Choosing the Best Guillotine Cutter

No matter the application, choosing the right guillotine cutter can make the difference between a failed product and a successful project.  A guillotine cutter can be easily bolted into assemblies to cut flexible materials like film, foil, foam rubber, light gauge metals, nonwovens, paper, Velcro, and much more.

To get the best for your application, use our quick tip guide below when choosing a cutter.

1.  Know its Capabilities:  The first and crucial element to look for in choosing your guillotine cutter is whether it is capable of cutting your material.  The major benefits of this type of cutter are reliability, durability, ease of use, and good value.  There are also different types of cutting.  Make sure the manufacturer you select offers different types of cutting that might better suit your needs such as rotary cutting, traveling knives, and crush cut cutters.

2.  Predict Needed Size:  As a rule of thumb, make sure your cutter is larger than the material by 10%.

3.  Construction.  It is important that you purchase a well-made, reliable modular knife assembly.  The unit should have permanently sealed and lubricated bearings, an actuator that is designed for long life, and blades that are made from high-quality tool steel and ground sharp.  The knife assembly should be spring-loaded to automatically compensate for wear and also to give you the cleanest cut with the longest blade life.

4.  Easy to Use. A modular knife assembly should be easy to mount and use. One way might be to simply connect an airline and then control the cylinders.  Or, you might have a modular knife where all you need to do is connect an airline and give a signal and the unit has everything necessary to actuate itself at the maximum speed.

5.  Extra Features. It is important that your unit has flexibility to meet your requirements.  Some of these features may be sensors which are mounted into the unit for easy installation, different blade angles and/or materials, or coatings to prevent build-up of material.

When you invest in a quality guillotine cutter, it should give you reliable performance and accurate cuts every time.  In industrial applications, a high cycle rate and quiet operation help a facility increase production and run smoothly.  At AZCO Corporation, SMARTKNIFE™ technology lets our guillotine cutters offer both of these features: speed and a quiet work environment.  Simple and compact, this technology brings users ease of setup and reliable use.

Pneumatically operated, the SMARTKNIFE™ eliminates the need for time and labor spent on installation of sensors, fittings or air lines.  Already equipped with an embedded microprocessor, the cutter reaches speeds previously unknown to the guillotine cutter sector—up to 400 cuts per minute.

For more information on guillotine cutters or SMARTKNIFE™ technology, contact an AZCO team member today.