Before die cutting evolved to what it is today at Associated Pacific Machine Corp, the technology emerged from presses in the publishing industry. Picture Germany, in the early twentieth century. Craftsmen tinkered and toiled to create the Heidelberg platen press, and this press could imprint, print, die cut, and more.
“What’s most interesting to me,” says Bob Wax, current president of Associated Pacific Machine Corp, “is that after having been here 150-plus years, die cutting still has a future. Even though the technology goes back to the Heidelberg press.”
Heidelberg Super-Speed platen printing press from 1937. Photo used with permission from the Powerhouse division of the Australian Museum of Applied Arts Sciences. Image Credit: Powerhouse collection. Photo: Tim Morris. Click photo for source details.
People would put a die and material onto the pad, Bob explains, and they would roll it through the press, and they would cut. “That’s what we do today: put a die of material into a press and push the die through it. The material and the dies have changed technologically, but the basic idea goes back many years.”
Significant improvements to die cutting machines as manufacturing scene changes
Since 1966, APMC has been an importer and distributor of a diversified line of industrial die cutting machinery.
There have been lots of innovations that have come along since the early days of die cutting –water jet, lasers, digital knife, routing, ultrasonic–they’ve all come along to cut materials. And they do have a place within the industry. But after over 150 years, the die cutting process in some ways, is still the best way to cut material.
“You can’t beat it for speed and accuracy,” Bob concludes.
Associated Pacific Machine offers a wide variety of die cutting machinery, including Swing Arms, Traveling Heads, Full-heads, Receding Heads, Digital Knife and others.
If you have questions about your machinery needs and how we can help, give us a call at (805) 445-4740 or send us a message today.