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Industrial blades, as an indispensable basic tool in the industrial manufacturing process, are responsible for cutting, slitting, trimming, cutting and other key tasks. Although they seem to be only a “small supporting role”, but in all walks of life on the production line, but directly determines the production efficiency, product precision and cost control.
Different industries, due to material properties, production processes and end-product demand differences, the requirements of the blade are very different. For example: the packaging industry values high speed and neat cuts, while the metal processing industry emphasizes wear resistance and impact resistance; the food industry prioritizes food-grade hygiene and sharpness.
In this article, we will combine the industry experience, in-depth analysis of the top ten typical industries in the highest use of industrial blade types, to help readers better understand the needs and characteristics of each industry’s blades.
Packaging Corrugated Cardboard Industry
The packaging corrugated industry is a typical large user of industrial blades. With the rapid development of e-commerce and logistics, the demand for cartons continues to increase, and the reliance on blades is growing.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Circular Slitter Blades
- Used for longitudinal cutting of corrugated paper.
- Characteristics: Sharp edge, neat cut, not easy to produce burrs.
Guillotine Shear Blades
- Used for cutting cardboard in the horizontal direction.
- Requirements: high wear resistance, can maintain a straight cut at high speeds.
Slotter Blades
- Used for molding and creasing of packaging cartons.
Application Characteristics:
- Blade materials are mostly High Speed Steel (HSS), Tungsten Carbide.
- The focus is on: Wear resistance, high dimensional accuracy and long edge life to ensure continuous mass production.
Paper Converting Industry
Paper processing industry covers different fields such as printing paper, cultural paper, household paper, etc., with a wide range of blades and different requirements.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Guillotine Knives
- Commonly used in paper cutting machines, capable of cutting hundreds of sheets of paper at a time.
- Characteristics: High straightness, uniform hardness of the knife.
Round Slitting Knives
- Used for slitting paper rolls to ensure smooth edges of the roll.
Trimming Knife
- Used for removing burrs to ensure the finished paper has a delicate appearance.
Application Characteristics:
- Requires sharp and stable cutting edge to avoid roughness or tearing of the cutting edge.
- Typical materials: High-speed steel, tungsten carbide, some high-end paper mills use titanium-plated blades to improve life.
Tobacco Industry
The application of blades in the tobacco industry is industry-specific. Cigarette cutting, filter stick slitting, packaging film cutting, each link is inseparable from the blade.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Tobacco Circular Blades
- Used for cutting tobacco, the thickness is usually between 0.1mm-0.3mm.
- Characteristics: Extremely sharp, flat cut, to ensure uniformity of the tobacco.
Thin Blades
- Widely used for slitting tobacco packaging film and filter rod materials.
- Advantages: Simple structure, clean cuts, suitable for high-speed replacement.
Application Characteristics:
- The industry has extremely high requirements for blades: sharp, wear-resistant and burr-free.
- Due to the high-speed production environment, often use imported tungsten carbide blades, and some high-end production lines even use ceramic blades.
Printing Industry
The application of blades in the printing industry focuses on cutting, die cutting and trimming.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Die Cutting Knives
- Widely used for packaging printing, cutting cardboard, labels.
- Characteristics: Complex shapes, customized requirements.
Trimming Knife
- Remove burrs from printed materials to ensure exquisite results.
Application Characteristics:
- High requirements on the precision and finish of the blade.
- Commonly used materials: High-speed steel, chrome-plated blades.
- More and more printing companies tend to choose high-quality knives that can be sharpened repeatedly to reduce long-term costs.
Chemical Fiber Film Industry
Products in the chemical fiber film industry include BOPP, PET, PE, PVC films, etc. Blades perform the important tasks of slitting, trimming and cutting.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Long Strip Blade
- Characteristics: Neatly cut, capable of continuous cutting on large width film lines.
- Advantages: Adaptable and easy to change knives.
Three Hole Razor Blades
- Commonly used for longitudinal slitting of films.
- Advantages: sharp blades, easy to install, suitable for high-speed slitting.
Doctor Blades
- Used to remove the residue attached to the rollers.
- Ensures film surface quality and equipment cleanliness.
Application Characteristics:
- The biggest difficulty is that the film material is soft and easily stretched and deformed.
- The blade must be extremely sharp and have a certain degree of wear resistance.
- Carbide, ceramic, and titanium-plated blades are mostly used to extend the service life and maintain a stable cut.
Metalworking Industry
Metal processing is a heavy hitter for industrial blades. Whether it’s plates, bars or coils of steel, blades are needed to accomplish shearing and cutting.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Shear Blades
- Used for steel plate cutting, requiring high hardness and toughness.
Disc Slitter Knives
- Commonly used for slitting steel coils.
Application Characteristics:
- Blades are subject to huge cutting force and impact.
- High material requirements: commonly used carbide, alloy tool steel (Cr12MoV, D2).
- Powdered High Speed Steel (PM HSS) is used in high-end applications for longer life.
Plastics And Rubber Industry
The cutting of plastics and rubber products is characterized by flexible materials and easy sticking of the blade, which puts special demands on the blade design.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Granulator Blades
- Used for plastic recycling crushing.
Slitter Knives
- Plastic film, rubber strip cutting.
Toothed Blades
- More efficient for cutting soft rubber or high tenacity plastics.
Application Characteristics:
- Blades are required to have wear-resistant, anti-adhesion and impact-resistant characteristics.
- Material mostly SKD11, D2, carbide, some knives using coating process (such as TiN, CrN) to enhance performance.
Food Processing Industry
There is a wide range of blades for the food processing industry, covering meat, aquatic products, bakery, frozen food and other areas.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Serrated Blades
- Used for slicing bread and pastries.
Slicing Blades
- For uniform slicing of bread, ham, bacon, cheese and other foods.
- Characteristics: High requirements for thickness consistency to ensure beautiful finished products.
Application Characteristics:
- Must meet food grade hygiene standards, must not rust or precipitate harmful substances.
- Common materials: Stainless steel (420, 440C), food grade alloy steel.
- Some of the knife surfaces are polished or coated to avoid bacterial residue.
Wood Industry
Timber cutting involves furniture, flooring, man-made boards and other industries, which require blades to be sharp, wear-resistant and impact-resistant.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Planer Blades
- Used for wood plane processing.
Saw Blades
- Circular saws and band saws are widely used.
Slitter Cutting Blades
- Used for shaping and cutting of man-made boards and plywood.
- Various types of wood (hardwood, softwood, man-made boards), different requirements for blades.
- Commonly used materials: tungsten carbide blade, alloy saw blade.
- Some companies use diamond blades (PCD) to dramatically increase life expectancy.
Application Characteristics:
Timber cutting involves furniture, flooring, man-made boards and other industries, which require blades to be sharp, wear-resistant and impact-resistant.
Battery and New Energy Industry
In recent years, with the rise of the new energy industry, the demand for industrial blades in the battery industry has grown rapidly.
Commonly Used Blade Types:
Battery Pole Slitting Knife
- Used for precision cutting of lithium battery pole pieces.
- Requirements: High precision, burr-free cut.
Diaphragm Slitting Knife
- Lithium diaphragm material is extremely thin, the blade sharpness requirements are extremely high.
Punching Knife
- Used for battery pole piece molding.
Application Characteristics:
- Blades require extremely high precision, wear resistance and stability.
- Commonly used materials: Carbide, ceramic, diamond (PCD/CBN).
- This is one of the fastest growing segments of the blade industry in the future.
Summary: Blade Application Commonalities And Trends In Ten Industries
Through the analysis of the ten industries can be seen:
Common Demands
Planer Blades
- All industries require blades with sharpness, wear resistance, stability.
Differentiation
- Light industry (packaging, printing, tobacco) pay more attention to the neat cut.
- Heavy industry (metal, wood) emphasizes strength and impact resistance.
- Food and new energy industries emphasize safety and precision.
Industrial blades are small, but the “invisible cornerstone” of industrial manufacturing. Understanding the demand characteristics of different industries can not only help blade manufacturers to improve the direction of research and development, but also allow downstream users to choose blades more accurately, and ultimately achieve a balance of efficiency, cost and quality.
