sancou 0 Posted December 10, 2015 I have an sc series plotter..... every now and then it seems to loose it mind.... it will be cutting a graphic and then just start feeding vinyl and cutting a straight line as it feeds it. If I don't catch it, it will go through the whole roll and then continue till I manually stop it. I called US cutter and they said its a static problem. I have grounded it to the stand in 2 places and it still does it.... I am tired of wasting vinyl. I use sign cut pro... any ideas what causes this and how to fix it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
signyouup 178 Posted December 10, 2015 make sure both ends of the ground wire are connected to bare metal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
busterbay 326 Posted December 10, 2015 Yeah what signyouup said... make sure the connection spot is free of paint. You may want to do it sooner than later or you will be purchasing a motherboard and possibly replacing the computer that is attached to it. STATIC is not your friend. On my MH I have a wire from the machine body directly touching the floor, it doesn't have a stand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 10, 2015 Yeah what signyouup said... make sure the connection spot is free of paint. You may want to do it sooner than later or you will be purchasing a motherboard and possibly replacing the computer that is attached to it. STATIC is not your friend. On my MH I have a wire from the machine body directly touching the floor, it doesn't have a stand. if the cutter is grounded thru the plug and you have no stand what does that wire to the floor do? inquiring minds want to know! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
busterbay 326 Posted December 10, 2015 if the cutter is grounded thru the plug and you have no stand what does that wire to the floor do? inquiring minds want to know! My best guess is It sends the static charge to the floor, I can't explain why it works but it does. I had nothing but trouble with the little MH when I tried to cut vinyl on it, until I did this. I actually have the other end of the wire wrapped around a washer so it stays on the floor. I used bell wire, I would assume any wire would work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sancou 0 Posted December 10, 2015 So far so good... Knocking on wood.... hubby ran the wire from the screw on the plotter directly into the ground on the wall outlet....... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 10, 2015 So far so good... Knocking on wood.... hubby ran the wire from the screw on the plotter directly into the ground on the wall outlet....... Ummm plotter is already grounded thru the 3 prong plug, the problem will rear its head again if the stand isn't grounded 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 10, 2015 But still glad to hear it's working Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sancou 0 Posted December 11, 2015 If it will do it again unless the stand is grounded, why would it do it when it was not on a stand and sitting on a wooden table? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 11, 2015 how is that static that builds in the vinyl finding its way to ground now if not thru the cutting carriage? vinyl will hold a heck of a charge - remember in school charging a balloon and the static makes it stick to the wall - vinyl balloon 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
busterbay 326 Posted December 11, 2015 You need to send that charge somewhere... I honestly wouldn't send it to my house ground as you described. It may find it's way to your TV, furnace, computer or ?? before it ends up in the earth ground. There is a possibility with your setup that the static charge could travel down your wire and back up though the earth ground on your plug right back to the machine. My MH was sitting on a table and I was having the same problems you are describing. Honestly I was kind of pi$$ed as I thought I got a bad machine until I decided to ground it. If the table / stand is made from wood, plastic, glass etc it is a good insulator so it kind of helps the charge stay with the vinyl and jump to your cutter. The earth is the best ground you can get and electricity is kind of lazy it will take the easiest path of resistance. Out of the box your cutter only has the ground in the plug as the charge builds it zaps your cutter head sending the charge through your machine and sometimes the motherboard as it's finding it's way to the ground on your plug and eventually to the earth ground. Often when I get a new roll of vinyl and pre-unroll it I can see & hear the static "lightning bolts" jump from my rollers to my stand and that is a half inch span. A static charge can carry 20,000 to 25,000 volts ( google it ) it carries a very low wattage this is the reason it doesn't kill you. I agree with Dakotagrafx this may rear it's head again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 11, 2015 You need to send that charge somewhere... I honestly wouldn't send it to my house ground as you described. It may find it's way to your TV, furnace, computer or ?? before it ends up in the earth ground. There is a possibility with your setup that the static charge could travel down your wire and back up though the earth ground on your plug right back to the machine. My MH was sitting on a table and I was having the same problems you are describing. Honestly I was kind of pi$$ed as I thought I got a bad machine until I decided to ground it. If the table / stand is made from wood, plastic, glass etc it is a good insulator so it kind of helps the charge stay with the vinyl and jump to your cutter. The earth is the best ground you can get and electricity is kind of lazy it will take the easiest path of resistance. Out of the box your cutter only has the ground in the plug as the charge builds it zaps your cutter head sending the charge through your machine and sometimes the motherboard as it's finding it's way to the ground on your plug and eventually to the earth ground. Often when I get a new roll of vinyl and pre-unroll it I can see & hear the static "lightning bolts" jump from my rollers to my stand and that is a half inch span. A static charge can carry 20,000 to 25,000 volts ( google it ) it carries a very low wattage this is the reason it doesn't kill you. I agree with Dakotagrafx this may rear it's head again. I got nothing . . . remembering thumper . . . . and on the low voltage it is high voltage and low current . . . . back to my corner Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnatUSCutter 49 Posted December 11, 2015 I'll pile on and say "static" too. Make sure your unit is grounded, but that might not be enough. Anti-static mats really do work well. USCutter doesn't sell them, but a lot of office equipment sites do. http://www.uline.com/BL_1755/Anti-Static-Mats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted December 12, 2015 I have never had a static problem. Never. I guess I have been lucky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BearlyRich 167 Posted December 12, 2015 Just some rambllngs... Grounding to the AC ground: At some point, this is supposed to be directly connected to an Earth ground. If not, you have bigger problems than static in your plotter! Sending high voltage static charges through the wall outlet to your tv...: If you're connected to the AC ground, you will NOT build up any high voltage static charge in the first place. No worries there. Building up a static charge and using a stand with rollers: Not all stands and rollers are created equal. On my Pcut, the two metal rollers are NOT electricly connected to the stand or plotter. They are insulated by nylon(?) bearing/washers. Now take a roll of vinyl and roll it back and forth between two unconnected metal rollers. What do you have? A huge static charge created in the same way as a Van de Graaff generator. I fixed mine by running a bare coper wire from the outer roller to the inner roller and then to the stand. Unrolling the needed amount of vinyl before cutting may help this problem, but it may not? I've never had a static problem either but I don't use mine all that much... All done and time for bed... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wildgoose 4,200 Posted December 12, 2015 I used to have static problems with my P-Cut especially with HTV I assume due to the plastic carrier. I never messed with a special ground wire but I did use anti-static spray which pretty much eliminated my static woes. I usually did the arm hair test behind my cutter and if it felt like a charge was building I gave it a shot of spray. Cheap and effective, no more glitch-outs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arty-rc 719 Posted December 12, 2015 I usually did the arm hair test behind my cutter and if it felt like a charge was building I gave it a shot of spray. Cheap and effective, no more glitch-outs. What about us who don't have hairy arms? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 12, 2015 What about us who don't have hairy arms? use the cat . . . 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonPittman 18 Posted December 16, 2015 The setup on my MH carriage is insulated by the plastic tool holder.The static would come trough the feed rollers and frame. At least mine is.Static does bite though.Not the cutter holder. You really only need one good ground from the cutter to the stand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
