Kiss Cutting
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Kiss Cutting
Kiss cutting is a type of die cutting that takes multi-layered sheets of material with adhesive in the middle and perforates the top layer and adhesive, producing any product that is adhesive-backed and pulled off a backing sheet. The process is performed on large sheets of flat, thin material by a laser or a cutting tool called a die, which works similarly to a cookie cutter. The top layer is made of any material that bonds with an adhesive or tape, including silicone, Poron, fabrics, chipboard, cork, paper, rubber, felt or polyester. The backing is usually a thin paper material. Kiss cut products are used in many different applications within the medical, manufacturing, machinery and commercial product industries. Stickers, labels, alphabetical letters used in grade school classrooms, fleet markings, complex decals, medical foam, templates, foam adhesives, thermal pads and some gaskets are all adhesive backed, two layer products that are manufactured in large rolls by the kiss cutting process. Kiss cutting lasers or dies are able to produce many different 2 dimensional shapes, including strips, pads, discs, washers, gaskets and stickers of all shapes and sizes; complexity is rarely an issue.
Modern kiss cutting machines are CNC or CAD/CAM operated, and therefore fully automated, allowing a high degree of repeatability and accuracy. As the layered material moves through the die cutter, the die or laser strike depth is controlled down to the release liner, but never through. Since the sticky adhesive material tends to gum-up and leave residue on the metal die cutters, CO2 lasers are often used for the kiss cutting process. However, some rotary dies and steel rule dies are still used for kiss cutting. After the top layer is cut into the desired shape, scrap pieces of trim material are left and are either manually or automatically removed from the roll. Butt cutting is a simpler form of kiss cutting. The method is exactly the same, but there is no waste or trim generated during this process because all the parts are directly next to each other. This is used to produce square or rectangular shapes. Kiss cutting has many advantages over individually cutting parts. Kiss cut adhesive products are produced in large volumes on sheets that are rolled up. The rolls are neat, take up little space and allow for easy dispensing. Additionally, adhesive backed products are much easier to remove on a large liner.
