How to Cut Teeth on Long, Continuous Metal-Wire Strips

Look for a press with the profile/ variable profile - that will punch (shear) the teeth. The feeding can be automatic/ indexed.

Contact hydraulic press makers of your area.

The insulators, conductors, laminates etc are regularly punched (of course circular/ profile hole and not in the edge, but that doesn't matter) by this method.

When I saw the title, I thought of your baby:

The technology depends on 3 parameters:

- band thickness

- surface quality of cut

- dimensional precision of cut profile.

If requirements are NOT excessive the most promising technology is laser cutting.

The band has a piloted constant advance velocity and the laser ray has the transversal movement. Both have to be synchronised which is today quite easy to do. The advantage is the programmability low cost of the system only software has to be adjusted to new profile.

The recommended presses require a heavy tool justified as cost only if the precision is high and series are important.

As long as teeth stay in same plane as strip this will work, If 'teeth' are offset outboard from strip's center line, this isn't sufficient. Also, metallurgical characteristics of the strip may be important on means other than laser cutting.

milo

Cutting can be done before heat treatment if it is required so that the strip structure will be according to needs at end.

As far as I understood it is a strip to be cut, usually in such a case teeth are in the plane of strip. I do not imagine a strip with teeth cut in the strip mass; if so it will not be a cutting but more a 3D deformation as forging.

But of course as always I may be wrong.

I was thinking about the 'set' of the teeth being out side the "width" of the strip, which is why kerf loss is always thicker than the main band of a blade, the teeth are offset out board and so thicker. I liked your answer, just wanted to add some add'l insight.

see photo

http://photos.custompc.co.uk/blogs/syrillian/files/2008/05/4-accounting-for-the-blade-thickness.jpg

milo

I agree with you. The side off-set can be done after cutting and before heat treatment on the run of the strip. With laser cutting it is easier to modify the profile and if the strip is not too thick productivity is tremendous.

Off-set can be done with 2 synchronised profile wheels but then at every pitch change the wheels have also to be changed.

with a continuous teeth cutting machine