| By :
Stewart Wrighter
Some companies will not do all the work on things that they manufacture. Rather, they will send out this work to other companies who take in contracts from just about anyone. Contract die cutting and OEM die cutting are just two of these services that are provided and needs some rather specialized equipment to get the work done. What this process does is to cut out the same shape multiple times with each piece being identical to the last. The materials could be wood or plastic or even metal if the goods are made of this. These are called blanks and they can then be sent off to another factory to have designs etched into them. Everyone has seen one of these blanks without really realizing it. For example, the uppers in shoes are blanks which are cut out from huge rolls of plastic or leather and then sent on to be punched with holes for stitching or to put studs on for tying laces etc. Of course the blades used in this process are like razors which have been machine bent into shape for this purpose. Once this process is done, it is mounted on a wooden block to give it some stability. Once this is done, many blanks can be cut out over and over again without it going out of shape. Many mounted on one large block will cut down on wastage and it also speeds up the cutting process. These industrial cutters can cut just about anything and this does not have to me pliable materials. Key blanks that locksmiths use are done in this way and it makes them very cheap to produce. On the other hand, there are some huge blanks which cut out spare parts for ships and such which could not be done in any other way. Although this is normally a specialized job, many people have been maimed by these machines so they have to take extra care since even limbs can be amputated if a careless worker gets too close. The downside to the cutters is that they can only cut out flat objects and not any other shape. Pliable materials like leather can be molded after the event to make them hold their shape once they are sewn to the lower part of the shoe. On the other hand, paper can be layered up to quite thick levels and the whole thing punched out all at once. Again, this makes it a much cheaper procedure which helps to keep down the cost of making cards for birthdays, anniversaries and other such greetings cards etc. Finally, many of these procedures are carried out by third party companies which specialize in this trade. Even adding in the cost of transport etc, the whole cost of undertaking this kind or work is normally included in the end price of the product but it is really negligible particularly if it is a huge run of blanks. This really is a case of economies of scale!
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