- Jai Bhavani Nagar, Wagle Industrial Estate, Thane West, Thane, Maharashtra 400604
The Finetech Engineering Rectangular Strip Specimen Cutter is a precision parallel-blade die used to cut uniform rectangular test strips from flat sheets of rubber, plastic film, paper, paperboard, textile, and flexible packaging materials. Unlike dumbbell cutters (which produce shaped specimens with a narrow gauge section), the rectangular strip cutter produces specimens with a constant width across their full length — a straight-sided strip.
Rectangular strips are the most versatile specimen shape in material testing. They are specified across more testing standards than any other geometry — from rubber tensile and fatigue testing (ASTM D412, D4482) to paper tensile testing (ISO 1924, TAPPI T494) to plastic film testing (ASTM D882). The key to reliable results is consistent strip width: even a 0.5 mm variation across the length of the strip can introduce significant error in calculated stress values, because the cross-sectional area changes.
Finetech Engineering rectangular strip cutters are manufactured from hardened tool steel with precision-ground parallel blades, ensuring that every strip produced is exactly the specified width from end to end. The cutter is used with a hydraulic press, manual press, or pneumatic press to punch cleanly through sheet material in a single stroke.
Test / Application | Strip Width | Standard | Material |
Tensile testing of rubber (straight specimen) | 6 mm or as per die type | ASTM D412, ISO 37 Type 2 | Vulcanised rubber, TPE |
Extension cycling fatigue (FTFT) | Approx. 4 mm (narrow section) | ASTM D4482 | Vulcanised rubber |
Tensile testing of plastic films < 1 mm thick | 25 mm ± 0.5 mm | ASTM D882 | LDPE, HDPE, BOPP, stretch films |
Tensile testing of paper and paperboard | 15 mm or 25 mm | ISO 1924-2, ISO 1924-3, TAPPI T494 | Paper, paperboard, tissue |
Tear testing of paper (Elmendorf) | 63 mm × 76 mm (special shape) | TAPPI T414, ISO 1974 | Paper, paperboard |
Tensile testing of textiles (strip method) | 50 mm ± 0.5 mm | ASTM D5035, ISO 13934-1 | Woven and non-woven fabrics |
Peel testing of adhesive bonds | 25 mm standard | ASTM D1876, D903 | Adhesive laminates, tapes, films |
Compression set strip specimens | Various widths | ASTM D395 (if strip form) | Rubber |
General-purpose strip cutting | Custom width to order | Any | Any sheet material |
Standard | Specimen Description | Width (mm) | Length (mm) | Thickness (mm) |
ASTM D412 (straight specimen) | Straight uniform cross-section strip | 6 (or per grip width) | 150 typical | 2–3 |
ISO 37 Type 2 | Narrow rectangular strip | 4 | 75 | 2 |
ISO 37 Type 3 | Narrow rectangular strip | 4 | 50 | 2 |
ASTM D4482 (FTFT) | Fatigue strip with tabbed ends | ~4 (narrow section) | ~79 overall | 2 |
IS 3400 Part 1 | Straight strip for tension set | 6 or as specified | 150 typical | 2–3 |
Standard | Description | Width (mm) | Gauge Length (mm) | Thickness (mm) |
ASTM D882 | Thin sheeting and film tensile testing | 25 ± 0.5 | 50 (initial grip separation: 50–250) | < 1.0 |
ASTM D1938 | Tear propagation of thin films | 25.4 | 75 (notched) | < 0.25 |
Standard | Description | Width (mm) | Test Span (mm) | Notes |
ISO 1924-2 | Paper tensile (constant rate of elongation) | 15 ± 0.1 | 180 (grip separation) | Standard method |
ISO 1924-3 | Paper tensile (higher strain rate) | 15 ± 0.1 | 100 | Faster method for high-volume testing |
TAPPI T494 | Paper/paperboard tensile | 25 ± 0.5 | 180 (grip separation) | North American standard |
ASTM D828 | Paper/paperboard tensile | 25 | 180 | Similar to TAPPI T494 |
TAPPI T414 (Elmendorf tear) | Paper tear strength | 63 × 76 mm | Special Elmendorf template | Requires Elmendorf-specific die |
Standard | Description | Width (mm) | Gauge Length (mm) |
ASTM D5035 | Textile tensile (strip method) | 25 or 50 ± 0.5 | 75 |
ISO 13934-1 | Textile tensile (strip method) | 50 ± 0.5 | 200 |
ASTM D5587 | Textile tear (trapezoid method) | 75 × 150 mm | Trapezoid template |
Parameter | Specification |
Product Name | Rectangular Strip Specimen Cutter (Parallel Blade Die Cutter) |
Standard Widths Available | 6 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, 25 mm, 50 mm |
Custom Widths | Any width manufactured to order (specify with enquiry) |
Cutting Length | Standard: 150 mm, 200 mm, 250 mm. Custom lengths available. |
Standards Supported | ASTM D412, D882, D4482, D1938, D5035ISO 37, ISO 1924, ISO 13934TAPPI T494, T414IS 3400ASTM D828, D1876, D903 |
Blade Material | Hardened tool steel (EN-31 / equivalent) |
Blade Hardness | 50–56 HRC |
Cutting Edge Finish | Precision ground, parallel edges. Polished min. 5 mm from cutting edge. |
Edge Parallelism | Parallel within ±0.1 mm across full cutting length |
Body Material | Mild steel (MS) body with machined handle |
Wall Thickness | Minimum 5 mm |
Operation | Used with Hydraulic Press / Manual Press / Pneumatic Press |
Certification | NABL-traceable dimensional certification available |
Precision parallelism. Our strip cutters are ground to ±0.1 mm edge parallelism across the full cutting length. This means every strip you cut is exactly the specified width from end to end — giving you consistent cross-sectional area and reliable tensile stress calculations
One cutter covers multiple standards. A 25 mm strip cutter, for example, can prepare specimens for ASTM D882 (plastic films), TAPPI T494 (paper), ASTM D5035 (textiles), and peel testing (ASTM D1876) — making it one of the most versatile tools in your lab.
Full width range. Standard widths from 6 mm to 50 mm, plus any custom width manufactured to order. If your standard specifies a non-standard width, we will make it
NABL certification available. NABL-traceable dimensional certification verifying parallelism and cutting width — essential for accredited labs.
Cross-industry expertise. We serve rubber, plastic, paper, textile, and packaging labs. We understand which cutter width and length works for each standard — so when you call, you get accurate recommendations, not guesswork.
Product | Why Related |
Dumbbell Specimen Cutter | For dumbbell/dogbone tensile specimens (ASTM D412, D638) |
Tear Specimen Cutter | For tear strength testing (ASTM D624, ISO 34-1) |
Burst Strength Tester | For paper burst testing — labs that test paper strips also test burst strength |
Universal Testing Machine | The machine that runs tensile tests on the cut strip specimens |
Hydraulic Press (Manual) | Used to drive the strip cutter through sheet material |
Flat Sheet Mould (ASTM D3182) | For moulding rubber sheets from which strips are cut |
Customisation available
A rectangular strip cutter is a precision parallel-blade die that cuts uniform rectangular test strips from flat sheet materials. Unlike dumbbell cutters (which produce dog-bone shaped specimens with a narrow gauge section), strip cutters produce specimens with a constant width across their entire length. They are used for tensile, tear, fatigue, and peel testing of rubber, plastic films, paper, textiles, and adhesive bonds.
The 25 mm strip cutter is the most versatile and commonly ordered width. It covers ASTM D882 (plastic film tensile), TAPPI T494 (paper tensile), ASTM D5035 (textile tensile at 25 mm), and peel testing (ASTM D1876, D903). For ISO 1924 paper testing, a 15 mm cutter is required. For rubber strips, 6 mm or 10 mm widths are typical.
If the required strip width is the same (e.g., both need 25 mm), yes — the cutter geometry is the same. However, paper and rubber have very different thicknesses and cutting resistance, so you may want dedicated cutters for each material to preserve edge sharpness. For labs testing multiple materials, we recommend keeping separate cutters for soft materials (rubber, film) and hard/fibrous materials (paper, cardboard) to extend blade life.
Extremely important. In tensile testing, the stress is calculated as force divided by cross-sectional area. If the strip width varies along the length (because the cutting edges are not parallel), the calculated stress is inaccurate. For a 25 mm strip with 0.5 mm width variation, the error in stress calculation can exceed 2% — enough to produce out-of-spec results. Finetech strip cutters are ground to ±0.1 mm parallelism.
Yes. Finetech Engineering provides NABL-traceable dimensional certification verifying the cutting width and edge parallelism of each strip cutter.
Standard cutting lengths are 150 mm, 200 mm, and 250 mm. Custom lengths are available on request. The cutting length refers to the length of the cutter die itself — the specimen strip produced will be the same length as the cutter (minus a few mm at each end where the blade curves).
Yes. We manufacture multi-lane strip cutters (e.g., a cutter that produces 5 or 10 parallel strips in a single press stroke). This is commonly requested by paper mills and film testing labs that need to cut large numbers of identical strips for batch testing. Contact us with the number of strips and the width, and we will design a multi-strip cutter for your application.
