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How sharp and precise should corners be? Still having issues ce600

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I still seem to be having issues with the ce6000-60.  I have tried every setting I can think of and the only way I can get clean and sharp corners and O’s with out “hang nails” is using tangential mode 2 and offset -2. With these settings my test triangles are sharp .  This setting is consistent with both the Graphtec stock blade and a 45 & 60 Clean Cut Blade.

 

Everything I have read on this forum and others say the offset should be 0. When my settings are at 0 and everything is defaulted my cuts look bad . Little nubs on the corners and the issue with circles

 

It’s not the cutter it’s not the computer or software so I must be doing something wrong and I am not sure what.  I have searched and found a others having the same issues with ce6000’s & 5000s in a few different forums but no one ever posts a resolution. I have readjusted the blades many many times. I am confident it is set correctly. I have pretty much only used 651 but have tried 4 different rolls. I have tried just about every setting there is (I wasted a lot of vinyl) I am not sure what else to do

 

Am I expecting too much from the cutter?  Do you guys have some pic of text close up that you can post so I can compare.

 

I am very frustrated at this point.  I will give Graphtec a call Monday.

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QUOTE> "the only way I can get clean and sharp corners and O’s with out “hang nails” is using tangential mode 2 and offset -2. With these settings my test triangles are sharp .  This setting is consistent with both the Graphtec stock blade and a 45 & 60 Clean Cut Blade."

 

Sounds like you took care of it... what do the numbers matter.. as long as it's producing clean, sharp cuts?

 

QUOTE> "I still seem to be having issues with the ce6000-60."

 

Is the only problem you have left is that the numbers aren't on zero?

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You are prefeeding your vinyl correct..?  Always have vinyl slack, never be pulling from the roll while cutting..  I have posted the blade depth instructions too many times to count, but the way Graphtec taught me, was to turn the blade all the way in, push the blade holder down to the cutting strip, get eye level with bottom of blade holder, turn the top of the blade holder, when you see daylight under the bottom of the blade holder, STOP. That is all the amount of blade that you need. If not cutting deep enough, then use the machines force to cut deeper,  NOT adjust the blade..  You should only be cutting with the tip of the blade.  And yes, they will cut perfect squares, and triangles.    I can cut perfect stripes. 

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Wait......

Everyone said to set your offset to zero on your graphtec because you should be adjusting your offset in you software.

You don't want to have offset adjusted at both locations.

If you really want it set like everyone else set your offset to zero on your plotter and then go into your cutting software and adjust the offset there.

Every kind of blade has a different offset. So you have to adjust offset somewhere. Most people prefer to do it in the software but the adjust IS available on the plotter.

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Wait......

Everyone said to set your offset to zero on your graphtec because you should be adjusting your offset in you software.

You don't want to have offset adjusted at both locations.

If you really want it set like everyone else set your offset to zero on your plotter and then go into your cutting software and adjust the offset there.

Every kind of blade has a different offset. So you have to adjust offset somewhere. Most people prefer to do it in the software but the adjust IS available on the plotter.

that is why I told him to use the Graphtec Cutting controller..   Adjust everything from there, using software settings.  So much easier.   I never told him to adjust at cutter.   It is on the other post of his...  I even posted the screen shot of my Graphtec Cutting controller.

 

But he has not stated where he is making his adjustments at....  so we really don't know where he is changing settings....  You either change the settings on the software OR the cutter.  YOU cannot do both.....it will have no effect...  And if Using  the Graphtec cutting program, Graphtec Studio...your cutter command must be on GP-GL. 

 

When you use the Graphtec Cutting Controller, the cutter screen will be on CONDITION 9....You will see it on your cutter screen...  I just cut regular sign vinyl,  and a little chrome.  All I use is CONDITION 9

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There is plenty of slack in the vinyl and the blade is set correctly ( I followed Mz SKEETER’s instructions many times :-).

 

I think I am misunderstanding how the offset setting works and getting confused from my threads and others I have read.  I am using Cutting Master 3 and Graphtec studio 3 which basically have The Cutting Controller built in.  If I change the offset in Graphtec Studio 3 or Cutting Master 3 it writes it to the cutter the same way Cutting Controller does. If I power cycle the cutter that offset I set in studio is saved in the condition I used on the cutter itself.  When I read that the offset should be left at 0 I assumed because Graphtec’s software actually saves the settings on the cutter I should leave them at zero. Am I making sense? 

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On Pages 78- 79 of your user manual shows what the correct test pattern looks like with the square and triangle. 

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owned several ce3000's ce5000's and now a ce6000 - offset in flexi is at 0 for every one of them so not sure what you have going on.  once your test square is right don't touch the offset - with cheaper cutters I had to add to the overcut in flexi to get them to cut the last bit but never a graphtec.   what does graphtec support say?

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I still seem to be having issues with the ce6000-60.  I have tried every setting I can think of and the only way I can get clean and sharp corners and O’s with out “hang nails” is using tangential mode 2 and offset -2. With these settings my test triangles are sharp .  This setting is consistent with both the Graphtec stock blade and a 45 & 60 Clean Cut Blade.

 

Everything I have read on this forum and others say the offset should be 0. When my settings are at 0 and everything is defaulted my cuts look bad . Little nubs on the corners and the issue with circles

 

It’s not the cutter it’s not the computer or software so I must be doing something wrong and I am not sure what.  I have searched and found a others having the same issues with ce6000’s & 5000s in a few different forums but no one ever posts a resolution. I have readjusted the blades many many times. I am confident it is set correctly. I have pretty much only used 651 but have tried 4 different rolls. I have tried just about every setting there is (I wasted a lot of vinyl) I am not sure what else to do

 

Am I expecting too much from the cutter?  Do you guys have some pic of text close up that you can post so I can compare.

 

I am very frustrated at this point.  I will give Graphtec a call Monday.

 

Here are two snapshots of my settings in Cutting Master 3.  One is condition 1, which I don't believe are default settings.  The other is the tool settings with the offset force and angle.  Works perfectly for me.

 

post-25773-0-65852000-1405196597_thumb.j

post-25773-0-41729700-1405196606_thumb.j

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I think I have the settings dialed in now.   What bothers me is if I use the same settings as BCODecals with the stock 45 degree blade I get hang nails in anything that has a Circle or oval. If I give it -2 offset it is much better. The same settings in VinylMaster Pro I can see where the start and stop points are and I get some “nubs” on corners but no hang nails.if I add -2 offset it looks a lot better.  If I use a Clean Cut 60 degree blade the same thing happens in Cutting Master 3. But in VinylMaster Pro it looks good and when I add -2 offset it is almost perfect. If I take a 7x loop I can see  where the blade starts and stops on circles and really small text (under .25 inch)  but that is just getting too OCD.    

 

My original Issue last week was a broken blade tip which is why I was having issues with different software. I will admit that I did not try my other software until tonight since getting all the replacement parts. Here is my question for you guys. If someone is running the same exact setup and getting great cuts without any offset why do I need -2 all across the board . Also why does VMP cut great compared to Cutting Master.

 

Dakotagrafx-

My test squares looked prettygood with both offsets it is when I tried to cut anything that was a circle or oval I would get a “hang nail” where the circle started and stopped at 0 offset. I have not spoken with Graphtec but I plan on calling them on Monday.  Do you guys know if Flexi starter has a trial? I would not minde giving it a try to see what happens

 

I spent the majority of the last 2 days and nights screwing around with the cutter and I think my wife is going to kill me at this point :-)  As of now I am pretty happy with the way it is cutting in vinyl master pro with the 60 degree blade and -2 offset.  I did score up the cutting strip on my last cut though. I feed some vinyl out to trim a piece off then forgot to reset the origin point for my next cut. That mistake is going to cost me $35

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post the file and let us see what the issue is

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I attached a picture of what I was getting with the settings right of of the box with the stock 45 degree blade. Pretty much most of it cleared up with -2 offset.

I also attached a .eps of one of the test files I was using. This one is converted to outlines but it happened with text also.  It is just Arial and Times New Roman typed into Illustrator.

post-86774-0-55156400-1405259414_thumb.j

test.eps

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Do you mean tangential mode?  or is there a overcut option in cutting master 3? I have tried tangential mode 2 with a .2mm overcut in the Graphtec controller/Cutting master 3 and the results where good but I did not like how it made lines on the inside of some text. Honestly I tried cutting some files from a few weeks ago again in VinylMaster pro with the 60 degree blade -2 offset and they look great. I am going to try some small text later today and see how it turns out.

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   I only cut on HP-GL  software program.. .Flexistarter 8.6  Overcut is in it..... Everything is do is ONLY on the 2nd screenshot..  Offset,  Force, Speed,.   I do not change anything on that 1st screen.   I only make my adjustments on Graphtec Cutting Controller. There is no Tangential mode there...  I went into my Cutter menu and see that it is on Mode 1.. I never change anything there.  I looked at my Cutting master 2, I could not find overcut there...    Look in VinyMaster and see if it has overcut...  The overcut is a feature in the cutting software   You could look at Cutting master 3,  I don't have it,  Click the tab at the top that looks like a blade. (Last to the right)   That is where it is in Flexistarter.  

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Yes, VinylMaster does have an "Overcut" adjustment within the software.

 

post-43059-0-82247600-1405265243_thumb.p

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I also was reading  Step Pass. meaning,  this has to do with arcs,  and should be on 0.   Word for word,,,in Advanced on Graphtec Cutting Controller.,,  Specifying a small value increases image quality by enabling smooth blade tip control when arcs are cut..  If the value is too high, the results may fail to reproduce the intended image. Normally the STEP PASS value should be set to "0"  

 

The  above is from Graphtec. 

 

Worth a shot.

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My CE 5000's step pass is set on "1"... It's what my manual recommends.

I see it will go to "0" but, I'm not changing the setting.

 

Just remembered, you're talking about the CE 6000... the setting is different for it?

 

post-43059-0-12707600-1405267238_thumb.p

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I'm just trying to find possibilities, This Graphtec Cuttiing Controller is for your CE5000-   also.  LOL.   That is what it says...   His problem is with the arcs. Circles, ovals   I have never changed any of that stuff.  My cutter cuts great also.     I only change speed....   force  once in a while..

 

Mine cut great out of the box 8 years ago. 

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He could try changing that STEP PASS to "0"  and see if it changes the cut, if at all.   It's not going to hurt anything.

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Setting the step pass at 0 did not make a difference.   -2 offset looks good but if I look at the sample under a loop I can still see a little lump/spot where the circle starts and stops is this normal?

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If you need a loupe to see an imperfection, you've 'bout got it nailed.

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If you need a lupe to see an imperfection, you've 'bout got it nailed.

That is what I was thinking,  It's not a diamond,  buyers don't look at decals like that..

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I understand that it is not going to be perfect and the customer is not going to notice these issues at this point but I would like to know is this acceptable for a Graphtec or should it be able to do better.  This is my first cutter so I do not have anything else to compare it to

.

This is basically the best I can get it. If you look at the picture the bottom of the T is not correct and the O still has some “hang nail” to it.  The “O” is a little under .5 inches in height for scale.

post-86774-0-96627100-1405309996_thumb.j

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