U.S. Cutting Dies and Graphics

Over the past thirty years, the process of manufacturing cutting dies has remained tried and true. What has changed is the information needed to increase efficiency and output. As companies rely on partnerships for better pricing, they seldom look at the true cost of a cutting die. How quickly a die sets up and most importantly, how it can improve your run speed on your equipment is where the true cost lies.

To increase your productivity, your cutting die suppliers should be able to help you with an onsite pricing program in order to expedite pricing, a tracking system to follow orders through the manufacturing process, ensuring on time arrival, and most importantly to train your press operators on mounting and efficiently running dies thus increasing productivity.

Companies are trying to save 20 percent on a single cutting die expense while spending 20 percent every day on sub-optimized run times. Companies acquire multi-million dollar machines with machine times valued at more than $600 an hour and then go out and purchase the cheapest cutting die available to run at 75 percent of the machines capability.

Not all machines are created equal and not all companies have the luxury of having employees with 20 years of experience to help them through the tough jobs. With the expertise of your die supplier, you should be able to successfully manufacture your cutting dies on time, on budget and with little waste. Expect the following from your cutting die supplier:

1.  Accurate Pricing The pricing of cutting dies has been by the inch over the last 20 years. You should ask your Cutting Die supplier about installing a pricing program that will calculate the rule in a cutting die and give you a price. This will allow your people to control what you are paying and limit the valuable time lost from multiple sales representatives coming in and quoting the job. These programs can be used on approximately 90 percent of the work done. There are very few exceptions with today’s automated improvements.

2.  Die Tracking Most Cutting die shops are set up with a tracking system so that dies can be tracked internally. Some Die shops open a web portal for their customers to view their orders in order to track them anytime of day. This saves countless hours in customer service.

3.  Die Mounting There are proper ways to mount flat and rotary dies. Most companies spend very little time teaching their employees how to mount a die. The reason most employees mount a die the way they do is simply because that is how the last person showed them. Instead, proper mounting instructions should be taught in depth in order to trouble shoot problems that arise. Most companies do not realize that two piece rotary dies mount opposite of one piece dies. Properly mounting a cutting die can save 15 to 25 percent of the set up time. Your die supplier should be able to come in and give seminars on die mounting to help with your operator’s ongoing education.

4.  Die Rubbering This is the most critical component of a cutting die. It becomes more apparent on rotary dies than flat dies. In most flat dies the rubber is used to keep the scrap in place until it comes to a stripping unit, where the scrap is ejected. For machines that do not have a stripping unit, they will be hand stripped and it is necessary for the scrap to stay together until that point. Proper rubber choice and placement is the key to a successfully running a job of this nature.

On a rotary die, the scrap is ejected by the rubber. If a rotary die is rubbered improperly the run speed will be severely hampered. Rubber placement is extremely critical. There is a crucial methodology that must be followed when rubbering a rotary die. Unfortunately most press operators have never been trained on how to rubber a die, yet they are expected to keep run times at near maximum levels. Your cutting die supplier should be able to provide in-depth training on rubbering techniques and what materials to use. I have experienced 25 percent better run speed based on the way a die is rubbered and having a properly trained crew. Operators need to know what to do when a product is not properly stripping. Your cutting die supplier needs to make sure your personnel is equipped with both materials and knowledge.

What is unfortunate is there are very few true partnerships in the corrugated tooling business. It is always about the best price of a die and how someone can do it cheaper. What you end up with is a customer service person ordering an inferior product based on price and leaving the production department to deal with the problems. Corrugated box manufacturers need work with their cutting die supplier and insist on training programs that will increase run times on their machines. Work together to improve quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction and consider whether saving 10 or 15 percent on the die cost is really worth it in the long run.

If companies spent an extra $150 on a $1000 die, but increased there run speed by 10 percent, they would save an hour of machine time ($600) every 100,000 feeds -- clearly an easy value proposition for both manufacturer and customer.