The Score Slitting Process and How It Performs

As you begin researching different manufacturing processes, you’ll probably run into the concept of slitting methods—including score slitting. Wondering what sets this apart from other types of slitting (including shear slitting)? No worries. Conversion Technologies International has the information you need.

What is slitting used for in manufacturing?

Before we get into some of the intricacies behind slitting processes, let’s get one big question out of the way: Why do we utilize slitting?

In manufacturing, we call the final person who receives a product the “end user”. This user is the person who actually, well, uses a product. End users have certain expectations when it comes to the products they receive. It’s our priority to ensure that the product is in the best possible condition and suited to their purposes.

All this is to say that we usually administer slitting in service to the end user. In some cases, business owners must supply their clients with certain substrates. Those substrates may come in the form of carefully portioned segments. That’s where slitting comes in. Slitting processes allow us to section off pieces of substrate, processing them for our clients’ needs. Your client may not require a massive sheet of steel, for example. But the slitting process allows you to offer them a more precise amount of steel. Furthermore, slitting can make the material easier to transport and manipulate.

The great thing about the slitting process is that it enables us to refine many different types of substrates. There isn’t just one type of slitting method, and indeed, we can customize them as needed. Custom razor slitting is one of the more popular converting processes for a reason. The more we can tailor a product for our clients’ needs, the more certain we can be that we’re ensuring maximum satisfaction.

What is the difference between score slitting and shear slitting?

As we mentioned above, there are multiple types of slitting processes. Here’s the good thing about that: it doesn’t matter what you’re working or what your client wants. There’s a slitting procedure for virtually every type of substrate and project. Two of your main options, however, are score slitting and shear slitting. Technically speaking, both of these methods fall under the roll slitting umbrella. However, they serve different purposes. The key to choosing the right one is knowing exactly what you need out of your project.

You may see score slitting referred to as score cutting or crush slitting. Why crush slitting? Because this method relies on force, pushing a knife through the substrate. Typically, this involves applying pneumatic force to a knife blade, pushing it against a hardened anvil roll. Generally speaking, most regard this process as easier than alternatives, in part because of the heavy pressure involved. We don’t need to use a complicated setup. It involves holders mounted squarely against the mounting surface. Furthermore, we don’t need to keep the blades perfectly sharp. Generally speaking, this process is also cheaper.

What sets shear slitting apart is the usage of a top and bottom knife with defined geometries. This creates what we call “shear force”, separating the material at the cut point. Essentially, shear cutting duplicates the effect of a pair of circular scissors. The scissors cut the material at the exact cutting point, creating a clean-cut edge.

Why do we use shear slitting?

In theory, shear slitting may seem automatically inferior to score slitting. But, although it doesn’t fit every situation, it’s not always the lesser choice.

Shear cutting has its advantages and disadvantages in comparison to score slitting. It does require more setup—often requiring operators to position both the top and bottom knives—and maintenance. The blades involved do require sharpening and general maintenance. Ideally, we need the edges to be as sharp as possible.

However, the precision of shear slitting makes a big difference, rendering it more appropriate in certain situations. The sharper edges you’ll find with a shear slitter machine allow for sharper results. Shear slitting offers uniform, clean results. Furthermore, it may serve delicate materials like paper with greater ease. When we’re working with a product that’s prone to ripping and crumpling, the delicacy of shear slitting may better suit the project.

Another factor to consider? Dust. Score slitting has the potential to create dust during the “crushing” process. Shear slitting produces much less dust. While this may not seem like a big issue in theory, dust contamination can be a big problem when you’re trying to achieve uniform results. Additionally, the more dust you’re dealing with, the more time it will take to clean.

What is a knife slitter?

Before we wrap up, there’s another aspect of slitting processes we should touch upon—the knife slitter component. A rotating knife slitter uses a beveled knife to cut material into slits. The circular quality of the blade ensures a continuous slitting effect. This allows for greater consistency. The added benefit? These blades are rather versatile. They can achieve higher levels of precision, plus greater speeds. We use these knives in a multitude of industries, applying them to products like paper, foil, film, textiles, and different types of packaging.

No matter what you’re working on, it’s important that you know exactly what you need before you commit to a slitting method. That’s why we recommend exploring further with the experts. CTI is here to help. Give us a call at 419-924-5566 or contact us here for further information.