Process Date: March 2004

Another classic laser application in the wood category is dieboard cutting. Dieboard or stamp cutter manufacture requires a large volume of highly accurate, repetitive cuts to be made. The cutting blades must be held firmly and correctly in position, which is accomplished by making parallel-sided slot cuts in the wooden dieboard to specific widths depending on the size of the die blades to be embedded in the dieboard.

Once blades are fitted into the profiles the finished dieboard is used for stamp cutting operations. Laser cutting provides the manufacturer an extremely accurate and repeatable cut width in the dieboard.

Cutting speeds (ipm) of dieboard for 2 rule width cut (0.028”)

Material: Norwegian Pine
Layers: 14
Thickness: 19.0 mm / 0.750  inches
Power: 240W
Speed:  9ipm
Lens: 5" with 200µ spot size and 20 psi air assist.
* laser was externally gated

Material: Maple
Layers: 10
Thickness: 15.8mm / 0.625 inches
Power: 240W
Speed: 12ipm
Lens: 5" with 200µ spot size and 20 psi air assist.
* laser was externally gated

Side view of dieboard shown to
illustrate depth of cut.

3/4" dieboard cut.