bayotle 26 Posted July 19, 2010 I know the 871 isn't 'top of the line' but so far so good.... Well with one exception, the tracking. I'm wondering if it's normal for it not to track properly on long (5') signs? I did a 5' long text of my company name for the truck, believe it was about 4" high When it went back to cut the weed it literally cut through the middle of the characters. When it cut the borders the lines intersected. Nothing earth ending, I simply turned the weeding off and worked in out manually but am a little concerned about doing anything much larger than the size of a piece of paper... Any suggestions? Thanks Just remembered one other thing that bothers the $%^ out of me, the vinyl ends up with tread marks where the rolls press against it. I have the tension as light as possible, any more and I'll be picking the pieces up off the floor, is this normal as well? Re-thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted July 19, 2010 the mh871 is not known for good tracking...just like most of the low end Chinese Cutters. You have to play with it, keep trying to get it staright. Maybe 1 time out of 20 have I been able to get less than a 1/2 inch drift over a 4 foot cut. And I have had a cut track perfectly straight for 4 feet and then go off by over an inch in the last foot. There seems to be no reason to it. I learned a long time ago to disable the weed line cut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted July 19, 2010 the tracking marks should disappear when you apply the vinyl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted July 19, 2010 USC has themselves labeled these cutters as hobby class cutters . . . and has said don't expect quality results This is quite possible. I do a test on them using a letter size sheet of the alphabet with symbols. The capital A always shows some stairstepping on the MH. Every single one. Some are worse than others but as mentioned previously at a higher speed it's less noticible. Mass, inertia, etc. smooth out the oscillation of the motors working in tandem as it cuts an angled straight line. I have seen where people can make them cut almost smoothly by changing the e-speed setting. I can improve the stepping effect by adjusting the e-speed, the speed and force, and the belt tensions. Making sure the blade holder is in the rear slot, the carriage is on track, etc. I don't want to make people think this machine is a great business machine or that it will cut perfectly. it's just not going to do that. It's a hobby/craft cutter. It is a great starter machine, use it to make enough money to upgrade. If you're cutting things small enough that this issue is a problem then it's probably not the best machine for the work you're doing. It's not a sales pitch. When people call I always try to qualify what they are trying to do before I say that a particular machine will or will not work for their job. I did not design, engineer or manufacture this machine. I fix lots of them however. If you are not in an environment where static can be a problem these things CAN do some really good work. I have customers with 4-5 year old machines that they make huge quantities of t-shirts on. I'm always happy when someone gets one of these and it works for them. I become unhappy when someone has a problem with their MH and it turns out to be a design issue and then everyone gets mad at uscutter for something we didn't make. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted July 19, 2010 If your roller tension is too light,that might be part of the problem.Also, if the tension is not the same on all rollers, it will pull to the right or left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bayotle 26 Posted July 19, 2010 Dayum fast replies, that's why i like this 4um! Thanks guys! Didn't expect this to be high end but had to ask and make sure it wasn't something i was over looking... And reading these posts feel kind of stupid, i dropped the tension down to try to eliminate the roller marks which (thanks john) would explain the tracking problems.... insert my best homer simpson DOH! And appears you're correct speed, just went back over everything I've cut in the past few weeks, the tracks are on the ones not applied, but couldn't find any on anything that was applied - guess i need to quit working at night in the dark! Thanks again guys! Just noticed where I posted this, this was in no way a complaint or criticism against USCutter! Guess i need to quit speed reading and get my glasses checked along with everything else! Wow, got my thread moved and the old one locked! I feel like a true UsCutter Forum Member now!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
