Chemical-etched die having improved registration means

摘要

A chemical etched die to be used in combination with a (e.g., roller) press to cut out shapes that are printed on sheet material. The die includes an outside border that surrounds an inside opening through the die. The size of the inside opening corresponds to the size of the shape to be cut. A cutting edge (i.e., blade) projects from the outside border of the die so as to surround the inside opening therethrough. The cutting edge is positioned at the interface of the outside border and the inside opening of the die whereby none of the outside border extends past the cutting edge and none of the outside border lies between the cutting edge and the inside opening. Accordingly, the cutting edge of the die will be exactly registered with the printed shape to be cut when the shape is surrounded by the outside border of the die.

主权项

1. A method for cutting out, by means of a first die, a shape that is printed on a sheet material, wherein the die includes an inside opening that corresponds to the shape to be cut from the sheet material, a flat outside border having first and opposite faces that surround said inside opening, and a cutting edge that projects from the first face of the flat outside border, such that said cutting edge surrounds the inside opening of said first die and corresponds exactly with the shape that is printed on the sheet material and none of the flat outside border of said die extends into the inside opening of said die past the interface of said cutting edge with the first face of said flat outer border, said method comprising the steps of:
locating the shape printed on the sheet material to be cut therefrom; placing the cutting edge which projects from the first face of the flat outside border of said first die directly against the sheet material, and looking through the inside opening of said first die so that the shape printed on the sheet material is located entirely within the inside opening of said first die and the cutting edge which projects from the first face of said flat outside border is automatically registered so as to surround the shape to be cut from the sheet material; positioning said first die and the sheet material having the shape to be cut therefrom within a roller press; and moving said first die and said sheet material through said roller press for causing a force to be applied to the opposite face of the flat outside border of said first die after said cutting edge has first been placed against the sheet material and said first die and said sheet material have been positioned in said roller press for pushing said cutting edge through said sheet material to cut the shape outwardly therefrom.