Technical glossary
Die cutting glossary
Review concise technical explanations of steel rules, creasing, perforation, stripping and other terms used in die making and converting.
Glossary index
46 terms shown
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A
- Acetate
- A specific transparent sheet material; it should not be used as a catch-all name for PVC or PET. Confirm the polymer and thickness before selecting the tool. → PVC/PET/acetate die
B
- Bag cutting die
- Hot-cut or form die for handled, capped and custom-shape plastic bag production. → Bag cutting dies
- Barcode cutting rule
- Steel rule used for barcode and label cutting. Its defining dimensions are a 12 mm rule height and 1.5 point thickness; the trade shortens this to “a 12”, and that number is the height, not a count of labels on a sheet. A titanium edge coating is requested where the job needs it. → Barcode cutting rule
- Birch plywood
- Most common base material for standard cutting dies. Holds the laser channel sharp, gives a surface suitable for rubbering; economical and durable.
- Blanking
- Die stage in BOBST-class automatic cutters that separates cut products from waste and stacks them cleanly. Keeps throughput high in heavy packaging. → Stripping & blanking tooling
- BOBST cutting die
- A die laid out for the register, gripper margin and cutting/creasing format of a specific BOBST machine. Stripping and blanking sets are added when the production flow requires them. → BOBST cutting dies
- Box cutting die
- Steel rule die for cutting and folding carton, board and kraft boxes in series. Crease lines define fold behaviour, perforation lines define tear behaviour. → Carton box cutting dies
- Box divider insert
- Cardboard separator inside a carton. With correct slot allowance, parts ship without crushing. → Box divider insert dies
C
- Cliché (klişe)
- Raised cylinder or plate that prints designs and text. Different from a cutting die: cliché prints, cutting die cuts; both work in the same print line at different roles.
- Corrugated board die
- A die for cutting corrugated packaging. Flute type and direction, measured caliper, machine format, rule profile, rubbering and creasing are planned together; the base material is selected for the job. → Corrugated board die
- Creasing (pilyaj)
- Recessed steel rule that doesn't cut, only forms a clean fold line on carton or board. Channel width is tuned to carton GSM. In the US creasing is also called scoring. → Creasing & perforation rules
- Cutting die / cutting forme / printing die
- A steel rule or RF tool prepared to cut carton, labels, packaging or industrial parts in production. The construction depends on the material, machine and required cut result. In the UK and Europe the same tool is called a cutting forme.
D
- Die maker
- A specialist or workshop that converts an approved cutting layout into a steel-rule die and prepares it for press setup. Capability, material range and lead time must be confirmed per job. → Cutting die manufacturing
- DXF file
- AutoCAD and CAD common file format. The most reliable transfer type for die manufacturing; cut, crease and perforation lines can be sent on separate layers.
F
- Laser channel cutting
- CNC-controlled laser cutting of rule channels in the dieboard. The laser process depends on the base material; finished-tool dimensions are checked separately.
G
- Gasket cutting die
- Industrial cutting die for NBR rubber, aluminium, copper and sealing parts. Hole-centre accuracy and dimensional safety are critical. → Gasket cutting dies
- GSM
- Mass per square metre of the material. Two boards with the same GSM can have different caliper and structure; creasing is selected from measured caliper, rule/counter geometry and proof result.
H
- HRC hardness
- The Rockwell C hardness scale. An edge-hardened rule can have different body and cutting-edge values; supplier data must be read together with bendability and the material being cut.
K
- Kiss-cut
- A face-cut setting that cuts the label stock while leaving the release liner intact. The face stock, adhesive and liner are checked together and confirmed by a sample cut.
L
- Label cutting die
- A flat-bed steel-rule die used for sheet-fed labels. The cut is set as full cut or face cut according to the face stock, adhesive and release liner. → Label cutting dies
- Leather cutting die
- Cutting die with rules ground for high wear resistance, used for real and synthetic leather and saddlery parts. → Leather cutting dies
- Liner
- The silicone-coated release backing beneath a self-adhesive label. It is intended to remain intact in kiss-cut work.
M
- Mailer / Kraft envelope
- Paper-board envelope used in e-commerce shipping. Includes adhesive flap and tear perforation; return-window models carry double adhesive strips. → Paper mailer envelope dies
- Male-female creasing system
- A system in which the upper creasing rule works against a matching lower channel to form the board. Channel geometry is selected from measured caliper, rule thickness, grain direction and proof result.
- E-commerce shipping box
- A box die planned around product protection, carrier constraints, clearance, closure, returns and label area. A marketplace name alone does not define the die size. → E-commerce box dies
- MDF base
- Medium-density fibreboard. Used in some mid-volume dies instead of plywood; cheaper, but its laser-channel sharpness lasts less than birch plywood.
O
- One-off die
- Die produced as a single unit for sample, proof or short job. No minimum order. → One-off cutting die production
P
- Packaging cutting die
- Steel rule die built to cut carton, kraft or corrugated packaging forms in production runs. Creasing and perforation lines set how the product folds and opens. → Packaging cutting dies
- Paper bag die
- Cutting and creasing die for flat-bottom, gusseted or locked carton gift bags. → Paper bag cutting dies
- Paper cup carrier
- Angled holder for 2 or 4 cups. Made with a die controlling hole diameter, creases and lock allowance. → Paper cup carrier dies
- Perforation
- Controlled tear line on carton or label created by the rule cutting and skipping at fixed intervals. → Perforation rules
- Pizza box die
- Cutting die for pizza, lahmacun and takeaway boxes with locks, vent holes and creasing lines. → Pizza box cutting dies
- Point thickness (punto)
- The trade unit for cutting rule thickness. Market equivalents are 2 point 0.71 mm, 3 point 1.07 mm, 4 point 1.42 mm; on the same scale 1.5 point is roughly 0.53 mm. Points measure thickness while height measures how far the rule stands proud — two separate decisions. → Point thickness and height
- Pre-stripping
- Stage in BOBST-class machines where main waste parts are split off the product stack right after cutting. Runs on the front section of the stripping set.
- Puzzle die
- Special-form die for consistent cuts on children's puzzles, educational sets and interlocking parts. → Puzzle cutting dies
- PVC / PET cutting die
- Die for clear plastic blister covers and acetate parts, tuned with a controlled rule profile to reduce cracking. → PVC/PET cutting dies
R
- RF welding die (frekans)
- Die used in high-frequency welding machines to heat-seal PVC, blister covers and planner covers into shape. → RF welding dies
- Rubbering
- Elastic foam fitted alongside the rule to lift the cut part cleanly off the die. Hardness is tuned per material; soft rubber for labels, hard for corrugated.
- Rule height
- Amount by which the steel rule projects above the die base in label and carton dies. Most common values are 8 mm, 12 mm and 23.8 mm; selected per machine and material thickness. 12 mm is the defining height of the barcode cutting rule. → Point thickness and height
S
- Sample-to-die
- Cutting die generated by measuring a physical sample. When no drawing file exists, a sample is a sufficient starting point. → Sample-to-die service
- Sheet label
- Label cutting format printed in sheets, fed leaf by leaf to the press. Preferred for short runs.
- Shoe cutting die
- Cutting die for shoe soles, uppers and accessory parts in shoe production with repeatable measurement. → Shoe cutting dies
- Steel rule
- A strip-steel component used for cutting, creasing or perforating. Thickness, height, profile and body/edge hardness are selected for the job; no single HRC or impression-life figure describes every rule. → Steel rule / creasing rules
- Steel rule die
- Classic cutting tool where hardened steel rules are bent and seated into CNC-laser-cut channels in a plywood or aluminium base. → Steel rule cutting dies
- Stripping
- Die stage separating waste parts from cut material. Usually runs as a separate set in BOBST-class automatic die-cutters. → Stripping tooling
T
- Tolerance / drawing tolerance
- The accepted deviation from a nominal dimension. Tool manufacture, press setup, print-to-cut register, material movement and measurement method contribute separately; a number without scope is not meaningful.
U
- Urgent die
- A cutting-die order placed in a priority production slot. The achievable deadline is confirmed per job after reviewing the file, dimensions, rule structure and current workshop capacity. → Urgent cutting die production
V
- Thermoform trim die
- A die that locates an already formed PVC/PET component and removes its process flange. It does not form the sheet; it separates the finished outer contour. → Thermoform trim cutting dies
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