KEVOS® MAKEOS · Fabrication
Guillotine Shear Check (Cutting Force, Energy, Power, Thickest Sheet)
Can this guillotine shear cut my sheet: what force and energy does each cut take, does the motor keep up at my stroke rate, and what is the thickest sheet it can cut in this material?
Check of a sheet-metal guillotine with a raked (inclined) or parallel blade: shearing force and the machine force with the 1.3 allowance (as the shearing blade force tool), energy per cut from the force for parallel blades over the penetration, motor power at the stroke rate and drive efficiency, the sheet width against the blade length, and the thickest sheet the machine capacity allows in this material at this rake.
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How this tool works
Inputs, units and where to find them
| Input | Unit | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| Blade arrangement | choice | Raked blades cut progressively with less force; parallel blades cut the whole width at once. |
| Sheet thickness | mm | Thickness of the sheet. |
| Width of cut | mm | Width of sheet cut. |
| Shear strength of the sheet | MPa | Shear strength of the sheet (about 0.75–0.8 of tensile strength for steels). |
| Tensile strength of the sheet | MPa | Tensile strength of the sheet. |
| Rake angle | ° | Rake angle of the moving blade. |
| Penetration coefficient | Penetration coefficient in the inclined-blade formula (handbook value for the material; your value). | |
| Strength ratio factor | Ratio factor in the inclined-blade formula (your value). | |
| Relative penetration at fracture | Share of the thickness the blade enters before the sheet fractures. | |
| Machine force capacity | kN | Rated cutting force of the machine. |
| Blade length | mm | Length of the blade. |
| Cuts per minute | Number of cuts per minute. | |
| Motor power | kW | Rated power of the main motor. |
| Drive efficiency | % | Share of motor power reaching the blade. |
Method and formulas
- Parallel blades F = τ b T; inclined blades F = n k UTS ε T² ÷ tan α; machine force = 1.3 F (as the shearing blade force tool).
- Energy per cut ≈ τ b T × ε T (the shearing work is the same whatever the rake); power = energy × cuts per minute ÷ 60 ÷ efficiency.
- Thickest sheet at capacity: inclined T = √[cap tan α ÷ (1.3 n k UTS ε)]; parallel T = cap ÷ (1.3 τ b).
- Example: 3 mm × 1000 mm needs 48.246 kN (capacity 300 kN), 1,620 J per cut and 0.77143 kW at 20 cuts a minute; the thickest sheet is 7.4808 mm.
Limitations
- Handbook approximate formulas; blade clearance and sharpness change the force.
- Flywheel machines can exceed the average power for single cuts.
- Example values are illustrations. Replace them with values for your actual task.
Typical uses
- Check whether a shear can cut a thicker or stronger plate
- Estimate motor power for a shearing rate
- Choose rake for a thick sheet
Who it is for
- Fabrication supervisors
- Press and shear operators
- Manufacturing engineers
What you get
- Shearing and machine force against capacity
- Energy per cut and power at the stroke rate
- Thickest sheet at capacity and width check
Interpreting the result
- More rake lowers the force but twists and bows the cut strip: thick plate is cut at the smallest rake that the capacity allows.
References
- Machinery’s Handbook, 29th edition (Industrial Press, 2012), printed pp. 1336–1338. Topic reference; no source tables or recommended settings are reproduced.
WORKOS tools are screening and decision-support utilities. Verify important financial, engineering, safety, legal or operational decisions using appropriate professional standards and your organisation’s approved data.
Open the Guillotine Shear Check (Cutting Force, Energy, Power, Thickest Sheet) calculator
