Most people aren’t looking for a 48-inch-wide roll of masking tape, so if you’re hoping to cut smaller rolls, you might look into roll slitting machines.
Roll slitting is a clean and effective way of splitting large rolls of flexible material. Depending on your needs, customers often either use their own roll slitting machine or hire a converter to slit the rolls for them.
Strouse is a converting company that offers roll slitting services. However, we understand why it’s essential to know the benefits of buying your machine rather than finding a converter.
If you’re interested in buying a roll slitting machine, this article will cover essential considerations and potential alternatives.
Roll slitting cuts massive adhesive rolls and flexible materials down to narrower sizes. It often involves a roll slitter machine or a slitter rewinder, which chop flexible materials.
Commonly slit materials include:
+ and many more.
Using a roll slitting machine lets you achieve clean and accurate roll cuts. Cutting down large “logs” of material (a.k.a. master rolls) makes them more manageable for converting or application.
There are multiple types of roll slitting methods to choose from (shear, crush, razor cutting, or perfing), which affects the type of machine you decide to use.
In addition, converters often use machines that aren’t expressly intended for roll slitting, such as die cut machines, to slit and/or rewind material before laminating or die cutting processes. This enables a complete in-line process but requires experienced engineering to achieve it accurately and time-effectively.
Materials like foam are challenging to cut using methods like razor blade slitting, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all type of purchase. Specific slitting machines may also necessitate tools such as customized blades to match the size of the rolls you’re using for cross or linear perforations.
If you’re outsourcing to a converter, then they might have multiple roll slitting machines, but if you intend to buy one, you’ll want to ensure it fits the material for which it’s intended.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be practical to throw out a single price that covers all roll slitting services. Roll slitting is a customizable process that depends on roll width tolerances and your chosen slitting material.
One notable cost factor when discussing roll slitting machine pricing is whether you’re purchasing a machine or hiring an adhesive converter. Both have benefits, so your choice depends on your specific product needs.
Owning a roll slitting machine means you can operate it independently to produce customized rolls, but buying a machine has a far higher upfront cost (we’re talking six figures or more), not to mention the initial training cost and trial-and-error runs of the project.
You may struggle to achieve tight tolerances or maintain consistent widths in your slit rolls. Also, extensible materials, such as elastomers, tend to pose more of a challenge to roll slitting. Without the right experience, it will be difficult to figure out how and likely involve some trial and error.
Outsourcing your slitting to a converter will result in consistent, customized rolls in a range of materials. Depending on the MOQ for your desired material and its pre-slit roll price, slitting through a converter can help you save money.
The other benefit of outsourcing your slitting is the potential to integrate roll slitting into an in-line process, like die cutting, to create completed parts through one-pass production.
Buying a roll-slitting machine can be a hefty investment that may or may not match the goals of your project and company. If you’ve thought through your purchase and a roll slitting machine makes sense for you, here are some companies we trust:
Similarly, discovering the best converter with roll slitting capabilities is contingent on your needs.
Strouse can slit vinyl and UPVC tapes as narrow as 3/16” as well as most other commonly slit materials at 1/2" and above. Of course, slitting tolerances depend on the machine we would slit on and the material itself.
If you’re interested in a quote for material slitting, contact us today to request one. We’ll discuss the materials and your goals so we can best help you.
While it might seem simple, roll slitting is more nuanced than expected. For more information on this topic as well as our capabilities, see our Learning Center.
Originally published: February 15, 2024