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Guillotines

Guillotines are machine tools that are used for cutting sheet metal with a straight cut. They work by driving down an angled blade onto the material to slice along the length of the cut. Like many other machine tools, although traditionally operated manually many modern guillotines are motor powered and can even be CNC controlled, making cutting quicker, more accurate and safer.

Whereas the blade cuts through some of the material, the final separation is actually due to the metal fracturing. The effectiveness of a guillotine is determined partially by the fracturing quality of the metal being cut. For example, harder metals such as stainless steel fracture more easily than a softer metal such as brass. The guillotine blades ideally need to be strong, durable and have a sharp edge. Because sharp-edged blades are not very strong or durable, a square-edged blade is used instead.

There are a wide range of guillotines available, from small ones suitable for jewellers and hobbyists, right up to large bench guillotines used for industrial applications.

Guillotines are simple machines in concept, and are very convenient for cutting sheet metal to leave a straight, clean edge. There are however many modern, more complex takes on the guillotine, such as mechanical guillotines, hydraulic guillotines and swing beam guillotines. The more complex the machine, the more likely that specialist training will be needed.

The cutting process

Guillotine machines cut sheet metal by placing them between the two square cut blades and driving the upper blade downward to cause a fracture in the material (as stated above). One important factor that will determine the quality and accuracy of the cut is the horizontal clearance between the two blades. The thicker the sheet metal, the bigger the clearance required. The upper blade may be angled so that the entire width of the plate need not be cut simultaneously, saving on the power needed to guillotine the metal sheet

As the upper blade is driven downward into the work piece at the first stage of cutting, the metal yields elastically. After the yield strength of the material has been exceeded, it continues to be pressed out of shape by plastic deformation. Eventually the deformation limit of the material is completely exceeded and the metal is fractured along the diagonal between where the upper and lower blades press the material. See figure 1 below.


Figure 1 - animation showing the cutting of sheet metal using a guillotine.

Metal Guillotine

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