For any DIY enthusiast out there, shim tapes need no introduction.
It’s one of the most sought-after tools that budding hobbyists and designers like to use.
As a piece of effective die-cutting equipment, shim tapes can contribute towards making things thoroughly enjoyable. If you are a visualizer, designer, artist, or architect, shim tapes can be your go-to tool to transform your ideas into reality.
While a lot has been talked about dies and their significance in the die-cutting process, shim tapes have continued to assume a rather underrated status.
In this post, we take a close dig at shim tapes and their wide gamut of features for one and all.
Read on to find out more.
Know The Basics Right
For starters who haven’t used shim tape before, it’s a stainless steel tape with the self-adhesion feature and is available in several different sizes.
Shim tapes are inarguably one of the most significant among all die-cutting equipment. Besides, the shim tapes function to keep the dies in one place and also render additional support when cutting out the desired design from stock material.
Tips To Combine A Shim Tape With A Die Cutting Machine
If you are looking to combine a shim tape with another die cutting machine to cut out designs, here are a few tips that might come in handy:
- Ensure that you have created the perfect sandwich-like structure by picking on the correct combination for mats and embossing plates. Doing so will not only help shape an accurate design but also keep the die-cutting machinery running for long.
- A shim tape when used to garner additional pressure along with the die can reinforce an interesting look to the design, like texture and shine. To do so, you will need to stack an intended pattern atop another and run along with the tapes all over it.
- Remember not to apply any additional pressure on the mat and on the embossing plate when they pass right under the die-cutting machinery. Not adhering to the same can damage both the design as well as the machine.
- When the design is cut to your desired shape, clean the station quickly using sticky tools. Make this a practice to avoid dealing with sticky stations every time you are looking to create new innovative designs.
- Lastly, you must remember to use clean and new shim tapes every time you start working.
Also, using old shim tapes might lead to several unwanted issues, like inefficient precision and alignment.
A Cue To Work Faster, Better, And More Accurately
A shim tape, when used in the right way speed up your production and boosts up the quality of products. However, make sure you are not using too many old shim tapes.
Choosing the product wisely is also an important step, and some manufacturers use low-grade carbon steel with varying thicknesses to reduce the cost of production. Often, such tapes bend with the slightest pressure applied. Also using the same can lead to inaccurately cut designs adding to your downtime and increasing production cost.
Furthermore, always ensure to work with stainless steel shim tapes of similar shape and size. As they carry the right amount of tensile strength to offer resistance when using hold-down bolts and heavy machinery. The idea is to keep your stack clean and refrain from mixing shim tapes of different sizes and shapes.
When selecting a particular shim tape, choose the one that promises maximum contact between foot and base. Also determine whether the right slot size is being used to hold the machine bolts in place. This is necessary to fix down the shim tapes along with the hold-down bolts. Also it calls for one to leave some space between the two to keep away the stack from being damaged.
Wrap Up
Creating an innovative line of design professionally is always a tad bit challenging. That is why die-cutting equipment came into existence to help a multitude of industries meet rising market demand.
A shim tape is one such handy tool that helps to create designs out of stock material very easily.
