Process for forming and for the further processing of small stacks of sheet material

A process for forming small stacks from an initial stack of sheet material by cutting, said process comprising:

• providing a single guillotine cutter machine which comprises a rear table part for receiving the material to be cut and a front table part for receiving the cut material;
• separating the initial stack into partial stacks by a plurality of cuts in a first direction perpendicular to a direction of feed thereof;
• pushing back and rotating 90° at least a portion of the partial stacks from the front table part on to the rear table part for further cutting;
• horizontally repositioning an alignment station with respect to the front table part to a position above the front table part, the alignment station including a first moveable guide plate;
• advancing the partial stacks such that the partial stacks abut the first guide plate;
• cutting the partial stacks in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction to produce small stacks;
• moving apart the front and rear table parts to form a gap between them;
• placing a second movable guide plate substantially within the gap;
• and
• transporting the small stacks through a transverse channel formed between the two guide plates to a further processing station.