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mactube

Rookie - Reintroduction

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Hi, 

it has been a year since I have been on here. The last time I was on here in the same Introduction segment , I have asked members what would be the best cutter to buy. After a lot of helpful tips, I have bought an 

US Cutter SC Series .  Since I have successfully set it up ( haven't really been able to figure out the length of the blade yet.. maybe I can adjust that with the cutting weight on the SC Cutter !?) and installed the software and driver ( took me a while because the new MacBooks  don't have a CD Slot anymore so I had to search for the right software and driver ) I finally tried to cut a simple shapes out of my " Sticker " Vinyl .  

 

The first Question I have is: The Box which holds the blade holder is not all horizontal so the blade holder is also a little bit tiled , is that normal or is that also a part of the set up to adjust the blade holder , because I see some screws there. ( you can see it in the attached picture)

 

But my main issue is that  I don't know where to position the Vinyl or where to set the object on the "mad" in the " Sure Cuts A Lot 3 Pro " software, or where to position the Blade holder .  My couple of test cuts will start right in middle of the 2ft wide Vinyl about 1 ft deep into the Vinyl even though I placed the object on the left top corner of the mad ( on the mad of the Software) 

Same problem with Cut Mode : WYSIWYG or Origin Point. 

 

Sorry for no using all the right terms but I will get used to the right names of the components materials soon ...

 

Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

post-63423-0-29966700-1406088761_thumb.j

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Wow @dakotagrafx that exactly what it was.. good Eye ...  just got it back on track literally .. Thanks !

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Hey there, rookie.

 

My only contribution to you is this ---  check the right side pressure wheel assembly, and verify that it isn't sliding over all the way against the stopper-screw, because from what I discovered with my SC (and I assume the problem still exists) the set-screw is located in the wrong position (too far over to the right), and will permit the upper pressure roller to completely miss contacting the lower grit rollers.

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ok thanks @slice&dice I found the problem.. The wheel was off the track .  Now I'm trying to find out where to put my Vinyl on the cutter or where to position the Blade with which settings so I can finally start cutting out some test shapes .

.. but maybe I'm in the wrong segment of the Forum. 

 

 

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"The wheel was off the track" ----

 

OK, but that's not what I'm referring to.

 

The SC cutter has a design/manufacturing flaw with the set-screw being placed incorrectly (on the rear rail) and that allows the pinch-roller assembly to slide too far over when it hits that screw, and it reaches a point that is BEYOND contact with the bottom grit roller.

 

I have no idea if the Chinese manufacturer ever corrected the problem (and I doubt they did).

That means every owner of the SC needs to be aware of this defect, and either create a new position of that set-screw themselves (drill a new hole for the screw over to the left a little bit) or simply not slide the pressure rollers all the way until they hit that incorrect set-stop location.

 

 

DSCF1847.JPG

Blue arrow = where the roller needs to be, in order to make contact with the grit roller

Green arrow = where the roller will end up if you allow the assembly to go over to the set-screw position (no contact with grit roller)

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@slice&dice thanks ... I found the problem with the misunderstanding, but thanks for dip laying the other problem since this seams to be a general problem, and I might run into it and other people probably already have..

 

Since you know a lot about the actual parts and their function .. you might know also why the grid roller leaved such a deep imprint on my vinyl !?

 

http://i1267.photobu...nyle/photo1.jpg

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The imprint almost always goes away after the vinyl is applied

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@slice&dice thanks for displaying the other problem since this seems to be a general problem, and I might run into it and other people probably already have...

 

You are welcome -- Can you confirm that the issue I've described still exists in the SC cutter (as currently being shipped from inventory at USCUTTER)?  If they got the factory to correct the problem, I will stop offering that information because it's no longer relevant.

If the set-screw is still being placed incorrectly at the China manufacturing plant, I'll be glad to continue mentioning it as needed here, especially when people have problems with their vinyl "bunching up" (a result of the 1st pressure roller missing contact with the grit roller)

 

Get back to us with what you discover about the set-screw.

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@slice&dice 

 

I'm not to sure which screw you are referring to because I can't see a screw, unless your are talking about the pinch roller being able to side alot further that the bottom metal roll  .. see picture:

 

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj558/mactube/test%20cut/photo6.jpg

 

other then that , the pinch roller sitz perfectly on top on the metal roll !? :

 

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj558/mactube/test%20cut/photo5.jpg

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mactube, On the rail that holds the pinch roller assemblies (in the rear of the machine) there is a small screw that SHOULD prevent the right-hand roller from moving over too far (just as you showed a position that's beyond the grit roller in photo6).

Obviously, since you were able to get the pinch roller to slide that far over (which is TOO far, as it loses contact with the lower grit roller) then the defect of the screw on the rail being incorrectly placed is still a problem that was not yet addressed at the factory in China.

 

So, yes, you can manually adjust the pinch-roller so that it lines up and sits over the grit roller like it's supposed to.

However, the ideal situation would be a set-screw that's placed properly so that when you slide the pinch-roller assembly over to the right on the rail, it will STOP before going over the edge of the grit roller.

 

Anyway, that's the little glitch with the SC machine, and as you showed, the production line in China has never been alerted to deal with it.

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Yes, obviously they nave changed it. That was probably the reason why the vinyl bunched up the first time I wanted to cut. Of cause you have no idea why this happens when you first try out the machine.. ( Because you will automatically push 

the roller to far out ) 

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Yes, obviously they have [NOT] changed it. (at the China manufacturing factory)

 

That was probably the reason why the vinyl bunched up the first time I wanted to cut. Of course you have no idea why this happens when you first try out the machine, because you will automatically push the roller too far out (until it rests against the set-screw stop point to the right, which is incorrectly placed) 

 

You left out the word "NOT"  ---  but I've edited your reply here so that it conveys what you actually intended to say.

 

I have no idea why the overseas manufacturer of the SC machine cannot make this minor engineering fix on their assembly line !!!

Honestly, it's one of the reasons that Chinese products drive me nuts sometimes ----  they copy and reproduce things from all over the world, making them cheaper, but more often than not they'll miss some small element that literally makes the item either fall apart quickly (at a stress point which requires stronger materials, which they substitute for lighter/cheaper material) or the design has been IMPROPERLY copied, leaving out some critical component entirely, or making an engineering error (like we see in this minor example of the SC plotter)

 

/ end rant

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