07.18.05
Simple, yet effective
carton cutting
The best ideas are the simplest, especially when someone has applied some lateral thinking to a seemingly unchangeable principle. A good example comes from Gerhardt International Group, based in Copenhagen. It offers a simple and relatively inexpensive alternative to the costly business of using male and female dies for cutting and creasing carton blanks on narrow-web presses.
Its patented MultiLine BoxCut method, introduced at Labelexpo, comprises a conventional flexible steel die of 0.030-inch gauge mounted on a magnetic cylinder. The die is made from hardened steel, CNC-engraved with a polished cutting edge, with minimum and maximum repeat lengths of 12" and 30".
The big difference is that the actual creasing profile comprises three closely-aligned ribs, which makes the point of fold more precise and stronger because the carton fibers are not overstretched. Furthermore, the die