PL … CL OS E R TO YO U .

Hints and conditions for a good cut

CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Kindly supported by
 POLAR | 3

This information was published by Times have changed 4

POLAR-MOHR, 65702 Hofheim/Taunus.
All values indicated were obtained on Knife angles from 1960 to 2005 4
POLAR high-speed cutters.
The statements in this brochure have Cutting problems and their frequency 5
been checked with the utmost care, Rise in hard fillers 5
but no liability can be accepted for the
correctness of the information provided. Main characteristics of the knife 6

Revised edition 2006 Choosing a correct knife angle 7

Servicing and maintenance of the knife 7

Dressing the knife (standard / HSS qualities) 7

Manual dressing 8

Mechanical dressing 9

Hints for the knife grinder 10

Typical symptoms resulting from grinding errors 12

Summary of the grinding data 12

Instructions for grinding carbide-tipped knives 13

Dressing carbide-tipped knives 14

elation of steel quality and service life of knife 14

Guidelines for selecting the proper cutting angle 14

Soft cutting materials 15

Regular cutting materials 17

Hard cutting materials 17

Cutting differences caused by thickness variations of the material to be cut 17

Working with false clamp plate 18

When is a knife blunt? 18

The cutting stick 19

Cutting data on various materials 20

Paper 20

Cardboards 21

Plastic materials 21

Rubber, textiles, wood, metal 22

Other materials 22
4 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Times have changed ... The demands on state-of-theart The experience gained on POLAR
high-speed cutters vary as much as high-speed cutters over many years
In the past there have been hardly the materials to be cut. They should has been compiled in this brochure.
any questions about cutting prob- perform cutting with hairline accur- Even if some materials have not been
lems. People usually processed paper, acy, quickly cutting big and small considered we trust that our tables
sometimes thin cardboard or glassine jobs alike and above all it should be will give you the necessary informa-
paper, but there has never been the capable of cutting every kind of tion for performing well with your
variety of materials that we have material. POLAR cutter.
today.
Your customers pay more and more If you should have any problems,
Nowadays the question is rather: attention to the printing and cutting please let us have a cutting sample.
What kind of material cannot be cut quality of even a small printed job. In urgent cases give us a call.
on a POLAR? They notice whether the cut is
straight or uneven. We are quite sure that we or
In fact, all kinds of material can be our nearest agency can quickly
cut, whether thin stencil duplicator Your customers do not only demand help you ...
paper or plastic sheet and plates, good printing.
floor covering materials, metal foils
or plywood. A high-speed cutter is expected to
perform a precise and clean cut and
Thick wooden veneers which pre- to be constructed very sturdily in
viously had to be cut by saws can order to cut even the hardest mate-
now also be cut on highspeed cutting rials accurately. POLAR comes up to
machines, with an amazing accuracy fulfill these expectations.
and without waste.
Cutting problems which arise all the
same are usually caused by a poorly
adjusted clamping pressure, a wrong
knife angle, improper knife quality or
blunt knives.

Knife angle
The physical changes of the products to be cut cause the knife's angular
geometries to change.

1960: 1975: 1980: 1990 until 2005:

21° 22° 23° 24°
 POLAR | 5

Cutting problems Cutting results which are all the same

and their frequency of occurrence beyond the desired tolerances require
special knife angles and the matching
When the high-speed cutter is knife qualities.
working perfectly and operated
correctly most cutting problems A correctly adjusted clamping pres-
arise in connection with the knife. sure and the proper cutting stick also
have a highly positive influence on
The most common knives (HSS, the cutting quality.
carbide-tipped knives and finest
grain), and the relevant grinding
angles allow to deal with most of
the available cutting materials.

Share Subject Explanation

70 % Knife Wrong knife angle, or knife quality does not fit the material to be cut
14 % Paper and other Continuous advancement of papers (paper coating) for improved printability.
materials to be cut This requires experience with constantly changing applications (knife angle,
knife qualities, height compensation when clamping the paper). Special cutting
materials.
6% Climate Climate-related faults in finishing, such as stress within the material to be cut
which have uncontrollable consequences for the measurements
(humidity/temperature; as a rule of thumb, a 10 % change in humidity results
in a 0.1% deformation of the material to be cut)
4% Modified Shortest job cycle times. Poorly dried run.
production conditions This makes finishing much more difficult.
3% Lay guide from printing Development of machine features for production management
Lay guide of paper and support
2% Instruction and training Cutting training courses where operators learn to understand the practice
of machine staff oriented application of machine functions, such as the proper clamping
pressure adjustment, backgauge compensation, cut correction, difference of
positions etc. for improving both product and production
2% Professional service Proper installation of the machine (angled position, general machine
geometry), production supporting service with advice for application

Continuous rise in hard fillers

Cutting problems also arise frequent-

ly in connection with the materials to
be cut some of the reasons being
that the paper contains a higher
amount of fillers that make cutting
more difficult.

Fig:
Paper with a 42 % share of corundum (48.5 g/m2)
6 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Main characteristics of the knife

according to DIN 8869:
β
1 α

1 Knife body - body

2 Cutting coating – steeling –
hard-metal coating 2 5
3 Cutting surface = flank –
cutting side
4 First face – bevel – first facet
3
5 Cutting surface = pressure surface
– facet - face
b Faces – angle of the bevel –
first facet F

a Wedge angle – angle of facet

F Width of bevel 4

Sequence of cutting operation

knife bar
1. Positioning
2. Clamping
3. Cutting clamp
(swing cut)

backgauge stop

knife

cutting stick
 POLAR | 7

Choosing a correct Servicing and maintenance Dressing the knife

knife angle of the knife (Standard/HSS qualities)

In the operation of modern high- The knife should always be carefully After the knife has been ground it
speed cutters it is unavoidable that kept in its special box must be carefully dressed, because
cutting differences are encountered this is decisive for the quality of the
occasionally, in spite of accurate 1. for reasons of safety and cut and the service life of the knife.
achine adjustment and most careful
alignment of the material to be cut 2. for protecting the knife, so that Rectangular grindstones are used for
by the operator. the cutting edge will not be dressing, which must not be too small
damaged. in order to avoid canting.
The reason is to be found in the vary-
ing characteristics of the material to When a knife is to be replaced it For removing the grinding burr we
be cut. It would, therefore, be ideal if must never be put on the machine recommend a stone with a fine and
only one particular material were table without underlaying a card- soft graining, for finishing use an
processed on one particular machine. board or wooden support. The sur- Arkansas oil stone.
faces of both the knife and the knife
Different materials require different bar must be completely free from For dressing the knife should be
knife angles and it is difficult to burrs and dirt. placed on a flat surface to ensure
determine the correct knife angle if that the dressing stone can be moved
all sorts of material are to be cut The threaded fixing holes in the knife along the cutting edge securely and
successively at short intervals of time. and the knife screws which ensure precisely.
the firm and precise seating of the
In such cases a mean knife angle of knife should be kept in perfect con- Uneven and insecure placing can
24° is recommended. If the customer dition. lead to imperfect dressing and cause
does not explicitly order another serious injury, because you can easily
knife angle the Polar HSS knives are At first, all knife screws are only get hurt by the sharp knife edge.
delivered with an angle of 24°. This tightened slightly to avoid damage
also applies to the standard equip- during their final firm tightening. Prior to dressing it is of utmost
ment of new POLAR highspeed cutters. importance to clean the knife
As soon as the knife has been screwed thoroughly. The same applies to the
The correct cutting angle and suitable down tightly and all tools have been dressing stone. By storing the stone
knife quality determine to a large removed from the machine table the immersed in a kerosene-oil mix the
extent the cutting quality and econo- knife can be adjusted. stone is always kept clean.
mical operation of the high-speed
cutter. At its lowest position the knife must Care must be taken that there are no
be adjusted in such a way that it is in indentations or grooves in the stone
parallel with the machine table, which might damage the cutting
slightly touching the cutting stick. edge and cause imperfect dressing.

The cutting stick must have been re- Defective stones can be used again
versed or replaced before this is done. after they have been newly ground.

Please observe the information given

in the corresponding operating in-
structions of the high-speed cutter.
8 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Manual Dressing

On dressing, care must be taken that

the grindstone is laid flat against the
back of the knife. If the stone is not
placed flat against the back of the
knife, the cutting edge will break away
from the back causing the knife to
divert from the cutting line which is
extremely undesirable. A so-called
“sagging edge” will be formed –
with the consequence of a resulting
overcut.

In circular motions and with

somewhat light pressure the burr
is upended.

On the face of the knife the stone is

slightly tilted and the burrs are re-
moved with circular motions (against
the cutting edge). Too much tilting
would blunt the knife.

As soon as the burr has been com-

pletely removed and the knife edge
perfectly smoothed both sides of the
knife are subsequently treated with
the Arkansas oilstone as described
above.
 POLAR | 9

Mechanical dressing
(Not for carbide tipped knives HM)

When knives are handled inexpertly

mistakes are often made in manual
dressing and this leads to cutting
problems. We therefore recommend
to use a mechanical knife dresser.

When using this device a con-

tinuously compressed cutting edge
is achieved over the complete length
of the knife after the first dressing
(removal of burr).

For mechanical dressing use standard

machine oil to obtain an improved
dressing result.

Please make absolutely sure that the

Arkansas stones at the mechanical
knife dresser are without any notches
and run absolutely parallel to the
back of the knife, because otherwise
a sagging edge may be formed.
10 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Hints for the knife grinder Upon grinding special attention must 8| Grinding wheels
be paid that plenty of cooling water The enormous variety of wheels
1| Grinding machine is supplied. The best way is a supply with different grain, hardness
The first requirement is a grind- through the motor shaft or carefully and bonding seems confusing at first
ing machine heavy and solid enough directed from outside onto the grind- sight. The following information will
to absorb unavoidable vibrations. ing spot. assist in choosing suitable wheels:
The clamping beam for the knife
must be absolutely plane, parallel to 4| The grinding spindle should be a) Grains are graduated from 8 to
the grinding level and free of flexing. equipped with bearings which 800 according to DIN standard 69100,
are either self-adjusting or automati- i.e. from coarse to very fine.
The quality of a grinding machine cally secured against axial thrust, For machine knives only medium sizes
can be quickly checked by the because axial play reduces the quality from approx. 36 to 60 apply, with “60”
following method: when grinding cups or rings are used. almost resulting in polishing.
Accumulated shavings when com- The grinding cups or rings must be
pressed by hand, should spring back perfectly concentric and should be b) Hardness graduations according
(like steelwool) to indicate that the well balanced in order to prevent to DIN standard 69100 are distin-
machine is of good quality. Shavings wobble or avoidable shaking. guished by letters from A to Z. Only
which stay compressed point to the soft grades for guillotines, i.e. H
vibration within the machine or to 5| The feed should be performed by to K are used for this purpose.
the use of unsuitable grinding media. the grinding head, not by the
Both these factors support burning machine table, unless its adjustment c) In accordance with international
on the grinding surface. is done with parallel faces by one standards the grain is marked by a
single element. The feed must be number. The smaller this number the
2| The feed of the grinding sledge automatically limitable and variable. less distance is there between one
must be performed easily grain and the other. Consequently,
without canting and jerking when 6| Operating controls should be small numbers are unsuitable. “Open”
switched over (constant speed). arranged together at a central structures are preferred, because they
position within convenient reach of do not have a tendency to sticking.
3| A large clear scale at the clamp- the operator and at a point from
ing beam should allow direct which the operator has a close con- d) Bondings according to DIN
reading of the bevel. The knife clamp- trol over the actual working area. 69100 are marked by abbreviations.
ing device must securely hold the The most common bondings are:
knife parallel to the grinding level. 7| The cooling pump must at all
The knife must be clamped with its times supply a strong, full Artificial resin Ba
bevel facing upward. coolant flow directly onto the grind-
With standard/HSS knives the direc- ing spot. A sufficiently large coolant Rubber Gu
tion of rotation of the grinding wheel tank equipped with a filtering device Magnesite Mg
is selected in such a way that grind- which allows removal of the grinding
ing is performed away from the knife. sludge is essential. Natural resin Nh
An integrated wheel dressing tool The artificial resin bonding (Ba)
Grinding against the knife edge should be part of the machine, be-
might cause nicks resulting from the cause it is indispensable for sharpen- is best suited for guillotine knives.
abrasive grains breaking out. ing the wheels in case of glazing and
Such fine nicks are only noticed for dressing the working area of the
during dressing. wheel.
Well selected grinding wheels ensure
For carbide tipped knives the op- that the wheels do not load during
posite direction of rotation is selected the grinding process and therefore do
(i.e. against the edge). not require dressing.
 POLAR | 11

e) Frequently used abrasives 9| Coolant. excessively ground, i.e. if there is no

according to DIN 69100: It is not recommendable to use infeed and the wheel is repeatedly
clear water as a coolant, since the led along the knife edge without bite.
Normal corundum NK ground object as well as the machine
would corrode very quickly. The main Burning defects of the knives are
Semi-refinded corundum HK purpose of the coolant is not only to not always, nor immediately, recog-
Refined corundum EK cool the point of working contact, nizable. It may take one or two more
but also to wash the grinding wheel resharpenings before the damage be-
Silicon carbide, dark SiCg and prevent the formation of rust. comes evident by breaking (chipping)
These fundamental functions are of the cutting edge.
The only suitable abrasives for further facilitated if a special cooling
guillotine knives are corundums media is added to the water. Knife When starting the sharpening opera-
(NK, HK, EK). and machine are protected against tion the grinding wheel must care-
corrosion without being greasy or fully be brought into contact with
Improperly selected grinding wheels sticky. High quality cooling oils mix the knife and the reverse movement
may damage the knives. The grain into a milky or waterclear emulsion of the machine table must take place
bonding must release grains before and their specific properties bind dirt outside the grinding zone.
these become completely blunt. and prevent loading of the stone. The
full coolant flow should be directed Care must be taken that the stone
Otherwise they have a polishing onto the grinding wheel, just in front does not stop anywhere on the
effect creating excessive heat. The of the grinding contact. Drip cooling grinding zone, i.e. grinding must be
distance between grains is of im- is ineffective. done speedily. Sharpening is com-
portance. High local temperatures as pleted when all notches have been
encountered on grinding have harm- 10| Cleanliness. removed from the knife edge, the
ful consequences, increasing in sever- The best combination of grind- grinding surface shows a silvery shine
ity with the alloy quality of knives. ing machine, grinding wheel and and a fine burr is formed on the back
coolant becomes ineffective if dirt is of the cutting edge. Any additional
The porosity of the grinding wheel allowed to accumulate. Dirt and steel grinding is unnecessary and shortens
controls “glazing” (loading). Fine steel shavings delivered with the coolant the life span of the knife. For these
particles – or even worse – iron par- will adversely affect the grinding reasons, the entire grinding operation
ticles clog the pores when these are result, despite the fact that a first- must be watched very closely in order
too small. This has the same effect as class grinding wheel is employed. to avoid the faults described.
wheels with too hard a bonding, i.e.
generation of excessive heat! 11| Straightening the knives The infeed of the grinding wheel
Before grinding, check if the (for standard/HSS knives) should
Consequently, the first requirement is knife is straight. Knives which are never be performed outside the
to use wheels which keep “open” and bent by more than 1 mm have to be grinding zone, because the grind-
clean. The higher wheel consumption straightened first. Roller flattening stone will be damaged and the first
possibly resulting is offset by the machines are perfectly suitable for segment of the grinding zone be-
avoidance of major consequential this. Dressing by hammer should only come coarse. For HM knives, infeed is
difficulties. be made with knives made of solid generally done outside the grinding
chromium steel. zone.

12| Attention must be paid at all

times during machine operation,
even after well performed setting. If
an interruption of the coolant supply
or blunting of the grinding wheel is
not detected at once, the knife will
be burned and rendered useless. A
similar danger exists if a knife is
12 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

13| Sparking out means a feed d) More dangerous, because very The colour of these spots indicates
movement without infeed. hard to trace, are the “notorious” a temperature of 200° to 300° C
If sparking out is done correctly it brownish yellow grinding spots on (or above). Strange is their round or
results in a smooth surface of the the knife bevel. They indicate that oval shape the size of a small pea
knife bevel. For a larger area or excessive heat was generated when or bean. Although one single grinding
harder stone use a shorter sparking the knife was ground. This is mostly stroke with an “open” stone is suffi-
out period. If striations show after caused by: cient to erase the colour the fault
the procedure sparking out has been remains in the knife.
done improperly or an inadequate – too hard grinding wheels,
stone has been used. – blunt grinding wheels, To avoid subsequent chipping of
– loaded grinding wheels, such a knife during cutting opera-
Typical symptoms resulting from – contaminated coolant tions, the knife must be drastically
grinding errors or, re-machined with an open, soft
– improper sparking out. stone, until all tension flaws have
a) Uneven grinding sound and completely disappeared.
varying spark density indicate that
the knife is out of parallel with the
grinding level.
Summary of Grinding Data
b) If the ends of the knife edge are
protruding when fixing it into the Grinding cups or wheels
grinding machine this indicates a Normal steel/knives
flexing of the clamp beam in the Swedish steel knives
centre part or worn machine table HSS-knives Steel knives
guidings. As a consequence, the
middle of the cutting edge will be Abrasive NK, EK NK, EK
concave ground which means that Grain 40 - 60 40 - 46
the knife cannot be positioned evenly
over the complete length of the Hardness Jot – L G
cutting stick and hence its centre Structure 8 – 14 14
part will not cut through.
Bonding Ba Ba
c) Brown or blue colouring of the Circumferential
knife near the cutting edge results speed m/sec 18 – 26 18 – 26
from overheating caused by
Transfer or table
– excessive infeed, speed m/min. 15 – 25 15 – 25
– excessive feed, Infeed in mm 0.01 – 0.03 0.01 – 0.03
– insufficient cooling,
– unsuitable abrasives,
– loaded or blunt grinding
wheels.

To recover burned knives, the blushed

areas must be completely removed
with a coarse, open stone and the
knife subsequently finished in the
normal manner.
 POLAR | 13

Instructions for grinding carbide 1st Pass

tipped knives (HM)
Reliefgrinding of the steel carrier
The grinding of carbide tipped (hard body.
metal) knives requires up to 3 passes
(using different grindstones). Grindstone diametre: 100 mm
(grain 60, hardness M, Ba)

(lf 0.5–1.0 mm is ground at a time,

this is sufficient for regrinding the
hard metal insert 3 to 4 times)

Transfer or table speed: 14 m/min.

Infeed: 0.01 mm
(Proceed similar to normal steel,
Swedish steel and HSS knives).

2nd Pass

Grinding the carbide tipped insert

(rough grinding/finish grinding)

Grindstone diametre 200 mm

(D 91, C75, Ba).

Transfer or table speed: 14 m/min.

(for sparking out: 1 m/min.)

Infeed: 0.01 mm
(outside grinding zone!)

3rd Pass

Grinding the bevel

(HM, 0.5 to max. 1 mm)

Grindstone diametre: 200 mm

(D 15, C50, Ba)

Transfer or table speed:

250 mm/min.
(for deep grinding;
otherwise: 5m/min.)

Infeed: The grinding of the bevel is

done in one pass (deep grinding,
one double stroke approx. 0.1 mm).
14 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Dressing carbide tipped Relation of steel quality and Due to their high proportion of alloy
(hard metal) knives (HM) service life of the knife elements HSS-18 knives provide the
advantage of a considerably longer
The decision to dress carbide- Knives are available in various service life and a higher stability of
tipped knives at all depends upon qualities: the cutting edge.
the material to be cut.
Dressing stone: 1. Low-alloy steels (Swedish steel) Carbide-tipped knives even exceed the
round, approx. 30 mm in diametre service lifetimes of HSS-W 18 knives,
(special manual lap D 7). 2. High-alloy steels (HSS) but their edges are more sensitive.
3. Carbide tipped knives
(standard grain) Ultra-finest grain hard metal of the
most recent generations even provide
4. Finest-grain hard metal longer service lifetimes than hard
5. Ultra-finest grain hard metal metal. Their high elasticity make
= UFK hard metal them suitable for almost any material
to be cut.
The above listed qualities are com-
posite materials. Alloys of varying
qualities are applied onto non- Guidelines for selecting the proper
hardened bodies. Available are low- cutting angle
alloy tool steels for standard knives,
super-speed steels with a tungsten The knife angle depends upon the
content of 18 % (HSS 18 knives) and characteristics of the material to be
sintered hard metals (carbide tipped cut. Basic rule:
knives).
• soft material =
Standard and HSS 18 knives are narrow angle
basically suitable for any material to • hard material =
be cut. Both qualities allow variations wide angle
of the cutting angles and the use
of narrow angles if suitable for the The cutting angles are usually
corresponding material. selected between 17° and 30°.

Knife qualities
Quality Service lifetime Hardness Composite
Standard 1 59-61 HRC rolled
(Swedish steel)
18 % HSS Stahl >3 62-64 HRC rolled/
(superspeed steel) soldered
Hard metal (standard) > 10 1100 HV 10 soldered

Finest-grain hard metal > 15 1330 HV 10 soldered

Ultra finest-grain > 20 1500 HV 10 soldered/

hard metal bonded
 POLAR | 15

Soft cutting materials

Soft materials, such as e.g. flimsy,

stencil duplicator paper, tissue and
blotting paper show characteristics
which can be very troublesome when
cutting the material:

1. Bad sliding properties

2. High air volume in pile
3. The material softness itself.

Concerning 1:

Owing to its bad sliding properties

the material is jammed in front of
the knife, blocking it and creating
excessive cutting pressure.

It should be observed that such

materials should always be placed on
the left-hand side of the machine-
table when the knife moves from left
to right.

Otherwise, i.e. when placing the

material on the right-hand side, the
jam will be increased, because the
right-hand side gauge would impair
the material flow even more.
16 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Concerning 2 and 3: As shown in the sketches a blunt However, it is not only the knife
knife exerts a much higher pulling that influences cutting quality.
Owing to the high air volume and force than a sharp one. The clamp as well as the clamping
the material softness the knife tends pressure also play an important part.
to pull the material from beneath the
clamp during the cutting cycle. Basic rule:

This occurrence leads to an “over-cut”. soft material =

In other words the upper layers of high clamping pressure
the ream are cut shorter than the
lower ones. To prevent this a narrow hard material =
cutting angle and/or increased low clamping pressure
pressure time is required.
The clamping pressure is infinitely
Further improvement can be variable between 150 and 7000daN.
achieved by giving the knife bevel a If high pressure is exerted on soft
particularly smooth surface finish. material the clamp rake will cause
deformation of the material tobe cut.

This disadvantage can be overcome

to a great extent by applying a false
clamp plate. In particularly difficult
cases a cardboard strip, 4 to 5 mm
thick, can be glued under the false
clamp plate. This strip should be
smoothly tapered towards the rear.
 POLAR | 17

Regular cutting materials Hard cutting materials Cutting differences caused

by thickness variations of the
“Regular materials” comprise such When processing hard materials, such materialto be cut
stock which can be properly pro- as art papers, gummed papers, card-
cessed with a knife angle of 24° and board or plastic foils the knife may Convex or concave cuts result from
a mean clamping pressure. Such deflect during the actual cut. In most the fact that the material is always
materials are e. g. writing paper and cases this is caused by an excessively cut shorter in areas where the clamp-
common printing paper. narrow cutting angle. The knife needs ing pressure is weak. A convex (bowed)
regrinding. To avoid a considerable cut appears on materials building up
Why use a “mean clamping pressure”? loss of knife “material” a bevel with a higher in the centre, because both
wider angle is applied. ends are pulled out by the knife
You could assume that the highest during the cut.
pressure could be selected for such This offers the advantage that a
common materials. However, this is good material flow in front of the Stitched materials become shorter on
wrong, because excessive pressure knife is retained despite a wider their open side, since the clamping
may cause an “overcut”. cutting angle. pressure is insufficient there.

As a general rule, the clamping One difficulty often encountered Height differences of reams,
pressure selected should not be when cutting hard materials is an amounting to less than 4 mm can
higher than absolutely necessary in overcut, resulting from the fact that be levelled with the flexible false
order to avoid dislocation or dragging at the dressing stage the cutting clamp which obtains a steady
of sheets. edge had been broken from the rear. pressure.

Overcuts are also caused by burrs or Differences exceeding 4 mm require

dirt on the surface of the knife or additional compensation, e.g. by
Geometry of angles knife beam due to which the knife is applying cardboardstrips.
out of its true vertical position.
Concave (hollow) cuts appear when
The same thing happens with knives the material is wavy on all sides. The
which are wider at the top than at clamp pushes these waves backwards
the bottom (fault of the knife manu- and after completion of the cut they
facturer or grinding shop). This is go back to their original position.
indicated by smooth, shiny pressure
spots on the cutting surface of the To diminish a concave cut the
material cut. clamping pressure should be kept to
the minimum value possible. Another
means is to cut the ream up from
hard soft thecentre, i.e. the dividing cuts are
cutting material cutting material started from the centre whereas the
= obtuse = slender finishing or trim cuts of the outer
knife angle knife angle edges are made last.
18 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Working with false clamp plate

Marks of the clamping bar contour

on the material to be cut can be
avoided by using a false clamp plate
when dealing with sensitive cutting
material.

Height differences in cutting layers

can be compensated by using a
flexible false clamp, a felt or foam
rubber pad. Only in this way can the
full-surface clamping for a precise
cut be obtained.

When is a knife blunt? When cutting hard materials the

lowest sheet is cut with a sharp bang.
Never use a blunt knife for cutting.
The cutting machine will be strained These indications call for changing
and the cuts are inaccurate and the knife, because
untidy. 1. re-sharpening costs are lower if
the knife has not been worn too
Paper edges which are sticking much
together, becoming darker in colour
or resulting coarse are indications 2. cutting quality is improved
of a blunt knife. 3. knife consumption is reduced if
only little material is removed by
grinding
4. less strain to the cutting machine.

extremely sharp sharp blunt

(after grinding) (best condition of the knife)
 POLAR | 19

The cutting stick Replacement or reversal of the cut- At the factory, POLAR installs cutting
ting stick becomes necessary when sticks that can be fully recycled and
The cutting stick is the counter cut- the knife has dug into it up to a used with every type of knife.
ting tool of the machine knife and depth that the lowest sheets of a Especially for ultra fine grain hard
should be made of a material which ream are actually torn instead of metal knives we also use cutting
is tough, but not too hard. If the being cut. sticks made of nylon. Due to the
material is too soft, the knife will cut special properties of this material,
too deep. The lower sheets will not be Every time the knife is changed the only a very minor notch effect is
correctly cut through. With an ex- stick should be reversed or replaced. caused during cutting.
cessively hard material the knife will
soon get dull or notches. The consumption of cutting sticks
The POLAR cutting stick meets these depends completely on the materials
requirements perfectly. processed.
“The harder the materials cut the
more sticks will be consumed”.

Recommended value: The cutting

stick should be turned or replaced
every 800 cuts. This increases the
service life of the knives and prevents
the edge from notching.

Cutting stick
Immersion depths for different knife qualities

HSS-knife carbide tipped knife

0.1/ 0.15 mm 0.05 / 0.1 mm

cutting stick cutting stick

multiple application of
cutting stick by turning the stick
20 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Cutting data on various materials Higher or wider piles of paper require Materialwhich is unequal in height or
a higher clamping pressure. wavy (cardboard, stitched brochures)
In the tables below we compiled the Lower or narrower piles need less should be cut with flexible false
most common cutting materials in pressure. clamp plate (special device).
alphabetic order. The lists are divided
into various groups to facilitate their For delicate materials (thin, soft) use You can as well use a standard false
use. The values indicated are based a standard false clamp. clamp fitted with a felt strip instead
on our practical experience gained of a flexible false clamp. In this case
with POLAR high-speed cutters. The the indicated clamping pressure in
clamping pressure data refer to piles the table should be increased by 600
of paper of medium height and more to 1000 daN!
than two thirds of the cutting width.

Paper:
Material to be cut Knife α β h Pressure Remarks
(mm) daN/kg
Bible paper HSS, HM, UFK * 24° 1500-2000 false clamp plate
Double waxed papers HSS, HM, UFK 24° 3200 **
Printing papers, regular HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2500 false clamp plate
Duplex papers HSS, UFK 24° 26° 2,0 3000-3500 **
Flimsy HSS, HM, UFK 19° 3000-4000 false clamp plate
Label papers HSS, HM, UFK 24° 3500-4000 **
Felt-cardboard HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2000-2500 false clamp plate
Photographic papers HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2500-3000 **
Gummed papers HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2500-3500 **
Carbonizing papers HSS, HM, UFK 19° 400 false clamp plate
Carbon paper HSS, HM, UFK 22° 800-1000 **
Art papers HSS, HM, UFK 23° 25° 3,5 3000-4000 **
Plastic fiber paper HSS, UFK 26° 2500-3000
Blotting paper HSS, HM, UFK 19° 2000-2500 **
Metallic papers HSS, HM, UFK 24° 3000-3500 **
Parchment paper HSS 24° 2500-3000 **
Glassine paper HSS 24° 26° 3,0 4000-4500
Stencil duplicator paper HSS, HM, UFK 19° 3000 false clamp plate
Writing papers HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2500-3000
Tissue paper HSS, HM, UFK 19° 2000 false clamp plate
Autocopying paper
(NCR-Reacto or similar) HSS, HM , UFK 24° 800-1000 **
Transparent papers HSS, UFK 24° 3000-3800 **
Velours papers HSS, HM, UFK 19° 2500 **
Wertpapiere (Geldscheine,
Aktienvordrucke, usw.) HSS, (HM), UFK 19° 22° 2500-3700 **
* HSS = high-speed steel knives ** Compensation of differences in height
HM = carbide-tipped knives (normal: 23/25°) is necessary
UFK = ultra-finest grain hard metal (normal 22/25)
 POLAR | 21

Cardboards:
Material to be cut Knife α β h Pressure Remarks
(mm) daN/kg
Bristol board HSS, UFK 24° 2000-2500 **
Chromolux HSS, HM, UFK 24° 26° 2,0 3000-3500 **
Duplex board, two-layer board HSS, UFK 24° 2500
Finnboard, sheet-lined HSS, UFK 19° 22° 3,5 2000-3000 **
Felt cardboard HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2000-2500 false clamp plate
Gray board HSS, UFK 24° 3000-3500 **
Handmade cardboard HSS, UFK 24° 3000 **
Hard board HSS, UFK 24° 26° 2,0 3000-3800 **
Wood pulp board, soft HSS, UFK 21° 24° 2,0 3000 false clamp plate
Index cardboard HSS, HM, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 3000-3500 **
Box board HSS, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 3000-3500 **
Container board HSS, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 3000-3500 **
Leather cardboard HSS, HM, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 3000-3500 **
Manilla cardboard HSS, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 3000-3500
Multiplex board HSS, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 2500
Postcard board HSS, HM, UFK 22° 24° 2,0 2500-3500 **
Triplexpappe, -karton HSS , UFK 22° 24° 2,0 3000

Plastic Materials
(please observe that the materials specified are processed at room temperature)
Due to the versatility of many plastic materials and the type of composition it is recommendable to have cutting
testsperformed at POLAR.
Material to be cut Knife α β h Pressure Remarks
(mm) daN/kg
Astralon transparent sheet HSS 23° 26° 2,0 3000 **
Acetate films HSS 25° 3000-3500 **
slightly
blunt
new knives
Cellophane HSS 23° 25° 2,0 3000-4000 **
Cellulose foils HSS 24° 3000-4000 **
Cellulose acetate foils HSS 23° 25° 2,0 3000-4000 **
Cellulose hydrate films HSS 24° 3000-4000 **
Polyethylene foils HSS, HM, UFK 23° 26° 2,0 3000-4000 **
PVC, hard HSS 23° 28° 2,0 3000-4000 **
PVC, soft HSS, HM, UFK 23° 3000-4000 **
PVC floor covering HSS, HM, UFK 19° 22° 3,5 3000-4000 **
Cellophane HSS 26° 3000-3500 **
Celluloid HSS 23° 2500-3000 **
22 | CUTTING IN PRACTICE

Rubber, textiles, wood, metal:

Material to be cut Knife α β h Pressure Remarks
(mm) daN/kg
Rubber tubes HSS 17° from 150 option
Hart rubber HSS 24° from 1500 **
Raw rubber HSS 17° from 150 false clamp plate
Soft rubber HSS 17° from 150 false clamp plate
Emery cloth HSS 24° 2500-3000 false clamp plate
Textiles HSS, UFK 19° from 150 false clamp plate
Veneers HSS 19° 22° 3,5 1000-2000 **
Pressboard HSS 24° 2500-3000 **
Transformer pressboard HSS 24° 2500-3000 **
Aluminium foils HSS, HM, UFK 24° 3000-3500 **
Aluminium foils, laminated HSS, HM, UFK 24° 3000-3500 **
Lead foils HSS, HM, UFK 24° 500-1500 false clamp plate
Offset plates HM, UFK 26° 30° 1 4500 false clamp plate
Tin foils HSS 19° from 200
Zinc foils HSS 19° from 200 false clamp plate

Other materials:
Material to be cut Knife α β h Pressure Remarks
(mm) daN/kg
Packing materials HSS, UFK 24° 2500-3000 false clamp plate
Felt HSS, HM, UFK 19° 1000 false clamp plate
Glass papers HSS 24° 2000 **
Cork HSS, HM, UFK 19° 1000-2000 **
Leather HSS, HM, UFK 24° 2000-3000 **
Linoleum HSS, UFK 24° 1800-2500 **
Cellulose wadding HSS, HM, UFK 19° 1500 false clamp plate
** Compensation of differences in height is necessary
 POLAR | 23

Values gathered by your own practical experience:

Material to be cut Knife α β h Pressure Remarks
(mm) daN/kg
 POL POLAR-Mohr
Maschinenvertriebsgesellschaft
GmbH & Co. KG

Tel.:
Fax:
Hattersheimer Str. 25

E-Mail:
D-65719 Hofheim/Ts.
+49 6192/2 04-0
+49 6192/2 2193
[email protected]

The Adolf Mohr back in 1949 and now maintains close Aiming to remain the global market leader,
ND 030609 23e · Printed in Germany · Subject to change without notice

Maschinenfabrik was contact with its customers through over POLAR is keenly aware of the importance
established in 1906 and 200 agencies in 170 countries worldwide. of understanding every facet of the
now sells its entire POLAR has made a decisive contribution to market, pinpointing trends and offering
product range under shaping technical developments, thinking new products: LabelSystems for square-cut
the POLAR brand name. and language in the finishing sector, e. g. and die-cut labels, POLAR PACE for fully
An independent family-owned business, by defining processes used in the finishing automatic cutting, POLAR Autojog for
POLAR has developed into the world of cutting material (loading, jogging, man-less jogging and peripheral equip-
leader for high-speed cutters and cutting cutting, unloading ...) ment for the print room or logistics.
systems. and by configuring process-oriented POLAR’s P-Net network component links
Helped by a very close partnership with cutting and jogging systems. The aim is to up the finishing area with networked print
subsidiaries of Heidelberger Druck- rationalise work processes using various shops via ethernet.
maschinen AG and with other sales- component parts, thereby taking the More detailed information on POLAR
partners, POLAR began positioning itself pressure off operators and increasing products is available at
as a global sales and service organization productivity. www.polar-mohr.com