- Die cutting: The technique involved in die cutting is as elementary as playing with Play-Doh. The process begins when the desired gasket shape is made into a metal die, which is essentially a strip of metal bent into the gasket shape. Think of how a cookie-cutter works. This metal die is pressed through a material, stamping out the shape. Of the four cutting techniques mentioned, die cutting is appropriate in less tolerance-critical circumstances. If the tolerances of the product are less than 1/16 inch (.0625”) then other cutting methods must be considered. Die cutting cannot be performed with just any material and thickness. This style is limited to thinner sheets of rubber; generally sheets thicker than 3/8 inch (.375”) cannot be die cut. The overall dimension of the rubber part must also be relatively small and less than 24 inches on any one side.
- Laser cutting: If you’ve watched any James Bond film, you probably have rough notion of how laser cutting works. The gasket shape is inputted into a computer that is connected to the laser cutting machine. Then, as per the computer’s queue, a high-powered laser beam maneuvers over the material, cutting extremely precise lines. This technique consumes a large amount of energy and is used only when a neoprene rubber gasket needs a tighter tolerance. This might be neoprene suppliers’ least favorite procedure and is thus used with the least frequency.
- Hydro-jet cutting: Custom neoprene can also be made using the power of water. This process begins similar to laser cutting since a design is first inputted into a computer. The computer then controls the hydro-jet cutter and sprays a high-pressured jet stream of water through the material. For tougher materials, an abrasive is added into the water and aids in cutting the material off clean. Hydro-jet cutting is regarded as an eco-friendly cutting process since it doesn’t require as much energy as laser cutting and uses water as the cutting tool essentially. Unlike laser cutting, there is no measure of heat that is used to cut the material. Also tolerances for materials can be kept very tight. There are programming fees