Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
(OP)
As part of our process we apply an adhesive lined foil backer to one of our products. Currently we use a glorified utility knife and drag it across the product to cut the foil. This works great the first 50 or 100 times until the foil tears instead of cuts, wads up on the cutter, causing scrap and downtime. My thought was since the foil isn't very thick (maybe a little thicker than heavy duty aluminum foil you use for cooking) we could possibly use a high pressure air nozzle (150-200 PSI possibly). I can't seem to find any real world applications but thought I would see what everyone thought.





RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
haven't heard of compressed air being used for this (water certainly) ... you could try it and see ... I think it'll tear worse than a gummed up blade (but I could be wrong).
maybe a laser (but not a "laser") ?
another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
From what little I know of "high pressure" cutting jets, be it water or air, they use an abrasive in the stream tht actually does the cutting.
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
It would be easier to use a rotary knife with a wiper/blowoff system to keep it clean.
Look at the cutters that they use in sewing (olfa). It might make sense to have a quick change system to swap out cutters then clean and re-hone the blades offline.
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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
Information that is missing is whether the current method uses only the tip of the knife pressing against the product or if the foil is suspended above the product and the blade is on both sides of the foil.
The trick with air/waterjet cutting is the need to have a place for the working fluid to escape after it passes through the cut material.
I'm thinking the rotary knife is worth a try as it causes material failure in the aluminum in a way that forces the adhesive away from the blade.
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil
We do currently use a snap off tip style knife. The issue is that it is not very predictable as to when it will get dull, it just tears the foil and causes scrap. Then we have to change the blade. It could be 15 min it could be hours. I think the rotary style cutter may be a better option so that we can wipe the adhesive off if needed.
RE: Compressed gas to cut aluminum foil