Foam Die Cutting Machine

The foam die cutting machine is built to order, and its specifications are fixed against the customer's requirement. To configure and quote it, RK needs:

• Foam type (EVA, PE, EPE, PU or other) and whether it is plain or adhesive-backed on a liner
• Material thickness range
• Material form: sheets (with sheet size) or rolls (with roll width and diameter)
• Part shapes and sizes, with drawings or samples, and the number of parts per hour required
• Full cut through, or kiss cut on the liner
• Space and power available at your plant

It is a machine that cuts foam material into finished shapes using a die – a tool with cutting edges in the outline of the part. The foam, either as a sheet or fed from a roll, is placed between the die and a cutting plate, and the machine presses the die through the foam to produce the part. Depending on the configuration, the parts are cut fully through, or kiss cut on a release liner when the foam carries adhesive and the parts must stay on the liner for later application.

Foam die cutting differs from paper or label die cutting mainly in the depth of cut and the way the material behaves. Foam is thick and compressible, so the machine has to apply enough force to cut cleanly through the full thickness while keeping the die square so the part is the same size top and bottom. RK builds the cutting unit and the feeding arrangement to suit the foam and part sizes the customer specifies.

Even Cutting Pressure Across the Die

The cutting force is applied evenly over the whole die face, so every part on a multi-cavity die is cut to the same depth and the edges are clean rather than crushed or torn.

Built for Sheet or Roll Feeding

The machine is configured for the form your foam arrives in: sheets placed by the operator, or a roll fed from an unwind, as on RK's foam roll to sheet cutting machine, which carries a foam unwinding unit for rolls up to 1000 mm in diameter.

Full Cut or Kiss Cut on Liner

Plain foam parts are cut right through and collected. Adhesive-backed foam can be kiss cut so the parts stay on the release liner, ready for peel-and-stick application.

Dies Made to Your Part Shapes

RK supplies the dies for the customer's parts – gaskets, pads, rings, inserts – and the machine is set up for them, with multi-cavity dies where the part size and sheet allow.

Suits a Range of Foam Types and Thicknesses

EVA, PE, EPE, PU and similar foams, plain or adhesive-backed, in the thicknesses the customer runs. The cutting unit is specified for the thickest material you cut.

Simple Operation

Setting, loading and cutting are straightforward, so the machine can be run by an operator without special training after RK's installation and training visit.

The die for the part is fitted to the machine and the cutting plate is set for the foam thickness. Sheet foam is placed on the plate by the operator; roll foam is unwound and fed into the cutting position. The machine then brings the die and the foam together under controlled pressure. The die's edges pass through the foam in one movement, cutting the part outline through the full thickness – or, on adhesive foam, down to the liner and no further.

After the cut, the die lifts, the cut parts are removed or the liner web with the parts on it is advanced, and the surrounding skeleton is taken away as waste. On a roll-fed machine this repeats automatically along the length of the roll; on a sheet-fed machine the operator positions the next sheet or the next area of the same sheet. Because the pressure and the die position are the same on every cycle, the parts are uniform from the first to the last.

• Gaskets and seals – foam gaskets for enclosures, caps, lids and automotive and electrical parts.
• Packaging inserts – foam pads, corners and shaped inserts that hold products in boxes.
• Adhesive foam pads and tapes – double-sided foam mounting pads kiss cut on liner for peel-and-stick use.
• Electronics and appliance cushioning – pads and spacers cut to drawing for assembly lines.
• Footwear and sports goods – EVA and PU foam components cut to shape.
• Stationery and craft foam – shapes and sheets cut from coloured foam.

The machine is configured for the customer's foam, which may be EVA, PE, EPE, PU, cross-linked or adhesive-backed foam on a release liner, in sheet or roll form. It can be specified for other soft, compressible sheet materials such as felt, sponge rubber and cork where the same cutting method applies. Send RK samples of your actual material and thickness so the cutting unit and dies are specified correctly.

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• Foam Roll to Sheet Cutting Machineunwinds foam rolls, pastes base release and cuts to sheets.

RK Label Printing Machinery Pvt. Ltd. has built label printing and converting machinery in Ahmedabad, Gujarat since 1995, works from three manufacturing units and supplies customers in 23+ countries. Die cutting is central to RK's range – flatbed, rotary and intermittent die cutting machines are its everyday products – and the foam die cutting machine applies that experience to a thicker, softer material. Because the machine is built to the customer's foam and parts, and RK also supplies the dies, the converter has one supplier for the machine, the tooling and the roll to sheet equipment that feeds it.

• Material and thickness: the cutting unit is sized for the thickest, densest foam you run, so list all of them.
• Sheet or roll: roll feeding suits continuous production of one part; sheet feeding suits mixed jobs and thick material.
• Full cut or kiss cut: adhesive-backed parts that will be peeled and stuck should be kiss cut on the liner.
• Part size and quantity: these decide the die size, the number of cavities and the machine's cutting area.
• Downstream needs: if you also need foam rolls converted to sheets or laminated to a release base, ask RK about the foam roll to sheet cutting machine.

The price of the foam die cutting machine depends on the configuration – cutting area, sheet or roll feeding, kiss cut or full cut, and the dies for your parts. Prices are quoted ex-works Ahmedabad with GST at 18% applicable; engineer transport and stay for installation and training at your site are borne by the customer. Share your foam type and thickness, part drawings and required output with RK and the engineering team will recommend a configuration and quote against it.