MH1351 blade not dropping READ IF YOUR REFINE BLADE ISN'T DROPPING!

[TinCan 0]

I submitted a ticket for this as well #AOS-569084.  I did the 9v test and blade moves.  Could someone please get back to me, we have jobs pending and would really like to get back to work.  

Thanks!

TinCan

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

not much chance of them replying on a user forum - the ticket and calling is the best bet

[TinCan 0]

have ticket, waiting.... tried calling, permanently busy.  Disappointing to say the least, only had it 2 weeks.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

so it was working fine but now the blade doesn't drop but it feeds the vinyl and moves the carriage?

[TinCan 0]

Yep. Cut some stuff on Wednesday and Thursday no go.  Head moves and vinyl moves as if cutting the design but the blade never touches the vinyl.  Even the test cut will not work.  Only time the blade raises or lowers is when I power it on or off. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Now that's an interesting thing - usually when the mobo is gone the blade doesn't go up or down ever.

are you in an area that is heating right now or in the sunny south?  I am wondering about static

also have you taken the bottom of the cutter off and seen if some wires have came loose from the motherboard?

[TinCan 0]

I am in a heated area although its a constant 65 in here where the cutter is. I thought about the static thing, grounded it to the stand and have not noticed any static when running it. I always pull enough vinyl off the roll so that it never spins while cutting.  I have not checked the wires at all but I ma do that now.  Can I leave it on the stand and check that or does the whole bottom need to come off?  Will check into that now...Thanks for that.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

The whole bottom comes off if I remember correctly.   the more i think about it I might be off base as the computer does send the signal to the cutter and the blade drops on power up so it must have connections to the usb and cutter head - but another area that has happened in the past is the plastic stand offs to the motherboard have broken or come loos allowing the motherboard to short on the cutter bottom -s o it is still worth looking at

[TinCan 0]

I have it connected via serial so its not usb. It does follow the paths that I have set up in my art.  Taking bottom off now.  Do you know if I need to remove all the small screws off the bottom or just the larger ones?

[TinCan 0]

OK pulled off the bottom.  Everything looks to be normal in there.  All connections are good or so it seems.  I just verified it and the blade does lower and raise on power on/off.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

sounds like at this point all you can do is hound usc on the phone tomorrow - remember they are pacific time so it doesn't do any good to call before 8:00- 9:00 their time

[TinCan 0]

Thanks for the help!  Will be calling in the morning.

[arson1981 0]

Any luck on this?  I have had my cutter for a few months now and it has worked fine.  In fact, I cut something this AM.  I just tried again this evening and now it is just hovering.  I did the battery test too and it jumped.  When I do the test cut, it just hovers.  When I send a project to cut, it just hovers above the cuts. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Complete a support ticket here: https://support.uscutter.com/hc/en-us to have USC staff run thru the test to see if it is another motherboard!

[arson1981 0]

I put in my ticket too, hopefully it isn't all that bad.

This started yesterday after I sent a large project to cut. All started well, then the blade dropped, the LCD went blank, an the cutter froze. I pressed reset and Viola, problem started. If the mobo is fried because I tried to cut a large project and the cutter could not handle it, I am gonna be disappointed.

[BannerJohn 1,324]

try unplugging the power cord for a few minutes, then plug it back in and try again.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

I put in my ticket too, hopefully it isn't all that bad.

This started yesterday after I sent a large project to cut. All started well, then the blade dropped, the LCD went blank, an the cutter froze. I pressed reset and Viola, problem started. If the mobo is fried because I tried to cut a large project and the cutter could not handle it, I am gonna be disappointed.

Yeh that doesn't sound like a MB

[arson1981 0]

I left the cutter unplugged all night, then tried again this AM.  No cigar. 

Everything worked fine yesterday AM, I cut a sign, no problems.  Then yesterday evening, I tried to cut about 30 bumper stickers out.  The cutter started cutting, then just froze.  I was out of the room and suddenly I realized it was too quiet, that obviously wasn't a good thing.  When I checked the cutter, the blade carriage arm was down, the vinyl wasn't tracking, and the display was blank.  I figure the cutter was stuck in this position for about 15 minutes.  So I reset and tried again, but this time I watched, same result.  I reset the cutter, powered down, reset computer, and tried again.  Then the cutter would just go through the motions but the carriage arm would not descend, just like it was hovering over the path, but not cutting.  I tried the battery test and the arm jumps.  It just seems like no electrical current is getting to the carriage arm.  I am gonna bust out the voltmeter and check it out tomorrow.  I checked all connections and everything looks fine. 

Seems this is somewhat of a common problem.

[arson1981 0]

So Tom from support has been very helpful. He says it is probably a chip on the mobo. I ordered the part, it was $25 + shipping. I will post the results in case anyone else has similar issues.

[arson1981 0]

Just got the chip yesterday and put it in last night.  Now, all is well.  Thanks everyone.

[Spyder Graphix 0]

I have the same thing going on with my mh1351 the blade does not drop even on restart what chip are you talking about and how do i get it??

[Ninja 16]

We call it the 'Z' axis chip because it is the one responsible for raising and lowering the carriage arm. It's really only the MH cutters that have 'Z' chip issues and typically it's static interference that does them in. If you're having issues with your carriage arm and blade not dropping to your vinyl, or staying dropped and not raising; you'll know if the chip has failed by performing these tests:

1 - Turn the cutter off and unplug it from the wall. Remove the carriage cover (three screws) and get yourself a nine volt battery. You want to touch the terminals of the battery to the two solder points above the carriage motor (or to the copper ribbons). Don't worry about doing this wrong, you can't hurt anything. If you're able to get a good connection you will see the carriage arm "jump" and either raise or lower depending on which terminals you're touching. If you aren't sure if you're getting a good connection, try using a couple paperclips; hold them to the terminals on the battery, and touch them to the solder points. If it does jump, then you know the carriage electro-magnet is good. Now, is power getting from the Motherboard to the motor? step 2.

2 -  Plug the cutter back in and turn it on. Pay close attention to the carriage arm; is it up, down, or somewhere in the middle? Turn the machine off. there should be a change; ie: the arm should drop. Then turn the machine on and observe again.  ... what you're looking for is the carriage arm to raise and lower with the power switch action. It should move only about an 1/8th of an inch; up with the power on, down with the power off. What this tells us is whether or not we're getting power sent from the motherboard, up the connecting wires to the electro-magnet that raises and lowers the blade arm.

           

            If it doesn't move at all after Step 2: You should call technical support and we'll walk you through one last test. You do not have power getting from the mother board to the carriage motor. At this point we can deduce that A) The connecting cable supplying the power has failed or has a bad connection... which is possible but not likely considering the machine. Or   The Z chip is toast because of static electricity. If the arm does move up and down with the power switch: it is definitive- your Z chip is toast.

If you do call to order another Z chip (which we sell) please, ground the machine before you install it or you risk this happening again. Oh, and FYI: if you put the Z chip in backwards (50/50 chance) you will burn it and potentially ruin the Motherboard as well; so call technical support first. Cheers!

[BannerJohn 1,324]

Thanks,Ninja (or Ben,or whatever your name is) for some very useful information. I have stickied this.

[pato 0]

Hi all I have had a mh 721 for nearly 2 years and it has had only very light use lately i have had a very similar problem except that insted of the blade not working at all it intermitantly releases some of the blade pressure part of the way through a cut and there for not cutting the vinyl properly .Could this be the z chip? or has anyone had this problem before? Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers

Chris

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Hi all I have had a mh 721 for nearly 2 years and it has had only very light use lately i have had a very similar problem except that insted of the blade not working at all it intermitantly releases some of the blade pressure part of the way through a cut and there for not cutting the vinyl properly .Could this be the z chip? or has anyone had this problem before? Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers

Chris

have you grounded the stand to the cutter?