The JDC Cutter from Thwing-Albert Gains a New Look While Maintaining the Same Reliability.

The JDC Precision Cutter has become the accepted standard for many companies worldwide to prepare samples of paper, paperboard, metal foils, nonwovens, plastic films, tissue and a variety of other materials.  Lightweight and portable, the JDC Cutter 10” models have undergone an update adding the feature a 20” length base for added leverage and stability along with operator safety.

The cutter was originally developed for the paper industry by Dr. James d’Argaville Clark, an extremely active member of the pulp and paper industry.  His experiences within the industry ranged from being a professor of pulp and paper science to a paper chemist and engineer.  He served as the Chairman of the Delaware Valley chapter of TAPPI and was credited for writing many technical papers about the subject of pulp and paper.  Dr. Clark was instrumental in developing many instruments that are still used today to meet industry standards including the JDC Precision Cutter.

Today, the design has evolved to make the base lighter while adding leverage with a new 20” long base for all 10” models.  The cutting process remains the same, cutting test strips to an exact width and parallel throughout the entire blade length using the positive cutting action of the dual blades and precision ground base shear to cut both sides of the sample at once assuring a clean, accurate cut every time.

The precise cut made by a JDC Cutter is important to the test results that determine physical properties of materials being used to manufacture consumer products including tensile tests.  When the measurement requires accuracy, the cutter meets a ±0.001 in tolerance level.  Thwing-Albert offers several 10” models including the most popular JDC 1” x 10”. Cutting lengths is set at 10” inches and the blade width can be from 1/8” up to 3”.  The 12” and 16” models are still available in the original style base at this time.   

Customers have the option to add adjustable sample platforms and safety shields to fit the JDC Cutter.  Thwing-Albert has modified the platforms to allow the technician to adjust the platforms providing a 12” to 14.5” cutting surface depending on the setup needed.  The cutter is used to prepare samples for many types of tests but mainly for tensile testing of materials.  Over history, this cutter has developed from a simple paper sample cutter to a reliable sample cutter used to meet a variety of ASTM, ISO, and TAPPI standards as well as others.