Die cutting is a crucial manufacturing process that utilizes specialized machinery to cut materials efficiently into precise shapes. Outsourcing die cutting services to professionals guarantees precision and quality, which are vital for functional and attractive products. With expertise in precision cutting techniques, professional services help businesses avoid defects, material waste, and financial losses, ensuring each piece meets exact specifications.
In this article, we will explore the benefits of utilizing professional die cutting services in manufacturing. We will also learn how outsourcing die cutting can cut costs, boost precision, and ramp up efficiency for your business.
1. Reduced Operational Expenses
Outsourcing die cutting can lead to significant cost savings. In-house die cutting requires expensive machinery and skilled personnel, driving up operational expenses. By partnering with die cutting professionals, businesses can eliminate these overhead costs and allocate resources to other critical areas.
2. Enhanced Precision and Efficiency
Professional die cutting ensures enhanced precision in manufacturing. Reputable service providers use advanced machinery and techniques to achieve accurate and consistent results, minimizing material waste and optimizing production efficiency. The expertise of professionals in handling intricate designs and complex projects further improves precision and efficiency.
3. Shorter Turnaround Times
Outsourcing die cutting service helps businesses to effectively meet tight production deadlines. Professional die cutting offers flexibility and quick turnaround times, accommodating varying project requirements and timelines. This agility in production scheduling guarantees the timely delivery of finished products, allowing businesses to meet customer demands and maintain competitiveness in the market.
4. Guaranteed Expertise
Seasoned teams of professionals are equipped to handle diverse die cutting projects efficiently. They stay abreast of the industry’s latest trends, techniques, and technologies, ensuring the delivery of high-quality products. Additionally, they have access to cutting-edge die cutting technology that further enhances precision.
5. Better Resource Allocation
A professional die cutting service allows businesses to redirect resources towards their core activities. Outsourcing non-core functions enables companies to free up internal assets, including capital and manpower. This will allow them to concentrate on core business functions such as research and development, marketing, and customer service.
6. Higher Quality Standards
Maintaining high-quality standards is paramount in manufacturing, and professional die cutting excels in this aspect. Reliable service providers adhere to industry standards and regulations, upholding compliance and product integrity. Through meticulous quality control measures, outsourcing die cutting leads to consistent quality across production batches, enhancing brand reputation and customer satisfaction.
Key Considerations for Outsourcing Die Cutting Services
When considering outsourcing die cutting professional services, it is important to keep several factors in mind to ensure a successful partnership:
Industry expertise: Evaluate the outsourcing firm’s expertise in professional die cutting, including past projects, client reviews, and accomplishments.
Cost: Consider the cost of outsourcing services, ensuring that they align with your business’s budget while maintaining quality standards and considering any value-added services provided.
Top-quality talent: Make sure that the outsourcing provider offers skilled professionals specifically trained in die cutting techniques and processes. They should also be able to assist in building and managing a dedicated team for your business’s die cutting needs.
Risk management: Evaluate the provider’s tailored risk management plan for die cutting operations, covering material wastes, quality control, and project delays.
Service-level agreement (SLA): Review and clarify the terms and conditions of the SLA specific to professional die cutting. Ensure clear expectations and responsibilities regarding quality standards, project timelines, and communication protocols.
Elevate Your Die Cutting Services With Elastomer Technologies!
At Elastomer Technologies, we understand the transformative potential of outsourcing die cutting for businesses. With over four decades of industry experience, our team is poised to forge strong partnerships, streamline projects, and provide expert guidance at every step.
Die cutting is a manufacturing process that involves cutting out shapes from stock materials using a die, a specialized tool designed for cutting or shaping. This technique uses materials like paper, fabrics, rubber, metal sheets, and plastics.
Whether you need packaging, promotional materials, or other customized designs, choosing the right partner is essential to achieving your goals. Your decision can affect product quality, project timelines, and profitability. However, with numerous die cutting service providers on the market, it can be challenging to establish a trustworthy partnership.
In this article, we will outline key factors to consider when choosing a partner.
Factors To Consider When Selecting the Right Die Cutting Service Provider
Industrial die cutting utilizes advanced machinery and specialized techniques to transform raw materials into finished custom shapes and designs. This method can yield consistent and high-quality results for businesses seeking a reliable and efficient way to produce custom designs.
The following are five key considerations when choosing the best service provider for your needs:
Production Capabilities
The production capabilities of a service provider are essential in determining their capacity to meet your specific requirements. Research the materials and thicknesses they can cut since various materials require different cutting techniques and equipment. You must also verify that they have the necessary tools and expertise to handle your unique needs effectively.
If your project entails a large order volume, ask whether or not they have the resources to efficiently manage the workload. This may require a larger workforce, advanced machinery, and optimized production procedures.
Experience and Reputation
Find a partner with significant die cutting experience and relevant industries, as it can indicate their competence in handling projects and potential challenges. Looking for someone with a proven track record of success and customer satisfaction is a good starting point. You may also check online reviews or ask for references to gain insight into their past performance and client feedback.
Partnering with someone with a positive reputation in the industry is crucial in ensuring reliability, trustworthiness, and quality workmanship. Therefore, you must research potential partners and seek recommendations from industry peers to assess their reputation.
Quality Assurance
Die cutting can be highly technical, and quality control measures ensure that the final product meets the required specifications and standards. Choose a service provider with a well-established standards-checking system that adheres to the industry’s best practices. The system must include regular inspections, quality testing, and assurance procedures.
Additionally, you must work with a manufacturer that possesses appropriate certifications and follows quality standards. Certifications like ISO 9001 or 13485 signify that the company has implemented quality management systems and follows rigorous industry regulations.
Communication and Responsiveness
Effective communication is critical to ensuring that a service provider understands your project requirements and produces a final product that meets your expectations. Therefore, you should select a partner that offers clear and timely communication throughout the project’s lifecycle. They should also have customer service that is accessible and responsive to address any questions or concerns you may have throughout the engagement.
Project Management
Project management is essential for ensuring projects are finished on schedule, within the spending plan, and according to requirements. A dependable partner should have a good management mechanism that tracks the project status, identifies potential issues, and manages risks. In addition, they should have the flexibility and resources to accommodate modifications and alterations to the project scope.
Choose Elastomer Technologies for Your Die Cutting Needs
Elastomer Technologies has been in the industry for more than 45 years, focusing on providing custom molding solutions and producing die cut parts. We also offer custom services using various processes, including clickers, traveling heads, punch presses, and high-speed automatic work centers.
In addition to die cutting, we offer rubber and injection molding, transfer molding, and prototype molding. Contact us today to learn more about our services or request a quote to start your next project with us!
Manufacturers are gradually turning to reshoring, particularly in metal cutting and forming processes like die cutting. One reason is the increased customs complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrated the potential risks with offshoring operations. In particular, manufacturing reshoring is becoming extremely prevalent among US companies to reduce supply chain interruptions and maintain self-sufficiency.
This article will define reshoring and discuss its advantages in the die cutting process.
What Are Offshoring and Reshoring in the Manufacturing Industry?
Offshoring, outsourcing manufacturing to a country other than your own, is no longer practical for manufacturing nowadays. Many businesses focused solely on the initial expenses of establishing overseas operations, such as labor and quoted manufacturing. In reality, numerous hidden expenditures can significantly increase the overall costs of offshoring in the long run. As a result, reshoring has returned.
Also referred to as onshoring, reshoring is the process of returning goods production and manufacturing to the company’s original country. It is also a quick and effective way to boost the economy since it helps stabilize trade and fiscal deficits, generates economic opportunities by creating better manufacturing jobs, and encourages trained human resources.
What Are the Advantages of Reshoring in the Die Cutting Process?
Manufacturing reshoring to the United States benefits companies by increasing earnings, providing pro-business benefits, offering employment services, and facilitating digitization. In addition, you can anticipate the following advantages:
Improved Product Quality and Consistency
Manufacturing companies that use the reshoring method report higher overall product quality and consistency. It also contributes to maintaining effective communication among manufacturing and development teams and implementing responsive quality adjustments during production.
Faster Lead and Delivery Times
Reshoring reduces the time it takes to receive die-cut parts and other stamped metal components. When offshoring processes, products from overseas typically take 10 to 14 weeks to complete and arrive. It also eliminates the need for customers to make large investments in inventories when opting for offshore manufacturing. Furthermore, reshoring allows manufacturers to source materials more quickly due to shorter supply chains.
Enhanced Workforce Competence
Reshoring allows for developing local workers across manufacturing industries and rapidly implementing new methods or process changes. They are usually trained according to strict workforce guidelines, and the company’s substantial investment in automation technology enables specialization.
Reduced Supply Chain and Compliance Risks
Since reshoring brings the operations back home, the supply chain’s complexity and unpredictability decrease. In addition, this method reduces shipping and customs compliance risks while increasing immediate access to all die cutting steps.
Minimized Time Zone Difference Issues
Another advantage of reshoring is that most operations are carried out in the same (or nearly equal) time zone. This benefit allows manufacturers to quickly identify and resolve issues to prevent disrupting the die cutting process, as the collaboration between individuals in the same time zone is fast.
Custom Die Cutting Services From Elastomer Technologies
Elastomer Technologies has over 35 years of experience specializing in customer-tailored molding solutions and die cutting part productions! We constantly provide custom services using various processes like clickers, traveling heads, punch presses, and high-speed automatic work centers. Moreover, our capabilities include the ability to cut the following materials to close tolerances:
Rubber
Plastics
Foam
Sponge
Hook and loop
Films
Adhesives
Other packaging materials
For more information about ETI’s capabilities and other services, contact us or request a quote today.
The ETI team often gets inquiries from companies and folks that are new to manufacturing a molded elastomer/rubber or die cut product. In this blog, we’ll talk about some of the recommendations we provide to anyone looking to start their molding or die cutting project, particularly for the first time.
Communicating Your Die Cut or Molded Part Specifications
Communicating what you want from manufacturing sets the process in motion. A manufacturer follows your lead because it is your product, and it is a goal you set for them. Your plan may have to be modified, but conveying the idea keeps things centered on your requirement. During your conversation, the manufacturer can advise you based on their overview of your needs; however, you can save both time and money by coming prepared.
It is also a good idea to come equipped with some background information about the die cutting or molding process that you are interested in. Here are some resources that we have for further exploration:
Specifications & Questions to Address About Your Die Cutting/Molding Needs
While you don’t need an answer to every question that will come up, the following are a few examples of what you can be prepared to share:
Part shape size, thickness and weight in the form of a drawing, sketch, sample part or electronic part model
How many parts you will need at each stage of development – this determines the process and tooling used to make the parts
If the part is going into an assembly or if dimensions are very important to maintain, you can share those concerns
The information usually needed includes part appearance requirements such as surface
Appearance can also include color requirements – colors can be picked off a color chart found online (clients are able to provide color samples as well)
Die Cutting Clicker Press at Elastomer Technologies, Inc.
Among the key questions to ask yourself, however: do you like the people with whom you are working at a manufacturing company?Do you like the manufacturer’s approach to asking questions, quoting your requirements and their approach to contracts? These factors will make the part production a much more streamlined and stress-free process for you.
Key Considerations for Molding Materials
When molding a part, it is important to note that parting lines of molds leave witness lines and those areas are prone to mismatch and flash. Some molds leave gate marks or remnants, and you may want to discuss this with a molder.
Material choices are very challenging and you might need to quantify some information:
Elasticity – this is the material’s ability to quickly restore its original dimensions after a load that has caused it to disfigure/deform is removed
Compression set – the permanent deformation of a material that remains after removing a force that was applied to it – this term typically relates to elastomers and other soft materials.
Tensile strength – defined as the maximum amount of stress that a material can withstand before breaking, while/after it is stretched or pulled
Hardness – a material’s hardness is its ability to withstand localized permanent deformation, usually by indentation; the term can also be used to describe a material’s resistance to deformation due to other forces/operations, such as cutting, abrasion, penetration, and scratching
Environmental conditions (i.e. heat, chemicals) that the parts will be exposed to
If youhave a sample of the material you’re looking for, it would offer excellent insight for the manufacturer. In the case of molded parts, you may opt to build a test mold and mold different materials until you find the one that works. To quantify this kind of information on materials, you may need to talk to a material compounder or a technical manager at a material distribution company.
Making a Plan for Your Die Cutting/Molding Part Production
Here are some additional questions and aspects to consider to form a solid plan for your upcoming die cutting or molding production:
Where is your market? Is it better to place manufacturing closer to where you will distribute?
Do you want to have manufacturing close at hand to help with communicating and resolving quality concerns?
Do you need prototypes to clarify your requirements? How many?
If your goal is to test market a product, be prepared to pay for tooling and samples
How much testing and product as marketing samples will be required to succeed
Consider the cost of changes for tooling and material. This can get expensive.
As your product begins to sell, you will likely need different tools to keep up with increased demand. When product production ramps up, you may need a different process that gives you better throughput. You might have to consider new materials or new suppliers of material at this stage. It could be a good idea to do some of this “homework” in parallel during prototyping, if possible.Be advised that sometimes success surprises clients and all of the decisions you make early – for good or bad – will set up options and costs for later stage development.
Explore Part Molding & Die Cutting Services at Elastomer Technologies, Inc.
A manufacturer is there to provide what you want. If they cannot do so, they will tell you and give you reasons. You might be able to adjust your approach. Manufacturers are interested in your success as they profit by it as much as you do. You might not like their delivery, prices and have questions about how they control quality. But knowing what you want gives you the power to make and drive intelligent thoughtful decisions.
Elastomer Technologies, Inc. offers over 40 years of custom die cutting and molding process expertise to our customers, and an extensive portfolio of both simple and complex part productions. Whether it is an adhesive backed kiss-cut die cut part, an elaborate custom compounded molded rubber product, or clean room injection molded silicone medical device component, ETI is happy to guide you in achieving your goal.
To learn more about ETI and our work, feel free to explore the following resources on our website:
Die cutting is a manufacturing process that uses specialized cutting machines and cutting tools—i.e., dies—to cut patterns into thin, flat material. There are several types of die cutting processes, all of which employ four basic components: the operator, the material, the cutting machine, and the cutting die.
Cutting dies are available in many different designs and configurations, depending on the part and production specifications. Three of the most commonly utilized are steel rules dies, custom milled component dies, and matched metal dies. The type of die used in a die cutting operation significantly affects production costs. As such, we’ve put together the following blog post to walk through the basic properties of the three mentioned above.
Steel Rule Dies
Steel rule dies consist of three key components: rubber ejectors, pre-bent steel strips (i.e., steel rules), and die boards. The eponymous steel rules have a sharp cutting edge, which cut the desired shape into the workpiece when the die cutting machine applies pressure to the die and punches it into the die board.
These dies are suitable for cutting both hard and soft materials, including cork, felt, fabric, metals, paperboard, and plastic. Their simple design translates to much lower investment costs. However, they are also much less durable and accurate than other types of dies.
Custom Milled Component Dies
Similar to steel rules dies, custom milled component dies—also known as solid mill or custom punch dies—punch through material to create the desired patterns. However, as they are made of solid steel rather than flexible steel strips, they are less susceptible to distortion stemming from bending and twisting. This quality makes them better suited to achieve higher tolerances—with typical tolerance capabilities ranging from between ±.005 to ±.010 inches per inch of dimension—and better production consistency. However, the higher precision and accuracy comes with a larger price tag.
Matched Metal Dies
Matched metal dies—also referred to as male/female dies—consist of two separate die components. As the die cutting machine applies pressure to them, the male halves meet the female halves, resulting in cuts in any material between them.
Compared to steel rule dies and custom milled component dies, matched metal dies offer tighter tolerances. This quality stems from their solid and rigid construction, which decreases their risk of distortion and increases their ability to produce precise cuts consistently. Unsurprisingly, this more complex die design is more expensive to produce.
Contact the Die Cutting Experts at Elastomer Technologies
Steel rule dies, custom component milled dies, and matched metal dies all have their benefits and best use cases. The one most appropriate for your die cutting application depends on your part and production specifications, such as precision requirements or budget limits. Steel ruled dies are the least expensive option but also the least precise and accurate. Matched metal dies are both the most reliable and the most expensive. Solid milled dies fall somewhere between the two regarding both performance and price. Partnering with an experienced molding company can assist you in evaluating the dies available and choosing the one that meets your needs.
At Elastomer Technologies, Inc. (ETI), we have offered custom die cutting services for over 35 years. We accommodate a wide range of materials, part designs, and production volumes. In addition to our die cutting capabilities, we provide a broad selection of other manufacturing services, such as assembly, contract sewing, custom slitting, molding, and packaging.
For a more in-depth discussion on key considerations regarding the die cutting process, look for our upcoming eBook, Key Considerations for Basic Die Cutting: Tooling, Costs, Material Behaviors, and Tolerances. To learn more about our die cutting services and capabilities, reach out to us today.
Contact Our Team
Whether your project is in the initial stages of development or set for production, ETI is ready to help you select the right material and process for your project. Our team manufactures parts that meet your specific requirements regarding performance, delivery, and price.
Take a moment to fill out our brief contact form, and one of our representatives will respond as soon as possible.
