Slitter Setup Calculator
Enter a coil and the strips you need. See the cut plan, the knife and spacer stack, the clearance to set, and exactly how much of the coil becomes product.
The job
Best-fit planner
List every width you can accept — we find the mix that wastes the least coil.
Yield
94%
6% trim
Strips per coil
7
8 knives per arbor
Knife clearance
0.07 mm
6% of thickness
Top stack length
267 mm
83 mm spare
Cut plan across the coil
Where each knife lands, and what is left as edge trim.
Arbor stack — how to build it
Bottom spacers run strip width minus knife; top spacers run the exact strip width. The two shafts sit knife + clearance apart.
| Pos | Component | Bottom (mm) | Top (mm) | Sets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 2 | Spacer | 36 | 40 | strip 1 |
| 3 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 4 | Spacer | 36 | 40 | strip 2 |
| 5 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 6 | Spacer | 36 | 40 | strip 3 |
| 7 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 8 | Spacer | 36 | 40 | strip 4 |
| 9 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 10 | Spacer | 21 | 25 | strip 5 |
| 11 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 12 | Spacer | 21 | 25 | strip 6 |
| 13 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| 14 | Spacer | 21 | 25 | strip 7 |
| 15 | Knife | 4 | 4 | — |
| — | Shaft offset | 4.07 | knife + clearance | |
Knife setting at each cut
The two figures the operator dials in: side clearance and vertical overlap.
Clearance and overlap are typical starting values for cold rolled (cr / crca) at 1.2mm. Confirm against your knife supplier's chart and a trial cut — the right figure also depends on knife grade, arbor rigidity and the edge quality you need.
Output, time and cost
Split of a 3,000 kg coil at 40 m/min.
Coil length
1,274 m
at this width and gauge
Run time
32 min
excludes setup and coil change
Trim scrap
180 kg
6% of the coil
Slitting charge
—
add a rate to see this
| Strip | Width (mm) | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | 40 | 480 |
| #2 | 40 | 480 |
| #3 | 40 | 480 |
| #4 | 40 | 480 |
| #5 | 25 | 300 |
| #6 | 25 | 300 |
| #7 | 25 | 300 |
| Edge trim | 15 | 180 |
Fit on the MVEE line
Checked against our published capacity — up to 300 mm wide, 0.3–4 mm, from 5 mm strips.
Coil width
250 mm — within the 300 mm line limit.
Thickness
1.2 mm — within 0.3–4 mm.
Minimum strip width
Narrowest strip 25 mm — at or above the 5 mm minimum.
Edge trim
7.5 mm off each edge.
Arbor capacity
Stack 267 mm on a 350 mm arbor — 83 mm spare.
Yield
94% of the coil width becomes product; 6% is trim.
Want us to run this coil?
Send the setup across and we'll come back with a rate and a delivery date. 25+ years of narrow-strip slitting out of Chennai, delivered PAN India.
This calculator is a planning aid. Cut plan, stack order, yield and weights follow directly from the widths you enter. Clearance and overlap are typical starting values and must be confirmed on the machine — MVEE Industries accepts no liability for setups run from these figures without verification.
How to use the calculator
The tool works the way a setup sheet is built on the shop floor: start from the coil, place the strips, then read the tooling off the stack.
- 1
Enter the coil
Material, thickness and width. Add the coil weight if you know it — that unlocks strip weights, run time and the scrap figure.
- 2
List the strips you need
Width and quantity, one row per size. The cut plan redraws as you type, so you can see the trim shrink or grow with every change.
- 3
Or let the planner find the mix
Give it every width you'd accept and it returns the combinations that waste the least coil, ranked by yield. Click one to apply it.
- 4
Read the setup off the stack
The arbor diagram and the build table give the loading order for both shafts — bottom spacers run strip width minus knife, top spacers run the exact strip width — plus the offset that sits the shafts apart.
A worked example
Take a 250 mm × 1.2 mm CR coil, 3,000 kg to be slit into four 40 mm strips and three 25 mm strips. Those seven strips use 235 mm of the coil, leaving 7.5 mm of trim on each edge — a 94% yield, with 180 kg going to scrap.
Eight knives go on each arbor. The bottom spacers run 36 mm and 21 mm — strip width less the 4 mm knife — for a 239 mm stack. The top spacers repeat the exact strip widths, 40 mm and 25 mm, giving a longer 267 mm stack that governs the fit — comfortable on a 350 mm arbor with 83 mm to spare. The two shafts sit knife plus clearance apart: 4 mm plus 6% of 1.2 mm thickness, 4.07 mm, noted on the setup sheet for the operator.
Widening the trim or changing one 25 mm strip for a 32 mm would move the yield straight away — which is the point of having it drawn in front of you.
| Strips | 4 × 40 mm + 3 × 25 mm = 235 mm |
|---|---|
| Edge trim | 7.5 mm per side |
| Yield | 94% (180 kg trim scrap) |
| Knives per arbor | 8 |
| Knife clearance | 0.07 mm (6% of 1.2 mm) |
| Bottom stack length | 239 mm (spacer = strip − knife) |
| Top stack length | 267 mm (spacer = strip width, governs fit) |
| Shaft offset | 4.07 mm (knife + clearance) |
| Coil length / run time | 1,274 m ≈ 32 min at 40 m/min |
Slitting setup, explained
Tap a question to read the answer.
It depends on the arbor. The bottom arbor's spacer makes up the strip width less the knife it follows — spacer = strip width − knife thickness — which is also why a strip can never be narrower than the knives cutting it. The top arbor's spacer is the exact strip width, since the two shafts are already set knife thickness plus clearance apart.
Clearance is set as a percentage of material thickness, and softer metals need more of it. Cold rolled steel typically runs about 5–7%, stainless 4–6%, spring and high tensile 3–5%, and aluminium 8–12%. The calculator applies the figure for your material and lets you override it, but confirm against your knife supplier's chart and a trial cut.
Overlap is how far the top knife passes the top face of the bottom knife. Thin gauge needs more engagement to start the fracture and heavy gauge needs less — roughly 0.30 mm under 0.5 mm thick, down to about 0.10 mm above 3 mm.
Enough to remove the mill edge and any camber — commonly 3 mm or more per side, and more on hot rolled or damaged edges. The calculator shows what is left as trim once your strips are placed, so you can see the yield before the coil is loaded.
Yield is the share of the coil width that becomes finished strip: total strip width ÷ coil width. Everything left over is edge trim. A tight plan on a 250 mm coil will run above 95%; anything under 90% usually means a different width mix would pay better.
Every strip runs the same length and gauge as the coil, so the coil weight splits by width alone: strip weight = coil weight × strip width ÷ coil width. The balance is the edge trim scrap.
It depends on the widths and the trim you take. As an example, a 250 mm coil with 3 mm off each edge leaves 244 mm of usable width — that is six 40 mm strips, or nine 25 mm strips with a little left over. The best-fit planner searches the combinations for you.
5 mm, on coil up to 300 mm wide and 0.3–4.0 mm thick, in MS, HR, CR/CRCA, GI, pre-painted, SS 304/316, spring and high tensile steel. The calculator checks your job against those limits and tells you if it is outside them.
Related
Coil slitting services
Grades, tolerances and the full capability table for our line.
Narrow strip slitting
Why strips under 25 mm need a different setup — and different tooling.
HR vs CR slitting
How the material changes edge quality, clearance and trim.
Quality checks to ask for
Burr, camber and edge wave — what to specify before you place a job.
Cut to length vs slitting
Which process fits which component.
Get a slitting quote
Send us the coil and strip sizes for a rate and delivery date.