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wallsoftext

Cutter keeps chewing up vinyl while cutting, please help!

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Normally we can just take our equipment into our usual supplier in for whatever maintence we need, but our go to guy there is gone on his honeymoon (a three week vacation with the last week still to go >_<), and of course our new cutter decides to start giving us trouble the day after he leaves with a whole mess of orders getting backed up. We're getting a little desperate and can't wait for him to get back to fix this so if anyone here can help it would be beyond appreciated.

 

We have a Graphtec 6000-60 that we've only had for 2 months. About a week and a half ago it started lifting the vinyl at the corner of cuts. At first it was only on the more intricate designs, the it was on every corner, then it started lifting up pieces of vinyl. Now it chews up the vinyl if we try to cut anything. We've tried putting in a new blade, switched from a 45 degree to a 60 degree, took the blade holder apart to make sure nothing was gumming it up (at first nothing was, the last two times we tried cutting it had gotten all gucked up with bits of vinyl. These were the times it chewed up the vinyl.), checked the alignment, the rollers, every part of it we can think of top to bottom.

 

We haven't been able to get a hold of the manufacturer, just keep getting an answering machine service. Any ideas on what could be causing it? It was cutting fine for weeks, and we're at a loss.

 

 

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are you using the absolute least amount of blade possible?  are there cuts in the cutting strip ?

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this is how you set your blade.   Is this done correctly? If your vinyl is lifting, it sounds like too much blade exposed out of the blade holder.  You should just barely see the tip of the blade out of the blade holder.

 


To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and firmly cut across a piece of scrap vinyl, you will be cutting. You should only be cutting the vinyl and barely a mark on wax paper backing, Adjust blade to get there, Then put the blade holder back in machine, and use the force of the machine to get there, same results, only cutting the vinyl and barely a mark in wax paper backing.

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That's how it was cutting at first, and we hadn't changed the blade settings or adjusted anything when the problems started. The first few times it did it, readjusting the blade seemed to work. My first thought was maybe it had been cutting too deep into the wax and that had caused build up on the blade (it didn't seem deep, but the blade wasn't worn when I checked it maginfied). But switching out the blade should have fixed that at least for a short period of time if that was the case, and the very first cut with the new blade pulled up edges too. We've tried several different depths and different force settings with the same result. The closest was a super light depth that was almost not cutting all the way through so was basically useless. It would have weeding a nightmare and only stopped the lifting part of the time.

 

Luckily our supplier is giving us a voucher for the material that is getting eaten up with experimenting to try to get it to work. I think we've gone through about 4-6 yards trying out things if you count the inital designs that had the be recut too from when it was still semi managable.

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I have cut for years and have never had wax build up on a blade.   I use the same blade for at least 9 months, and I cut several orders every day.   Cutting regular Oracal vinyl and an occasional chrome decal.   If you have problems you don't start adjusting the blade, you adjust the force of your machine. If the blade is set correctly.   Sounds more like the build up, is the glue from the adhesive, with the blade being too far exposed. When you are lifting up that vinyl, you are getting into the adhesive.  A correctly set blade will not lift the vinyl.

 

What brand of vinyl are you using?

 

Have you readjusted your blade to how I explained above? That is the correct way to set the blade, to the vinyl you are currently going to cut.  Once the blade is set correctly, there is no need to adjust the blade. You adjust the force on your machine from there.

 

Also, at what speed and force are you running the machine?

 

And now that you have gotten gunk from the adhesive on the blade and such, put a drop or 2 of light oil.  3-1 etc, in the blade holder and make sure the blade is spinning freely.  You should only be cutting with the very tip of the blade. And only the tip of the blade would be seen out of the end of the blade holder.

 

If you are wallsoftext, then are you using Oracal 631 vinyl?  

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Mainly we are using Oracal 631. Once in a while we use Oracal 651 for when someone wants one of our designs for use on a car, but that's maybe one design a week if that. We've been wanting to try out cutting the Orcal 8500 and 8300 translucent and transparent films, but that's on hold for now.

 

The current settings is speed 20cm/s and force 12+0. When adjusting the force didn't work we just reset it to the default and tried working on adjusting the blade. We did adjust the blade just like you were saying and had initially put it in that way. You can't even really see the blade tip (I'm really glad the place we bought it warned us how little to have it out or we would have cut right through to the cut strips through first go for sure).

 

Would the oil used for sewing machine matience work?

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yes, sewing machine oil will work.       You have to get your blade depth correctly set from the git go with the procedure I explained above.     Then you use the force of your machine. When you are firmly cutting across the vinyl by hand, with the blade holder in your hand, , is it cutting nice and smooth?  And just barely making a mark in the wax paper backing?   Are you sure you have good blades?  If a blade tip is broken , it will create problems. And you should just barely feel the tip of the blade out of the blade holder.  Also try slowing your machine speed down. 

 

If you can, post some pictures of your cutting problems that you have cut. 

 

You should be learning all about this cutter,  and not have a go to guy, that you have to reply on.  It is your business, so it is essential to learn your equipment. 

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I have found that the slower I cut on detailed work the better. I use a Graphtec CE-5000-60 and cut a lot of smaller graphics. I have set my speed to 3 (very slow) and had no problems. It does take longer to finish the job but I have no problems.

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I almost never go below 15 on mine unless it is extremely detailed. I'm not at the store to be certain but I think my pressure is at 15 as well. The only time with any of my cutters that I had points lifting I was cutting with too much blade. On my 5th cutter now and have finally realized that most cutting problems are too much blade or improperly set offset.

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