Counter Plates in Die Cutting: What Are They?

June 17, 2016

Counter plates in die cutting are often perceived as the second half of the die cutting whole. Up among the action, the cutting blades and die cutters shape card stock and fabric and any number of other materials into intricate shapes. Down below, the counter plate acts as a receiving table. It's formed as a flattened surface covered in indents and score marks, a stationary bed that takes on a secondary role. Responsible for receiving the shaped part in mid-process, the opposing plate also aids in imprinting predetermined shapes simply by being what it is, a base plate configured with corresponding apertures and crease marks.

What are Counter Plates in Die Cutting Made From?

One common use for this tool is as a box blank creasing aid. High-volume variants are made from steel or phenolic. They're designed to inversely mirror the cutting die, so the creases and shaped apertures must precisely line up with the die cutting assembly.

How Does a Typical Die Cutting Cycle Employ The Plate?

The counter plate is coated on one side with an adhesive or equipped with a fastening mechanism. A feed system loads box blanks onto the counter plate, the blade drops, and an all-in-one operation instantly adds every hole, crease, and score mark to the blank. With this level of instant-cut productivity in place, the plates favour a high-volume setting.

Illustrated Through Applications

As the cutting die rises and falls, turns and hammers down, the box blank is caught in the middle. Far from sitting on a featureless base, the counter plate is carefully oriented so that every cut is maximised. Additionally, recessed score marks and variegated holes can quickly be assigned to each cut and score by shaping the corresponding receiving aperture on the underlying plate. Of course, this practice is being described from a packaging and creative standpoint, but it's also employed in the industrial sector. Interior panels for automobiles use the technique, as do washing machine doors and refrigerator surfaces. The process is simply scaled upward until the equipment can cut the panelling just as the base counter plate shapes screw hole positions and larger apertures.

Counter plates in die cutting use a far more intricate form factor than that used in their industrial cousins, with custom-fabricated plates adding finite radius control to every crease and corner, every score mark and indented hole. They take an already fine-edged cutting project and optimize the precision factor while minimising set-up time and maximising productivity.

Get in touch

47 Vinter Ave. Croydon
VIC 3136
Email: design@triforme.com.au
Phone: +61(3)9723 4400

Optimized by NetwizardSEO.com.au