stickaguy

Pcut cutting smooth line but sometimes jagged like the knife is not spinning

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Hi well I purchased a pcut a couple of weeks ago from uscutter and have been using it a little bit since I got it until today. I have a bunch of sticker orders I need to get out but the cutter is having issues which I have tried to resolve myself. When cutting an image the knife starts off smooth but randomly especially on straight lines it makes grinding noise and then the line ends up getting cut all jagged. I have tried adjusting knife depth both ways as well as speed and down pressure but nothing seems to work. Only if I have the pressure on high enough where it is about to cut through the paper does it not make the jagged cut as bad but if I look closely I can see it isn't smooth. Its almost like the blade either binding in the holder to where it is not at the right angle and ends up cutting on its side which makes the waves on the straight lines. It doesn't do it in the same spot even when cutting the same image which would suggest it's not the image causing it. I even changed the blade to see if maybe the blade tip broke but it still does it with a new blade. I am going to start getting backed up on my orders so I hope I can get it resolved soon. I hate to have to use my summa 15" cutter as vinyl waste goes up dramatically. Thanks in advance for a response. I also check to see if the motor head is binding on the track and its not and it is seated on the track as it should be. I attached a picture of what it looks like might now see it very well but the lines going left to right they look almost like dots thats where they are jagged it should be a smooth line. Another thing I was able to narrow down is that it only does it when the blade goes from left to right it doesn't do it when the vinyl goes forward and backwards so cutting lines with the vinyl moving forward and back they are smooth left to right they are intermitently smooth and jagged depending on when the blade feels like doing it.

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The blade should spin on a 360degree axis. Can you spin the blades around when they are loaded? Might be an issue with the blade holder. Does the carriage arm appear to be loose, or is there any side to side play in the arm? It should go up and down, but have very little play side to side. The carriage loose at all? These are the first things I would check......

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Okay so just as an update on the jagged issue it only does it when the blade goes in a straight line left to right no other direction. I found I am able to keep it from doing it as long as I keep speed at 50 any other settings above that forget it it just gets messed up. so now I am running it at 50 speed with 140-130 pressure. I made a bunch of different size boxes to have the cutter cut them and and at that setting all edges are smooth. If I increase speed to anything above 50 when I go and cut the boxes I made it will cut from right to left side smooth and both forward and back sides smooth but when it goes to cut the left to right side it is all jagged more like an intermittent cut rather then straight cut. What I am worried about now is if by using the speed setting of 50 as the max I can go, am I only masking a real issue with the cutter or are these cutters just really not meant to run at any speed above 50? kenimes

I checked the blade holder and it has no play side to side just the up down play that it is normally suppose to have. Its just odd that it will cut 3 of the 4 sides fine at speed settings 60 70 and 80. I tried cutting different size boxes both from 1 inch to 38 inches and the result is the same with the left to right cut it doesn't do it continously through out that left to right cut motion but it does do it randomly.

Could it also be the blade type I am using I am using the ones the cutter came with and I am cutting calendered film about 3 mil thick.

I guess I'm used to how my old roland camm 1 use to cut fast so I was thinking that this cutter could cut at that high speed as well since it does have a setting for it but then again comparing to cutters from 2 sides of the price spectrum I could be expecting more out of the pcut then it is really designed for. I appreciate the help I want to make sure the cutter is fine while it is still under warranty.

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From the latest description it sounds like the blade is not spinning freely in the blade holder. Did you check and see if it would spin 360degrees in the holder? You should be able to cut straight boxes at top speed and max downforce. The blades that came with the cutter will cut 3mil vinyl easily, so it is not the blade. I am most concerned with the blade rotating freely in the holder. Some of our customers with other models have even gone as far as adding some lubrication to end of the blade before putting it in the holder. First time have heard this problem with the Creation units.

:)

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Sorry I forgot to mention that as well but yes I did actually put a drop of oil in the holder with the blade to see if that would help but it was still the same. when I touch the tip of the blade I can see it spin freely 360 degrees so I don't think that is it.

So I found a way to make it stop doing it but there must be an issue with the mechanism that press the blade down onto the vinyl. It is somehow vibrating on the left to right stroke causing the bad cutting. The way I tested this and was able to get it to stop was by adding some pennies onto the blade holder and that fixed it. I can even set the speed up to 80 and pressure down to 120 and it doesn't do it anymore.

The picture shows what I did to test.

So my last question is "is there an issue with the cutter that I can fix so that I don't have to have pennies sitting on the blade holder?"

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Worst case scenario, it could be a hardware issue with the carriage, which is covered under warranty. If you feel comfortable replacing it, we can ship one out to you. Let me know  kenimes@uscutter.com

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Sure thing I don't have an issue installing it myself I've replaced them on my rolands before. Let me know what you need from me I'll email you my address info to your email. Thank you for the help

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Need the serial number off the back of the cutter and I can note your account then give you the replacement options.

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I have been in sign business for over 10 year and tested most branded cutters in my shop.

I think Chinese cutters are almost same - you will find some issues now and then. You can find many brands in market and everyone says his cutter is of good quality. The fact is all Chinese cutters, such as PCut, Refine, Redsail and etc are of same grade. If anyone say his is better, that is a lie.

If you are running for an economical cutter, you may select from Pcut, Refine, and etc.

Sarah

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Love the penny solution!! You remind me of ME! Years ago,when all we had was turn tables and records, I used to tape a penny or 2 to the turntable arm to keep it from skipping.

To quote Red Green " If women don't find you handsome,at least they should find you handy."

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So it's now 8/23/07 and I still haven't received my replacement part as well as the extra carriage which I paid for as a back up. I wouldn't mind if someone could get back to me on this when they have some time. I just got an email from another person from uscutter just now and when I went to call the number he gave it was wrong and now they are closed. That person emailed me at 4:30 pst.

So did anyone else try the penny trick and did it work for them? I think I narrowed down the issue but wanted to see if my temporary fix worked for anyone.

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I'm also getting the same exact problems with the jagged edges. Did replacing the carriage fix it?

Here is a scan of my problem.

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I'm also getting the same exact problems with the jagged edges. Did replacing the carriage fix it?

Here is a scan of my problem.

Make sure the blade is barely sticking out of the blade holder, and use a pressure setting of 120-150.

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I'm also getting the same exact problems with the jagged edges. Did replacing the carriage fix it?

Here is a scan of my problem.

Make sure the blade is barely sticking out of the blade holder, and use a pressure setting of 120-150.

Bumped it up to 140, worked like a charm, thanks!

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Mine will do the same thing from time to time not all the time tho. Will have to try the penny thing ,thanks for the tip.

Kevin

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Well looks like im not the only one that is haveing this problem, It is almost like it is dragging, and I set my Speed up and down and force up and down and it still does it, i even tried to use the pen to draw and it done it with that to, Never fails always something just when you get a big job to do B)  Ken could you give me some intake on this please.. I have the MH365 12inch

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Well looks like im not the only one that is haveing this problem, It is almost like it is dragging, and I set my Speed up and down and force up and down and it still does it, i even tried to use the pen to draw and it done it with that to, Never fails always something just when you get a big job to do B)  Ken could you give me some intake on this please.. I have the MH365 12inch

Has the carriage popped off of it's track? There are two little white wheels behind the carriage (little black box), and they need to sit ON the tracks and not in front of the tracks.

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Nope carriage is on track, It seems to do it most on small cuts like 4x6 with some details, I cut a 3inch by 4foot sticker and it didnt do it one time, im not sure what it is, could it be that it didnt victorize correctly? or could of I messed up when I node edited it?  Im lost i have no idea,

              But thanks Ken for the quick response

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Nope carriage is on track, It seems to do it most on small cuts like 4x6 with some details, I cut a 3inch by 4foot sticker and it didnt do it one time, im not sure what it is, could it be that it didnt victorize correctly? or could of I messed up when I node edited it?   Im lost i have no idea,

              But thanks Ken for the quick response

Hmm, not sure. Does it do the same thing when using the plotting pen on paper with the same file.

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ok now its starting to get old and im getting angry, ok maybe not angry yet but old yes B)

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Could be something loose on the cutter. Investigate the carrige to make sure everything is secure and tight. I have seen cases where the bottom tension thingies broke causing this.

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