Guillotine shears for straight cuts in sheet metal
A guillotine shear separates sheet metal by shearing. An upper blade travels against a fixed lower blade. The cut follows a straight line across the plate. Before the blade moves, the hold-down clamps the material. What comes out is a straight edge with little burr and no heat input. Shearing is the quickest route from a plate to a blank, and it needs no cutting gas. In most workflows it runs before bending on a press brake and before welding. The full range sits under Sheet Metal Processing.
Guillotine shear, plate shear or shearing machine?
The three terms describe the same machine type. Guillotine shear is the common name across the export markets. Plate shears is the technical wording in drawings and quotations. A guillotine shearing machine usually means a powered version. The KNUTH series are swing-beam shears. The blade beam swings around a pivot instead of dropping vertically. This keeps the cutting force low and the edge straight. Buyers also ask for a metal guillotine, and no technical difference hides behind the words.
Drive types: manual, motorised and hydraulic
The drive decides plate thickness, cutting length and operator comfort. KNUTH carries three types.
- Manual lever shears work from the physical force of the operator. They suit thin plate, small formats and single parts.
- Motorised guillotine shears use an electromechanical drive with a flywheel. They are robust and keep a fast cycle on thin to medium plate.
- Hydraulic guillotine shears build their cutting force through hydraulic cylinders. They cut thick material and wide plates, and they adjust more finely.
High throughput and demanding cuts point to the hydraulic design. Mixed single orders are usually well served by the motorised type.
NC and CNC control on a guillotine shear
The control level matters as much as the drive. On an NC guillotine shear the back gauge travels to the value entered. CNC machines store programmes and work through a cutting list. They also derive rake angle and blade gap from the material entry. Long batches with many different lengths favour CNC.
Cut quality, rake angle and hold-down
Three details decide the edge. The rake angle controls how far the plate twists during the cut. A flatter angle protects the edge, a steeper one raises cutting capacity. The hold-down keeps the plate still while the blade travels. The blade gap has to match the material thickness. Plate support systems and stacking systems help when formats get large.
Applications and industries
Guillotine shears work wherever plate is cut to size. Typical users are metal fabricators, structural steelwork and mechanical engineering. Vehicle body shops and maintenance workshops follow. The machines cut steel, stainless steel, aluminium and copper alloys.
Choosing the right guillotine shear
Five points decide. Material thickness and material type come first, because stainless steel needs more force than mild steel. Then the cutting length, so the largest format still passes through. Then production volume and the edge quality the next operation expects. Last the budget, including blades and maintenance. Anyone working at the thickness limit every day should take the next size up.
Shear blades, accessories and wear parts
The blades are the actual cutting tool and the main wear part. Shear blades carry several cutting edges and can be reground. A blunt blade produces burr and pulls the edge over. Shear blades and wear parts are available from KNUTH.
Safety on guillotine shears
A guillotine shear is safe when it is operated and maintained as intended. Depending on the series, the equipment includes a cut line guard, an emergency stop and rear guarding. Foot pedal or two hand operation keeps the hands out of the danger zone. The documentation of each machine lists what is fitted.
Alternatives to shearing
Shearing is fast, but only straight. Contours and cut-outs need other processes. Laser cutting machines follow any outline with tight tolerances. Plasma cutting machines are more economical on thick plate. For forming instead of cutting there are folding machines and plate rolling machines. Edges are dressed on an edge beveling machine.
Why KNUTH
KNUTH is a supplier of machine tools, not a manufacturer. We select the series, test them in Germany and ship them. Every machine is tested with documentation and delivered CE compliant. The CE declaration of conformity and the full documentation travel with the delivery. Our European warehouse in Wasbek holds the common spare parts. Several drive types and sizes come from one source.
Service, spare parts and availability
Standard wear parts come from stock, special parts directly from the manufacturers of the components. Every machine comes with a spare parts supply guarantee of ten years. Our own service engineers look after the markets we deliver to. On the current availability of a guillotine shear we report on request.
Further Machine Categories at a Glance
Here is an overview of our machine range. Select a category to learn more about individual machines and their technical data.
