Guillotine shears

What are manual and mechanical shears?

Cutting sheet metal requires significant force. Moreover, this force must be precisely directed to avoid damaging the material and to achieve the desired result. This is exactly what professional sheet metal shears (guillotines) are designed for—they enable the cutting of components into specific shapes.

There are two main types of shears, differing in size, power, and application. Basic manual models are typically used to cut relatively thin sheets (up to 1.15 mm thick) with a cutting length usually not exceeding 1500 mm. These can be easily operated by hand. In contrast, mechanical shears require a drive system—the most common being hydraulic models. Thanks to this, the machine can cut sheets ranging from several to over ten millimeters thick. On the market, there are even models capable of efficiently cutting material up to approximately 40 mm thick. The cutting length of hydraulic shears can reach up to 3000 mm.

How do shears work?

The machine is equipped with sharp blades positioned at a slight angle to each other. Modern hydraulic actuators generate high pressure on the sheet metal. Under this force, the blades cause the material to fracture. This fracture occurs after the material passes through an elastic-plastic deformation phase, followed by plastic flow and finally rupture.

It’s worth noting that hydraulic shears operate without generating high temperatures. This makes them an excellent alternative to plasma or laser cutting. Consequently, hydraulic shears are ideal for processing materials that are sensitive to heat.

Where are shears used?

Small manual shears are suitable for any workshop—even the smallest home-based one. These are the tools individual customers typically choose when they need professional-grade equipment for cutting sheet metal. Hydraulic shears, on the other hand, are widely used across many industrial sectors, particularly in metallurgy (e.g., cutting sheets to size) and construction (e.g., trimming roof tiles or gutters).

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