Precision Slitting

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Slitter Tooling Care and Maintenance

Since slitter tooling represents a major investment for any metal processor, its care and maintenance should be of vital concern to everyone involved in the slitting process. Careless handling and poor maintenance leads to machine downtime rejected product and unnecessary, and oftentimes, unexpected production catastrophes.

When one considers that typical lead times for new tooling can run up to 4-5 months, the unanticipated problem of chipping or broken tooling can be disastrous to your company. Besides always having a second set of tooling available for such emergencies, metal processors should consider ways to maximize the useful life of their tooling sets between replacements.

Storage Considerations

Proper care of tooling begins in the tool storage area. While a metal processing environment does not lend itself to cleanliness, the efficient tooling storage area must be neat and free of debris. The storage area should be organized to incorporate an adequate supply of shop rags; proper gritstones, matching knife and spacer materials, for minor repair; paper, pencils, calculator and a work are for making calculations and storing miscellaneous paperwork; cleaning fluid and tools for cleaning dirt grooves; lock up area for calibration tools; space for placement of regrind shipment boxes; space for lubrication oil and the miscellaneous tools used frequently on the slitting line. Once the storage area is neat and orderly, we can begin to think of how to effectively deal with the day-to-day handling of the tooling itself.

Metal tooling should never be stored in the horizontal position because of the increased possibility of edge damage or nicks. Since the tooling is placed on the shaft in an upright, or vertical, position it makes sense to store the tooling this way. For spacers, bonded stripper rings and metal stripper rings, well marked, slightly inclined cantilevered arms for individual sizes is a good idea with separate slotted vertical areas for master, or clearance, spacers. For knives, a cabinet with individual vertical slots is recommended, keeping different knife sets and knives of different alloy makeups separate. Rubber stripper rings may be stacked horizontally but should be separated as to male and female O.D. sizes. Plastic shims should be stored in their original packages and discarded after use.

Setting UP Heads

After correct clearances and the planned sequencing of tooling has been determined, the arbor and each piece of tooling should be cleaned and inspected. Before placement on the shaft, knives should be checked for edge integrity and spacers for raised nicks or gouges. Raised nicks may be carefully field-dressed, using the proper honing stone to match the surface finish of the tool. After this careful examination and cleaning, the knives should be immediately placed on the arbor. Once the arbor setup has begun, it should proceed too completion and lock down. The arbor should never be left "open" because of the possibility of contamination or setup error.

After usage, the tools should be wiped clean and coated with a light application of oil to protect them from corrosion, and finally returned to their respective slots. A well organized tooling storage area will help the operator make more accurate setups, quicker and more efficiently.

Regrinding Considerations

A frequently asked question is, "How long should my knives last between regrinds?" The answer is completely dependent upon the type of material being slit and the type of material a knife is made of. A good indicator, however, is the condition of the material's slit edge. For example, repeat marks on slit coil usually indicates a chipped or out of round knife. Excessive burr, when horizontal clearances are correctly assured, is another indication of a dull knife. An experienced operator, however, is always the best determiner of a dull knife condition.

At any rate, knives must be reground frequently. A dulled knife is subject to greater forces during the slitting process than a sharp knife, leading to greater fatigue at the knife-edge. All of this "fatigued" material must be removed, or the possibility of minute hairline cracks causing future chips exists. Thus frequent regrinding can actually save time and money in the long run. Knives should be reground as a set since all knives in the set must maintain the same outside diameter.

Whether the regrinding of the knives is done in-house or sent out, it is important to have proper storage/shipping containers. This is probably the most neglected area of knife care and maintenance. Inadequate or flimsy regrind boxes can lead to costly accidents. Each set of slitter knives should have a properly designed box, clearly marked with the knife set's designation. The box should be lined, have individual knife slots, be surrounded by metal plate or some kind of reinforcement, and be able to withstand the rough handling of transit without damage to the sharpened knives. A well designed regrind box can give you many years of service at a relatively low cost, as compared to damaging an entire set of slitter knives.

If rubber stripper rings are used, they should be ground as a set with the knives, maintaining their dimensional relationship of male and female usage.

The proper care and maintenance of your slitter tooling should be viewed as another way of increasing the efficiency of your production team, and therefore your company. If you would like more detailed information relating to your specific needs, please contact your local Sales Engineer, or call our toll free number, 1.800.345.4038.