---

The Problem:

Elevator and appliance manufacturers are just two industries that use stainless steel in their products for appearance or design. The material is usually covered with a plastic film to protect it from damage during the manufacturing process. The film is manually cut to reveal material that will be processed at a later stage. There is a better way.

The Mate Solution:

Mate’s SheetmarkerTM tool can be used for more than marking or etching
sheet metal. Using the brass film cutting insert (MATE00485), fabricators
can use Sheetmarker to cut film using the punch press–eliminating an
extra manual step. The brass insert is designed specifically to work with
harder materials like stainless steel. The insert can be used to cut the
protective film only, exposing the sheet below without any damage to the
sheet surface. Simply program the tool to cut the areas to be removed
by the machine like any other operation.

Since brass is soft it can become dull quickly and scratch soft materials,
so therefore should be checked as frequently as every 2-3 days in high volume operations. Another option is to use a combination of a diamond
insert and a super light spring so the diamond only touches the plastic
film and will not damage the surface of stainless steel sheets.

Mate’s Sheetmarker is available in a variety of tooling styles, including Ultraform®, Trumpf style, Murata Wiedemann 112/114 style and Salvagnini.

Other Considerations:

• The brass or diamond insert may leave a witness line in the surface of aluminum or other softer materials:
  • Using a light spring could possibly reduce or eliminate the marking in softer materials
  • Using a combination of both a lighter spring and a reduced machine stroke could help reduce or eliminate the marking in softer materials
• The brass insert might not work on anodized aluminum because of the hardness of the anodizing.

Material and Other Restrictions:

• Contact your Mate Applications Specialist

How to Order:

• Ask your Mate Customer Service Representative or Applications Specialist about Mate Sheetmarker in Ultraform®, Trumpf style, 112/114 or Salvagnini style tooling.