JHew84

No stroke, I've found that stroked vectors don't actually cut around the outside edge but rather the path itself. Unless I was doing something wrong. If I zoom in close enough there is a node that is actually outside of the boundary box itself. Also I have the canvas size set larger than the image itself. I went through those steps above and it didn't seem to change anything. More observations, went back to edit some other files that had the same problem. If going from an SVG to an EPS it doesn't matter how the image is selected it still cuts the top off. But if the file is already opened as an EPS saving without the boundary box doesn't cut the top off. Might not be a connection but it seems to be working this way lol.

It's not the machine it's the image itself. Zoom in and look at how jagged the lines are in some areas, then go into node edit and look at how many extra nodes there are. If you simplified that part of the image it would cut much cleaner. Did you make the vector yourself or convert it from a picture? I noticed a huge increase in detail going from my MH to the graphtec. Decals that always cut smoother/faster on the MH suddenly had a TON of detail from an overabundance of nodes. I had to go through and simplify a few of them because the graphtec spent so much time on the small details that it drastically increased the cut time. Which is a good thing, but decals that I may not have noticed issues with in the past suddenly stood out like a sore thumb lol.

I'm not on the inkscape forums otherwise I'd make a post. I may go make an account at some point just to do some more searching about different features but now that I have a solution the reason has been bumped down my list of things to research lol.

Coaster36, I think you may be onto something with how a file is saved. I was playing around with that image again and when I imported it next the circle was whole. So I removed the circle, deselected the image in inkscape and resaved the file. Loaded it into SB and the top wasn't lopped off even without the little circle above it. I'm still confused as to how this could make ANY sort of a difference whatsoever, as a transform/boundary box is not part of the image itself. But at least I have a solution. If anyone has an answer for why I am still interested though.

Yeah I have no idea. It's weird, it's not like the transform boundary box should have any real impact on the actual image itself. And if it does why is it inside the actual boundaries of the image itself? Maybe there is no link here, I'm just seeing a correlation. But I have no idea, glad other people are having issues with it as well. for the time being I've simply added a small circle to the top of the image, annoying but whatever, I'm willing to waste a small amount of material to make sure the decals I produce aren't deformed in some way. Oddly enough look what happens to the small circle, I just don't get it. And it doesn't do it on all my images, only the ones that have curves at the top most part of the decal. So it has to do with the curve. Pointed, angled, straight, etc, all cut just fine.

here's a picture of the screen in signblazer (this also happened in signcut when I used it before). The top curve shouldn't flatten out like that, it should keep curving. In inkscape the nodes keep it curving but the bounding/transform box overlaps that small portion at the top, it's still there in inkscape (just overlapped) but in the cutting software it's gone. it's also doing it a little on the sides, but that's not as noticeable. Also I used to think it was because there wasn't a node at the "peak" of the curve, but this graphic actually does have a node there.

I've had this happen a few times but it wasn't as big of an issue in the past. Something about the boundaries around the actual image cause the cutter to not complete minor parts of the path outside of the bounding/transform box around the image. It's most noticeable on graphics that have a curved top, instead of following the curve from one side to the other when it gets to the top it will make a straight cut then go back to complete the rest of the curve, effectively lopping off the top of the curved piece. Is there a setting that I have the tolerances set too tight on? When I go into Inkscape I can see the minor overlap of the bounding box on top of the image itself. It's very minor and I would have never noticed it had the final product (cut decals) not looked funny. This in addition to it happening on both my machines is what leads me to believe it's something in Inkscape rather than an issue with the cutting software or the cutter itself. I've done a few searches but can't seem to find an answer to this problem, I'm sure it's out there I just don't know what it's called lol. Any help is appreciated, thank you.

That's also a really good idea, way less trouble than using paper haha.

I just got my CE6000 working with SB as well. Mine finishes the job at the end, it doesn't put the carriage back to the starting point. I just checked my settings and I do have the "advance after cut" box checked but it is set to 0. I have a few jobs to cut tomorrow, I can play around with the settings and see what it does.

Yeah that is another thing on the to-do list. Yours looks really nice!

I have an MH 871 and there were a handful of things that always bothered me about it, so I changed them haha. This is all in addition to the obligatory grounding modifications. Which came after the first motherboard was fried and further grounding after the second motherboard and carriage. The first was the measuring strip on the front of the machine. If I didn't feed 4-5" before starting the job it would catch that strip every time without fail and sometimes cause problems with the job itself. I hate wasting material so something else had to be done. My first "fix" (spur of the moment) was to fold up the edge of the vinyl after getting it loaded into the machine. This became annoying quickly and wasn't always effectinve so I also taped pieces of paper to the front of the machine to smooth over the lip created by the measuring strip. This worked but was also annoying, especially if I was trying to figure out how far apart I needed to run the pinch rollers. Shortly after that I got so fed up with it that I pulled it off and re-glued it above the carriage track. Now there's nothing for the vinyl to catch on and i still have a size reference on the front of the machine! Next was the media rollers. Every time I switched rolls I had to readjust it to line up with the far right side pinch roller. So I took a small strip of vinyl and ran it right next to where the roll should be placed so there's no adjustment needed after loading it. Lastly was the cheap wheels that come with the stand. They didn't swivel properly and half the time would just slide across my floor. So I went out to home depot and snagged a set of wheels designed for nice hardwood floors (softer wheel material). Not only do the always swivel and roll but the locks are also much easier to use. Anyone else do things to their machine to make it a little more pleasant to use?

I don't see anything wrong with it. It looks like the sign next door is probably not permanent anyway. It obviously doesn't stand out as prominently as a solid purple banner, but if that's what she wanted she should have requested it.

Just a follow up, I ended up getting the CE6000-60. I looked over everyone's suggestions here, found a few more opinions in various places and watched a bunch of videos of each machine operating. In the end I decided they did update enough things on the 6000 that I deem important to justify the difference in value. Better tracking is definitely a big deal. This is exactly the kind of insight I was looking for! I don't run a lot of longer pieces but I have run into tracking issues even on large quantity cuts of smaller decals. I think the longest thing I've cut to date was 8' long, a set of stripes for a mustang. I'll probably be doing more of that at some point as well. Thank you! This played into my decision a lot. I do a lot of adjustments on the machine itself and like you said the 6000 seems to be more convenient for that. I also finally found an explanation for what the media brake is for. I basically do the same thing manually on my MH series, which isn't very inconvenient so I'm not even sure how much I'll use that feature. But it is there. I also picked up an FC7000-130 for a song and dance that was listed locally. It was damaged in shipping, seems to work fine but some of the pieces are tweaked a little bit and it for sure needs a new cutting strip and blade. Also one of the pinch rollers was damaged. It may be an option down the road but I'm not sure it's worth putting the money into right now (hence why I pulled the trigger on the CE6000). After I got it home I found more information on repairing the pinch rollers and while the part is affordable the repair isn't something to take lightly. Time will tell if I part it out or put the money into restoring it. Thanks for all the input everyone. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to getting the graphtec and using it on some upcoming jobs!

I do most of my sales locally to car clubs/bands/business'/etc. I do some online sales, and I do cut larger graphics, but most people don't want stuff so large that I would need 30" rolls for. I bought a few early on because the cost per sq/in was cheaper, but found I was wasting more when someone only wanted a few in that color. I could offer some larger graphics online but I'm not setup to ship them at the moment, maybe something I could explore later on. But the MH does bigger graphics just fine, I've never had a problem with it. So if the need arises I will have it on standby. But for my bread and butter business the precision of a servo motor and nicer machine will pay off.

I don't anticipate having to use the MH either. I have cut 2 decals over the past year where the 30" roll was useful. But I also could have oriented one of them differently and cut it on a 24" roll as well (wasting a lot of vinyl). The other was a massive stripe kit, which the MH will do just fine if I ever need to do it again. It's the small stuff that it struggles with which is 99% of my business lol.