Dunnage Conversion Machine Partial Cutting Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dunnage products often shingle or fall out of sequence during delivery due to incomplete severing from dunnage conversion machines, leading to alignment and ordering issues in shipping containers.
Innovation Solution
A dunnage conversion machine that partially cuts dunnage products across their width, maintaining a connection to the strip, allowing for orderly delivery and preventing shingling by using a cutting assembly controlled to cut between 25% and 95% of the strip's width, with a cutting blade moving laterally across the path.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If dunnage products are completely severed from the strip, then they can be easily separated and dispensed, but they shingle and fall out of sequence during delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting assembly performs a partial cut through the dunnage strip, severing most of the width but leaving a small portion (e.g., 1/8 inch) uncut. This partial severing maintains sufficient connection to prevent shingling and sequence loss, while still allowing easy manual separation by the packer. The principle resolves the contradiction by applying just enough cutting action to achieve separation ease without complete severance that would cause reliability issues.
2Productivity
If dunnage products are completely cut across the width, then they become discrete units, but they lose connection and order during delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting assembly cuts through a predetermined portion of the dunnage strip width (e.g., 90-95% of the width) but intentionally leaves a small portion uncut. This partial cutting maintains the connection integrity needed for stable delivery while still providing sufficient separation for efficient dispensing. The discrete units remain connected enough to maintain sequence but can be easily pulled apart when needed.
3Manufacturing precision
If the cutting blade cuts across the entire width of the strip, then dunnage products are fully separated, but they shingle on the delivery chute
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting blade is configured to cut through a predetermined portion of the strip width (e.g., 25% to 95% of the width) but stops before completing the full cut across. This partial cutting precision prevents the harmful shingling effect by maintaining a connection tab, while still achieving sufficient separation for practical purposes. The uncut portion acts as a tether that prevents shingling during delivery.
4Reliability
If dunnage products remain fully connected to the strip, then they maintain sequence, but they cannot be easily dispensed individually
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting assembly creates a partial severance that leaves just enough material connected (e.g., a small tab or bridge) to maintain sequence reliability, while the majority of the width is cut to enable easy manual separation. This balanced approach allows the packer to easily pull individual dunnage products from the strip without excessive connection resistance, while the remaining connection prevents shingling and maintains proper sequence during delivery.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making a dunnage product includes the following steps: (a) converting a sheet stock material into a lower density strip of dunnage having a width and a height that is less than the width; and (b) cutting the strip of dunnage to form a discrete dunnage product of a desired length by cutting across less than the width of the strip of dunnage to maintain a connection between the strip of dunnage and the discrete dunnage product. The connection between respective dunnage products in a string of connected dunnage products keeps the dunnage products together, in the order in which they were produced, and helps to ensure that the dunnage products do not shingle and can assist in feeding the dunnage products to a packing station.