CASES
MISSON
Eliminating “Product Separation” in Thin Corrugated Board Die-Cutting and Significantly Improving Production Efficiency
Microflute corrugated board has recently been widely adopted for packaging, including e-commerce delivery, because it allows high-quality printing like paperboard, offers greater strength, and enables weight reduction.
At die-cutting sites for microflute, there has been growing demand to improve production efficiency (reducing labor hours) and enhance product quality (appearance). This led to attention being focused on Nakayama’s “NOZOMI.”
“NOZOMI” is a blade with ultra-fine nick processing at a constant pitch, eliminating the need for nicking during die-making and die-cutting processes. The nick marks on processed products are hardly noticeable, and it has been highly evaluated for enabling easy manual stripping and stable die-cutting speeds.
However, a new challenge emerged.
When using “NOZOMI (nick depth 0.15)” for die-cutting microflute (G flute), cases occurred where products separated during processing. Once separation occurs, it becomes difficult to increase the operating speed.
Despite high evaluations in quality, production efficiency did not improve as expected.
“Achieving both quality and production efficiency” — this became a critical challenge for customers.
SOLUTION
Implementation Effects
- The issue of product separation was eliminated, significantly improving productivity
- Products no longer separate during die-cutting, ensuring stable processing speeds
- Processing speed was significantly increased compared to conventional methods
- Ease of manual stripping remains unchanged
- No need for nicking during die-making and die-cutting, reducing labor
- High-quality finish with less noticeable nick marks
A New Option for the Microflute Market
If “NOZOMI” was valued for its quality, “NOZOMI DEEP” represents the completed solution by adding production efficiency. It is proposed as a new standard that achieves both quality and efficiency, especially in applications requiring high visual quality in microflute processing.
- Nick depth set to 0.25 mm (0.10 mm deeper than standard NOZOMI)
- Nick width expanded to 0.20 mm (wider than standard 0.15 mm)
- Hardness increased to 5075 (standard NOZOMI: 4575) for improved durability
- Maintains 2.5 mm pitch, ensuring stable stripping and ease of manual separation
Verification with Microflute
Die-cutting tests were conducted using “NOZOMI DEEP” on microflute. By increasing the nick depth, it was confirmed that products did not separate during processing and stable processing speeds were maintained.
Implementation Effects
- The issue of product separation was eliminated, significantly improving productivity
- Products no longer separate during die-cutting, ensuring stable processing speeds
- Processing speed was significantly increased compared to conventional methods
- Ease of manual stripping remains unchanged
- No need for nicking during die-making and die-cutting, reducing labor
- High-quality finish with less noticeable nick marks
A New Option for the Microflute Market
If “NOZOMI” was valued for its quality, “NOZOMI DEEP” represents the completed solution by adding production efficiency. It is proposed as a new standard that achieves both quality and efficiency, especially in applications requiring high visual quality in microflute processing.