Paper Cutting & Slitting with Waterjet
Water jet cutting technology has been used for several decades to perform paper cutting. In fact, this process supersedes the development of the abrasive waterjet used to cut harder materials such as stone, glass, and metals. Unlike abrasive waterjet cutting, however, only pure waterjet is used to cut paper and foods. The clean, very thin waterjet stream (thinner than a strand of human hair) does not cause the material being cut to absorb water, maintaining the integrity of the paper. The technology also does not create heat-affected zones while precisely cutting with speed. Thus, the efficiency of the process makes cutting with water jets an effective solution for paper manufacturers.
Waterjet cutting with pure water is the ideal solution for the cutting and slitting of paper and plastic webs as well as cardboard panels. The technology is already widely used in the production of wallpaper and packaging material.
The most common machine used in this field is called a slitter, which is a longitudinal cutting machine equipped with one or more pure water cutting heads. The material to be cut is transferred on a conveyor and is cut by the cutting heads located above the belt. In contrast to cutting with roller blades, the material is not shifted and there is no dust produced in the process. As the material is in contact with the waterjet for only a split second, its quality is not affected. The method is also suitable for the cutting of several layers of material. In this case, the operator must ensure that there are no cavities between the layers where water could collect.
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