Fig. 1: Overview of cutting mechanics in soft materials.

a Schematic illustration of the energy pathways in soft material cutting, including initial indentation, fracture propagation, and dissipation mechanisms. Strain energy stored during indentation is dissipated through the creation of new surfaces (fracture energy), damping cohesive forces, and interfacial mechanisms such as friction and adhesion at the tool-material interface. The parameters of the unified model for soft cutting are direct descriptors of the cutting mechanisms, as described in Methods, Table 1. b Cutting experiments on soft materials reveal physical responses that inform c a coupled continuum model based on cohesive zone and contact mechanics, allowing the isolation of dominant mechanisms. The schematic highlights the balance of normal and tangential interfacial forces at the blade-material interface. d Representative force-displacement responses illustrate three major mechanisms in soft cutting mechanics: adhesion-dominated cutting, adhesion-friction coupled cutting, and damped cutting in materials with heterogeneous internal structures. e Application to design of soft cutting for surgical tools and food texture engineering design for optimized mastication.