Shear Force For Cutting Calculator

Work out shear force for cutting instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Shear Force For Cutting Calculator

Parallel blades cut the whole length at once, needing length x thickness x shear strength. A raked blade engages progressively, so only a short zone is being cut at any instant and force falls to t² x shear strength / (2 tan rake). That is why guillotines use a few degrees of rake and why the cut sheet acquires a slight twist.

Formulas

Parallel blades

F = length x thickness x shear strength

Raked blade

F = t² x shear strength / (2 tan rake angle)

Worked example

With the default values below, Shear Force For Cutting Calculator returns Shearing force with rake of 45.10. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Length of cutminimum 1 mm: 1,000 mm
Material thicknessminimum 0.1 mm: 3 mm
Material shear strengthminimum 10 MPa: 350 MPa
Blade rake angleaccepts 0–15 °: 2 °

Results

Shearing force with rake: 45.10 kN
Force with parallel blades: 1,050.0 kN
Force in tonnes: 4.60 t
Reduction from rake angle: 95.7% %

Step by step

1Values used
2Parallel blades
3Raked blade
4Shearing force with rake= 45.10 kN
5Force with parallel blades= 1,050.0 kN
6Force in tonnes= 4.60 t
7Reduction from rake angle= 95.7 %

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the Shear Force For Cutting figure worked out?

F = length x thickness x shear strength. Parallel blades cut the whole length at once, needing length x thickness x shear strength.

Why not use a large rake angle?

More rake cuts force but bows and twists the strip being cut off, and it lengthens the stroke. Two to three degrees is the usual compromise on sheet.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: Length of cut, Material thickness, Material shear strength, Blade rake angle. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.