My Copam 24" tracks terribly on long jobs...

[360_Media 1]

My Copam 24" tracks terribly on long jobs...

I'm running a job that is 71" long and it's only about 20% completed and you can already tell that the tracking is completely off!

Why oh why?! ... does anyone have any suggestions besides violently throwing the cutter out of the window? :\

*FINAL CONCLUSION: Just wasted 24" x 74" piece of vinyl!

[Neuromax 97]

I would guess you didn't have the vinyl in straight. Once you set the rollers in place, run out a foot or so to see if it is tracking straight. If its not, lift one roller and adjust the vinyl (not the roller), back the vinyl through and see how it tracks. By doing this a few times you will get it tracking completely straight. Then to keep from wasting another 6' of vinyl I would pull that entire amount though the cutter to make sure it is still tracking true. I have done a run 10' long using this method and it worked great.

[mars 45]

Did you have it aligned perfectly in the first place? Here is how I do it - If you ever took typing in school the way you put the paper in straight was to align the bottom ant top of the sheet and make sure the edges were even with each other. You can do the same thing with the vinyl - sheet or roll - just feed the vinyl in and pull it down to align with the roll on the holder. I pull it tight and roll the roll back and forth to make sure all the slack is out and the edge of the vinyl is perfectly in line with the ends of the roll. I also align the right edge of the vinyl with the guide marks on the top and front of the outfeed table - make sure you are near one of the grit rollers. I also don't put the pinch roller too near the edge on long runs. Mine stays true - longest cut I have made is 84" - but it didn't wander over about 1/8" on that distance.

Another thing - make sure there is enough material rolled off so that the cutter doesn't have to pull the roll at any point in the cut - that will foul it up - I found out the hard way.

Hope this helps. If you had it aligned and it doesn't hold true - that's another story - I never have adjusted mine but that is probably what you will need to do if that's the problem.

-Mike

[roxanneupnorth 106]

I have an Expert 24 and it tracks very good.....But if I feed the vinyl and push the roll right up to the back of the machine and then set your pinch rollers this seems to be the best way to keep the material square.....Once you pinch rollers are set, you can then set the roll on the rollers.....The specs on a Copam say it should track within .15% so a variance of only of 1/10" in 72" should be expected....

[graphicguy 0]

I use the same method as Mars. Always run some out to double check.

[360_Media 1]

I've taken your advice and after a lot of testing before the cut it seems to be tracking well enough. Thanks!

*Did'nt realize the tracking was such a problem... I cut other jobs about this long and it was effortless. The only difference is that I had used a 10YARD roll instead of a 50YARD roll but I'm not sure why that would matter.

[edge 67]

I've taken your advice and after a lot of testing before the cut it seems to be tracking well enough. Thanks!

*Did'nt realize the tracking was such a problem... I cut other jobs about this long and it was effortless. The only difference is that I had used a 10YARD roll instead of a 50YARD roll but I'm not sure why that would matter.

There is a great deal more mass (weight) with a 50yd roll which becomes noticable if your cutter is forced to pull against it to unfurl as it's cutting.

[racinboy30 9]

I would say that would be my only complaint about my copam, even when perfectly alined, it still will track off no matter what I do. I have purchased new rollers, got the longer screws and still the tracking still exists. The only thing I can tell is the grit rollers are not gritty enough and the pinch rollers are not wide enough to make the proper friction need to pull and push without slipping. If the rollers where 1/4 inch wider and had more pressure I am sure it would work far better. As it is right now I am debating on removing the grit rollers to re-machine them true. I would say mine consistently pulls the vinyl to the right. I have switch the pinch rollers around and still the same problem. The only thing I could think it to be is the rollers are a couple thousands of a inch different in diameter. I would be interested if I could buy the grit rollers and replace the ones I have. But then again tearing my copam down to the components is not really an option. I need this machine running every day.

[mars 45]

There is a great deal more mass (weight) with a 50yd roll which becomes noticable if your cutter is forced to pull against it to unfurl as it's cutting.

If he is letting the cutter pull material off the roller that will screw it up every time - I don't think that was the case. Even if the tracking doesn't go wonky when the cutter "hits" the end of the unfurled part and has to drag more off the roll it will slip enough to make the cuts not match up on any paths that were being cut at the time.

-Mike

[Namchief 1]

Wow almost a year old but going to add my .02 worth.... Yes the pulling on a 50 yd roll or even 30 yard roll might bull the tracking off. But if you have the roll way misaligned a 5 yard roll will do it. In other words make sure the roll is exactly beneath the output of the machine. This will aid in keeping vinyl in line.