Knives for cutting systems

Knives for CNC Digital Cutters and Plotters

Plotter knives, often referred to as cutting blades or cutter blades, are essential components of digital cutting machines. These specialized blades, tailored for CNC digital cutting systems, are instrumental in transforming raw materials into intricate designs, patterns, and products that cater to a myriad of industries.

A good quality cutting blade will make the working process more enjoyable - but foremost it will lead to a better end result. Sollex has been producing blades for cutting systems for several years. Crafted from tungsten carbide, our blades promise longevity, sharpness, and consistent performance. Our blades are adept at handling a diverse range of materials, from delicate films and fabrics to robust foam boards and rubber.

Basic Specifications for Plotter Knives and Digital Cutting Knives

The digital cutting knives have different designs depending on the CNC cutter type and its application. In addition to the design, the knives differ in such characteristics as: 

• cutting depth 
• shape of the knife shank: flat or rounded 
• cutter offset 
• pre-cut 
• post-cut characteristics (in case of a knife with two cutting sides) 
• material from which the knife is made 
• angle of the cutting side in relation to the cutting surface: 36°, 45°, 55°, 60°  etc.
• number of sharp cutting sides: single and double-sided knives

2 Important Things to Know About Plotter Blades

Plotter knives used in plotter and vinyl cutters have two main characteristics for a particular choice - the offset (the length from the end of the knife to its axis) and the cutting edge angle external angle, namely the angle from the cutting side of the knife to the surface of the material being cut). Plotter knives are available with cutting edge angles of 30°, 45°, and 60°. The 30° plotter knives are designed for thin films with density of 25-50 microns (standard vinyl, metallized, reflective, tinting, etc.) and cutting small parts. Knives with an angle of 45° are considered universal and are used for cutting materials of medium thickness - dense films 50-1000 microns. 60° knives are designed for cutting materials thicker than 100 microns (sandblasting, fluorescent, reflective films, etc.).

Offset is a quantity that defines the radius of rotation of the blade and compensates for distance when cornering. Correct blade offset for the drag type blade is essential for good quality corners.

Materials to Cut with Zund Cutter

Because the Zund cutting systems are modular, it makes it possible to cut and process many different materials. A list of just a few of the materials suitable for use on the Zund is as follows:

Drag Blades, Oscillating blades, Tangential Blades for CNC Cutters

In general, there are the following types of blades for Cutters: drag blades, oscillating blades, rotary blades.

Types of plotter blades and their applications:

1. Drag Blades: Designed to slide across material for a clean and precise cut. Ideal for vinyl, paper and thin plastics. Find everything you need to know about drag blades here.
2. Oscillating Blades: Perfect for thicker materials, these blades oscillate - or move up and down - at high speeds to deliver precise cuts on materials such as foam, corrugated cardboard, and leather.
3. Tangential Blades: Preferred for manufacturing stickers, labels, floor graphics, vehicle graphics, textile, sandblast, signage, and more.
4. Rotary Blades: These circular blades rotate to cut flexible materials such as fabrics, felts and tarps, ensuring a fray-free finish.

Drag knives move and cut through the material like a knife cuts through butter. Since the cutting motion with the drag knife technology is dragging, these knives are usually used to cut thin materials (adhesive vinyl), flexible materials (corrugated cardboard) or thicker materials but soft materials (foam board). But more typically the drag knife is used to cut self-adhesive vinyl for manufacturing stickers, stencils and labels. Cutting thicker or rigid media with drag knives may result in slight distortions or rounded corners on the material.

Blades with performance and durability for cutting systems

Sustainability is one of the key benefits with blades from Sollex. We want you to be able to feel the high quality standard throughout the whole working process. In close dialogue with the experts who uses our products, we strive to develop our products to always serve and exceed the expectations of the market. Our blades are characterized by the stable feeling that you will experience when working with your machine. We can promise you that you will feel the difference.

Tangential, EOT, POT, V-CUT, Rotary Knives for Summa Cutters

The tangential knife is driven by a motor, unlike the drag knife. This technology sets the knife at the desired angle with respect to the cutting surface and the direction of the future cutting path. Tangential knife technology allows perfectly shaped cut corners in the thin media, but also in thick, rigid media since there are no drag forces that will influence the knife’s trajectory.

Blades for digital cutting systems like Zund, Summa, Aristo, Esko, Atom and Gerber

At Sollex, we understand the intricacies of digital cutting and the importance of having a reliable plotter knife. Choose from drag blades, oscillating blades, rotary blades, and more to suit your specific cutting needs.

Purchase knives from Sollex for these cutting tools:

• Drag knife tool
• Tangential / Kiss cut knife tool
• Single edge knife cutout tool
• Double edge knife cutout tool
• Heavy duty knife cutout tool
• V-Cut knife tool
• Electronic Oscillating EOT knife tool
• Pneumatic Oscillating POT knife tool
• Perforating knife tool
• Rotary knife tool
• Router / routing bits tool
• Creasing tool

If you are looking for a supplier of cutting consumables and knives for vinyl plotters and digital cutting tables from manufacturers such as Zund, Summa, Aristo, ESKO, Kongsberg, Gerber, Sollex can provide you with high quality knives on time and at an exceptional price. We manufacture plotter and cutter knives from high quality tungsten carbide and with high wear resistance. Here you can see our drag knives, oscillating knives, tangential cutter knives, vinyl cutter knives. 

Our commitment to quality and precision has made us a trusted supplier of plotter knives for renowned cutting systems such as Zund, Summa, Aristo, Esko, Atom, Roland and Gerber. Those are high quality machines with reputation that goes way back. We proudly serve customers across Europe, the USA, the Middle East, and Asia, emphasizing timely and efficient delivery. Our ambition is to live up to the same high quality, making our blades and those great machines the perfect match.