By equipping a high speed cut-to-length machine with an advanced digital servo drive, Baldor has doubled its accuracy. Since most manufacturers of downstream cutting machines – and their customers – regard cutting accuracy as the single most important parameter, the improvement is highly significant and likely to lead to increased machine sales.

Manufacturers of cut-to-length products nowadays work to very precise dimensions, to avoid raw material wastage and maximise profit. As a consequence, they demand increasingly higher levels of accuracy from cutting machinery. Even small errors, over time, can account for significant wastage. A typical example is the manufacture of windshield wiper blades, where the rubber extrusion now needs to be cut to an accuracy of ±0.02in (±0.5mm) – anything outside this range is likely to be deemed unacceptable.

The machine that Baldor upgraded is designed to cut plastic tube extrusion into 2 inch (50.8mm) lengths, at a rate of more than 300 feet (91m) per minute. It is produced by GF Goodman & Son, a leading manufacturer of downstream cutting machines based in Ivyland, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1922, this company has grown to become a major OEM of high speed cut-to-length machines for extrusion lines; its products include a wide range of rubber and plastic extrusion cutting systems, as well as rotary shears and slitters, and hydraulic guillotine bale cutters.

Control Design Magazine has just released the results of their Reader’s Choice Awards survey. We are pleased to announce that Baldor Electric is ranked #1 in the industrial electric motor category.

Category voting results:

#1 Baldor Electric – 34% of votes
#2 Rockwell Automation – 18%
#3 Emerson/U.S. Motors – 9%

SEW Eurodrives, GE and Regal Beloit were tied at 7% followed by Toshiba at 5%