed with 5-8 times faster-cutting speed. Whether you are cutting composites, canvas, laminates, textiles, CNC cutting machines offer unsurpassed speed, consistency, and reliability than ever before.
This type machine is widely used in the clothing industry, shoes making the industry, apparel and fashion cloth industry, automotive interior industry, luggage industry, package industry, decoration industry, electronic industry, composite materials industry etc.
The automatic functioning of this machine reduces the labor and time incurred in performing the task. It also increases the efficiency and streamlines the task that was once run in a haphazard manner.
3.1.2 Environment-Friendly: Unlike CNC laser and routing machines, CNC knife cutting machine is environment-friendly.
It spreads no harmful gases or transfers no heat while cutting the material while other tools cut the material with spinning tools, laser heat, or water jets. Consequently, CNC knives are safe to use in different environments and easy to maintain.
This digital cutting machine operates according to digitally programmed tool paths. It cuts the material either by moving only the knife and sticking the material to the machine or moving both the knife and the material.
3.1.3 Perfect Cutting Edge: CNC knife cutting machine produces smooth cutting edges without any burr. Unlike laser or routing machines, knife cutting machine produces no burning effect or burnt yellow edge while cutting the material.
There is absolutely no need to polish the cutting edges as the degree of each cut is perfect.
This machine also allows cutting square corners, angled edges, semicircles and segmental arcs with extreme precision. CNC knife cutting machine boosts your capacity for innovation and convinces customers with extraordinary solutions.
It helps in increasing efficiency, reducing the cycle time, and reducing the wastage of material.
3.2 Shortcomings
3.2.1 Inappropriate for Hard Materials: Suitable only for soft to semi-rigid materials, CNC knife cutting machine cannot work on heavy material.
Cutting low ductile and highly tough materials would mean damaging the smoothness of the oscillating blades.
CNC knife cutting machine is also suitable for cutting large textiles since the machine is combined with a spindle head as a complementary for large textiles.
This advanced machine has knife blades in different sizes and geometries to handle different material and thicknesses.
Well, well, OMNI present another cnc knife cutting machine, which combine knife cutting function and router together. So for materials that cnc knife can not cut, router spindle will complete the tasks. This makes Knife- Router – Hybrid CNC machine a perfect option.
4. Latest Trend
Today, more and more businesses are interested in CNC model owing to its growing popularity. The rise of new technologies has brought a radical change in the field of cutting, etching, carving, and engraving.
CNC machines and other machining tools have prompted the manufacturers to develop more versatile and efficient machining tools. CNC machines have revolutionized the process of cutting which was once done manually.
This technology has brought a sweeping change in term of production and accuracy and significantly raised the quality and throughput of factories around the world.
Less delivery time and increasing production rate have tremendously increased the demand of the CNC machines. CNC knife cutting machines exponentially increases your capabilities with automatic, precise, and efficient processing of a wide range of rigid, flexible, and foldable materials.
With a varied range of applications such as high-speed cutting, routing, creasing/scoring, and complex kiss-cutting/through-cutting, OMNI CNC delivers ultimate production flexibility and throughput.
Anyone who has a manufacturing firm/industry will know how important it is to automate business solutions. CNC router is a smart investment and an important edge in the competitive market.
Unlike conventional machine tools, digital cutters have the ability to perform multiple operations in one go. The entire process is done within the single machine and this obviates that the need to move the tools from one machine to another.
In the bottom-line, to achieve higher productivity with lower costs, it is very important for business to incorporate a type of machining solution inclusive of multi-function capabilities.
Good quality machines can reduce your production set-up, lead time, and also reduce manufacturing time. OMNI CNC provides the industry with innovative solutions with the mission to automate the cutting process and increase the productivity of the industry.
Reference Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e_pACBtnxY&t=1s
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