Shearing

Shearing uses a straight blade to cut sheet and plate along straight lines, giving fast, low-cost blanks without heat or complex setup.

Overview

Shearing, or guillotine cutting, uses a straight upper blade against a fixed lower blade to cut sheet and plate along straight lines. It excels at producing rectangular or simple-profile blanks quickly, with minimal setup and no heat-affected zone. Cycle times are seconds, so it’s ideal for high-throughput blanking before secondary forming, punching, or laser ops.

Use shearing when you need clean, straight cuts in sheet stock, moderate tolerances, and the lowest cost per cut. Typical applications include trimming sheets to size, cutting strips, and producing simple flat blanks up to moderate thickness. Expect slight burrs and edge rollover, limited ability for small notches or internal features, and some variability in squareness on thicker plate. For complex contours, tight-profile tolerances, or intricate internal features, you’ll need to combine shearing with other cutting processes.

Common Materials

  • Mild steel A36
  • Stainless steel 304
  • Aluminum 5052
  • Aluminum 6061
  • Copper
  • Brass

Tolerances

±0.010" on cut length and width, squareness ~0.005"/in (typical job shop conditions)

Applications

  • Rectangular sheet blanks for brackets and panels
  • Enclosure side panels and doors
  • Strips for roll forming or press braking
  • Busbar and electrical copper bar blanks
  • Shim and spacer blanks
  • Base plates and mounting plates

When to Choose Shearing

Choose shearing for straight-line cuts in sheet or plate where you need high throughput, low cost, and moderate tolerances. It fits best for simple blanks, rectangles, and strips in thin to medium-gauge material at low to very high volumes. Expect some burr and edge deformation that may need secondary deburring if edges are functional or cosmetic.

vs Laser Cutting (CO2)

Pick shearing over CO2 laser cutting when your parts are simple rectangles or strips and you care most about speed and cost, not intricate geometry. For large batch runs of standard blanks from common sheet sizes, a shear will usually beat a CO2 laser on cycle time and operating cost.

vs Laser Cutting (Fiber)

Choose shearing instead of fiber laser cutting when every part can be defined by straight outer edges and generous dimensional tolerances. For high-volume production of standard panel sizes or bar stock from sheet, shearing avoids nesting and programming time and delivers lower cost per cut.

vs Plasma Cutting

Use shearing instead of plasma cutting when you need cleaner, more dimensionally consistent straight edges in thin to medium sheet. Plasma is better for shaped profiles in thicker plate, but for simple straight trims and blanks, shearing gives faster throughput, no heat-affected zone, and usually a better starting edge for forming or welding.

vs Waterjet Cutting

Select shearing instead of waterjet cutting when your geometry is simple and tolerance and edge finish demands are moderate, not premium. Waterjet is slower and more expensive per inch; for straight cuts in standard gauges, shearing delivers far lower part cost and much higher productivity.

Design Considerations

  • Design blanks so straight edges align with shear cuts; keep complex contours for secondary operations like punching or laser cutting
  • Avoid tiny notches, tabs, or narrow strips at the shear line; maintain minimum widths roughly equal to material thickness or larger to prevent distortion
  • Allow realistic dimensional tolerances (around ±0.010") on sheared edges unless there is a critical functional requirement
  • Specify grain direction and burr direction if it matters for forming, cosmetic faces, or safety on exposed edges
  • Group parts to use common blank sizes so the shop can shear bulk stock efficiently before downstream operations
  • Keep material thickness within the shear’s capacity and avoid very thick plate or extremely hard alloys unless the supplier confirms capability