Harmonikkaleikkurit

Harmonikkaleikkurit, literally “accordion cutters” in Finnish, refer to a family of cutting and scoring tools used to create accordion-like folds or pleats in various sheet materials. They are employed to produce evenly spaced crease lines or perforations that enable controlled folding, expansion, or detachment along a material.

The equipment can range from manual handheld devices to automated industrial systems. In textile and paper processing, harmonikkaleikkurit typically use blades, perforation wheels, or scoring blades arranged to create a regular pattern of folds or teardrop perforations. In plastics, foams and films, the tools may combine scoring with slitting or perforation to form flexible, foldable structures. Adjustable parameters such as fold pitch, blade depth, and feed speed allow customization for different materials and finished products.

Applications for harmonikkaleikkurit include decorative pleating in textiles, pre-creased packaging materials, automotive interior components made from foam or leather, and various consumer goods that rely on expandable or contractible sections. The term often covers several related devices, from simple hand tools used in crafts to larger pleating machines in production lines. In English-language contexts the specific equipment may be described as pleating or accordion-folding machines, perforating cutters, or rotary pleaters, depending on the mechanism and material.

Notes on terminology: harmonikkaleikkurit is a Finnish term that may not have a direct one-to-one English equivalent. The concept is best understood as equipment that creates accordion-like folds through controlled cutting, scoring, or perforation of a wide range of flexible materials. See also pleating, perforation, and rotary cutting.