glossary
Fatigue Wear — Industry Glossary Entry
Definition of fatigue wear in industrial cutting: loss of knife material by sub-surface crack propagation under repeated thermal-mechanical cycling.
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Fatigue Wear is the loss of knife material by sub-surface crack propagation under repeated thermal-mechanical cycling. Each cut cycle heats the edge, then cools it; the temperature swing + the mechanical stress grows micro-cracks. Eventually a chip breaks off.
Where fatigue wear shows up
- Tissue slitter > 1,000 m/min: the edge cycles 30+ °C per second
- Film slitter > 600 m/min: similar, with thermal fatigue micro-cracking at the hone
- Aluminium foil slitter: high-frequency thermal cycling
- Any high-speed dry cut on a tough substrate
Fixes
- Apply a hot-hardness coating (TiAlN, AlCrN)
- Switch to a hot-hardness steel (M35, M42 HSS)
- Add active cooling (air or water-mist) aimed at the cut zone
- Reduce line speed within the knife’s rated window
See also.
