STEEL RULE DIES BY MAG-KNIGHT

Steel Rule Die information at Mag-Knight™: The key to die cutting is the die board or Steel Rule Die (SRD).  This cutting tool is similar in form and function to a cookie cutter. Sharpened steel blades are bent and formed to the pattern to be cut. The blades are held in position with either high density plywood, acrylic or steel braces. The die and material to be cut are placed in a press and the final shape is stamped out.

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Conventional steel rule dies attain the highest accuracies and can represent the most intricate of forms. To maintain tight tolerances, all of the plywood is processed using our laser cutting machinery. The blade thickness typically runs between .028 and .056 inches. Fold lines, scores, and perf cuts can all be made. It is also possible to partially cut through a material, such as for adhesive stickers.

We will manufacture your SRD according to your specifications.  Tolerances as close as +/-.005 can be obtained using our laser.  Depending on the material, this tolerance can translate in to part tolerances with similar values.

Your SRD will be purchased at the beginning of the die cutting project and used on all subsequent orders.  Keep in mind that the die board is your property, you own it!  Typically, we will store it at our facility  to reduce the lead time after another order is placed.  Ninety nine percent of our customers allow us to retain their die for them.  This saves them money by not having to ship the die to us every time an order is placed.  At any time, you can choose to inspect your die and we will ship it to you, freight collect.

The life of your SRD will depend greatly upon what you cut with it.  A die used to cut craft foam will last considerably longer than one used to cut lexan or paper (paper dulls steel very quickly).  Every SRD has a finite life.  If you use it a lot, it will need to be re-ruled at some point.  Typically, expect about 30+ thousand hits of the die when cutting something soft and 10-20K for harder, thicker materials.  These numbers are just guidelines and merely represent the fact that the cutting tool has a useful life.

Using your SRD, we can process sheet plastic, corrugated plastic, gaskets, chipboard, fabric, paperboard, foam, rubber, foam rubber, open cell foams, closed cell foams, neoprene, hypalon, felt, cork, thin metals (.005 or less), wood, acrylic, composites, fiberglass, magnets, sponge, diecuts (crafts) or any other flat material normally found in the  industry.  For a comprehensive list, check our materials section.

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