While it might not immediately appear important, the cutting board on a hydraulic press can be the difference between efficiency and strife. There are two general rules for a good board. The first is that it must at least be harder than whatever you are trying to cut. The toughest possible board material is steel. While this gives the best cut, it blunts cutting tools, and so is not really an option for soft materials, although it works perfectly well for things like paper.
The second rule is that the board material should be as elastic as possible to withstand thousands of cuts and to enable cuts to close – or ‘self heal’ – after a second cut is made to an area, protecting the cutting tool.
Rubber: banned
If one only observed the second rule, cutting boards could be made from rubber, but this would cause materials to become pressed into the board, which would preclude a clean cut while also requiring the machine to use more power.
Perfect compromise
Based on these two rules, high-quality plastic cutting boards represent the best compromise. There is a range of plastic boards on the market, and the considerable differences between them depend on the kinds of granulate used and on the production processes involved in their manufacturing. High-quality hardware is made of more expensive granulate, which strikes an excellent balance between hardness and elasticity. Lower-quality boards may look no different, and be similarly hard, but will be unable to ‘self-heal’, and have a much shorter service life.
Reduced tension
The way plastic sheets are made is also very important; as production speeds increase, so does the level of tension inside a board. A good cutting board should remain flat during the process; too much tension inside causes bending, meaning sheets quickly become unusable.
High-quality cutting boards are produced by a pressing procedure that takes at least three hours for a 25mm thickness; a low-quality board of the same thickness takes only 20 minutes and will be full of tension.
Invest in the best
High-quality boards are a must if you are looking for the highest production speeds, trouble-free cutting, the best protection for expensive cutting tools and maximum yield of material, as well as the longest lifetimes. The price may inevitably be higher, but the considerable advantages, combined with long-term savings, will more than justify the initial investment
