Tipping knives for cigarette filter-attachment units
A tipping knife cuts the tipping paper that joins the filter to the cigarette rod; cork knife is the older trade name for the same part. Steellogy makes tipping knives, and the parts that work with them, to your approved drawing or from a worn knife in our own plant in Poland, with finished-part checks on a sample from each batch.
- SpecificationMade to your drawing
- ProductionOwn plant in Poland
- InspectionSample from each batch
What the part does
In the documented press-cutting arrangement, glued tipping paper runs around the tipping drum, the knife meets an insert set into that drum with the paper between them, and the cut sections are wrapped around the filter and cigarette-rod assembly. The cut is therefore made against a mating part, not into free air: the knife and the drum insert are a pair, and the condition of one shows up in the work of the other.
The patent describes knives aligned along the axis of the knife drum. Drum rotation does not make the knife circular, so we take the outline, mounting features and edge form from your drawing or from the worn knife rather than from the way the assembly moves.
The name cork survives because tipping stock was called cork in the trade even when it was paper. A cork knife on a modern line cuts paper, and the word says nothing about the material at the cutting point — which is why an enquiry for one needs its station identified. It is also a different part from the knife that segments the filter rod, even where the two sit within the same filter-attachment equipment.
Machines and stations
Aftermarket suppliers describe cork and tipping knives for secondary tobacco equipment associated with Hauni, Molins and G.D. Those listings identify categories; the knife geometry and revision stay specific to the drawing for your machine. Hauni is the historic machine brand; the company is Körber Technologies.
One machine family can carry more than one tipping knife variant, and the OEMs do not publish which variant belongs to which revision. Send the drum or insert drawing with the knife drawing where you have it, because the working geometry is defined by the pair.
Machine names describe the intended application only; Steellogy is not affiliated with, authorised by or supplying original parts on behalf of the machine manufacturer.
How it wears and when to change it
The historical tipping patent records two failure modes worth knowing about: edge damage where the bite against the mating insert is excessive, and deformation in a heated-drum arrangement. Neither identifies the cause of a fault on your unit, but both point at the same practical check — look at the insert and the setting before you look at the knife alone.
The replacement criterion — a defect rate on the tipping seam, a limiting dimension, or a set interval — is agreed with you from your line's records and the machine instructions, and written into the order. The paper specification belongs in the same conversation: what the knife is cutting is part of what defines the part.
Materials and hardness
Arkote lists carbide, high-speed steel and ceramic options within its cork and filter cutting category, which includes tipping knives. That is a supplier range rather than a rule about which material belongs on which tipping knife design.
Material and hardness for a Steellogy part are agreed for your drawing-defined application and stated on the quotation, together with any required coating or surface treatment. For steel knives, heat treatment, grinding and finishing are done in our own plant in Poland. Where the starting point is a worn knife, the proposed edge geometry is agreed before manufacture.
Made to your drawing — quality and documents
We make the tipping knife to the approved revision, including its working edge and mounting arrangement. Mating and clamping parts can form part of the same drawing-defined enquiry, with the supply scope agreed in writing. A repeat order refers to the approved specification, so the settings the unit runs stay valid between deliveries.
Before dispatch, dimensions, hardness and edge condition are checked on a sample from each batch. Material documentation, hardness reports and dimensional inspection records are available on request; their scope is confirmed in the quotation. The finished-blade inspection description explains the checks, while Supplier information covers the qualification documents.
Trial batch and comparison on one machine
We offer a paid tipping-knife trial batch, with quantity, price, lead time, acceptance criteria and comparison cycles stated in the quotation. It is not a free sample, not a guaranteed result. The proposed measure is accepted cuts or pieces under your quality criterion, with the paper specification, speed and drum conditions held on the same basis for both candidates. Changes to the mating insert or the settings are recorded as changes of condition, and you receive the comparison in writing under our single-machine comparison protocol.
What to send for a quotation
- Machine and filter-attachment unit, revision and tipping-paper station.
- Knife drawing or a worn knife, including outline, mounting features and specified edge profile.
- Drum or insert information where available.
- Tipping-paper specification, any declared treatment, and whether the drum is heated.
- Current removal criterion, output between changes, quantity and required inspection records.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Cork knife is the established trade term for the tipping-paper knife, kept from the time when tipping stock was called cork even though it was paper. The name does not describe the material being cut, so we identify the tipping station and use the drawing or worn knife to define the shape, material and mounting details.
No, those are separate parts. This page covers the paper-cutting operation at filter attachment; segmenting a finished filter rod has its own knife and its own drawing. Identify the station in the enquiry so the drawing, the sample and the acceptance criterion refer to the same operation.
Yes, and that pair is a good starting point. We agree the proposed knife geometry before manufacture, including features missing through wear. The mating-part information gives the assembly context, while the approved specification states material, hardness, working edge and mounting requirements.
Not on its own. The tipping patent associates edge damage with excessive bite against the mating insert, and deformation with a heated-drum arrangement — so the insert, the setting and the drum condition are worth checking first. We look at those with you before proposing a different material.