We Deliver Cutting Edge Steel Guillotining
The name “guillotine” dates back to the days of the French Revolution, when Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin approached the French government to discuss a quicker and more humane way to decapitate prisoners than with a sword or axe. Together with fellow doctor Antoine Louis, he developed the first prototype, but was horrified when it quickly became known as the “guillotine.” His family later tried to petition the government to change the name, but were unsuccessful.
Thankfully today, we no longer use guillotines to behead people, but we do use them in the stainless steel industry to cut steel sheet and plate.
Also called a power shear or squaring shear, a steel guillotine helps to minimise off-cuts and save on labour costs. It can be either foot, mechanically or hydraulically powered, and offers maximum resistance to deflection and torsion force. This guarantees a finished product of the highest quality.
Steel guillotining offers a high degree of shearing accuracy and can be used to cut sheets of varying size and thickness – usually from about 1.5mm to 16mm thick, and up to three metres wide – depending on customer requirements.
Steel guillotines use a drive system to power the moving blade down, keeping it in an almost parallel position to the fixed blade during the entire length of the stroke. To keep both blade beams in the correct positions as they pass each other, a gibbing system (a plain, often wedge-shaped piece of wood or metal) is needed.
There are many different types of steel guillotine, and the one you choose will depend mainly on the type of material you need cut, as well as how long and thick it is. Some guillotines, for example, have a variable rake angle, which can be adjusted to suit the length of the part being cut. Before deciding whether this variable design is best for your needs, the type, thickness and length of the material must be determined.
Steelmor, a leading stockist and manufacturer of stainless steel products in South Africa, offers steel guillotining as one of our many services. Visit www.steelmor.co.za for a full list of our products and to find out more about how we can help you.
