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SCALP4 Randomly cuts through design.

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Hello Everyone!  Let me give you the breakdown of my setup at my home office.  My office floor is laminate flooring.  I have MH871-MK2 (purchased June 2015) with a stand and it is grounded to the stand with provided green and yellow ground wire at the recommended locations.  I am connected via KEYSPAN USB Serial adapter to my Desktop Computer Quad Core Phenom 3GHz Processor, 4GB Ram (3.25GB usable), 500GB SATA Internal Hard Drive with 32bit Windows 10 using SCALP4.  The power for the MH871-MK2 is connected to a surge protector and then to a confirmed grounded wall outlet.

 

I used to run my machine on carpet in a room for 5 months and have recently moved to where I am currently (laminate wood flooring).  Did not have any major problems before and was able to cut long designs upto 45" long.

 

Now I can't even cut a 11" x 11" design without my machine going crazy cutting lines all over the place that are not even on the design.  Sometimes cutting different parts of the design somewhere else.  Other times the blade would be down as it rolls my vinyl out uncontrollably (so much wasted material).  It would even cut part of the design and then all of a sudden the carriage would go from where it was cutting with the blade up or sometimes down all the way to the other end of the machine where there is no vinyl.  And even though the carriage gets to the left side end of the machine it seemed that it was still going but it could not because of the end stop.  "Ghost in the Machine?"

 

This is how my MH871-MK2 acts now but I wanted to know if this was normal.  I have tried explaining the issue to UScutter back in July 2015 but seem to get no where on what the problem actually is.

 

TURNING ON OR RESET:

Switch unit on or reset, Blade goes down then up quickly, then carriage goes right to left, then rollers go forward then backward.

 

ADJUSTING ORIGIN:

Press Offline/Pause button, adjust origin, press origin button, blade goes down when origin button pressed.  You can leave your finger down on the origin button and the blade will stay down as long as the button is pressed and held down.

 

I have read through some forums and everyone seems to point to static created by vinyl coming off the vinyl roll or not grounded properly.

 

The machine is grounded from one of the metal screws at the bottom to one of the metal screws on the stand and I tested the continuity from the ground pin to the points to be grounded.

 

I did also notice that some of the screws on the machine were not grounded.  Is that normal on an electrical machine?

 

I ordered an anti-static kit from UScutter to see if that would help and I will keep you posted.

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Try using some paper and the pen tool and see if it goes crazy. If not, then it's likely static, if it does, then you have another problem.

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2 reasons this happens to most people is they either didn't activate the software so it cuts a line thru everything till activated or like stated above the stand needs grounded to the plotter bottom - bare metal to bare metal

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<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="darcshadow" data-cid="409754" data-time="1450193180"><p>

Try using some paper and the pen tool and see if it goes crazy. If not, then it's likely static, if it does, then you have another problem.</p></blockquote>

Got it. I will give it a shot and keep you posted. Thanks.

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<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="dakotagrafx" data-cid="409760" data-time="1450196298"><p>

2 reasons this happens to most people is they either didn't activate the software so it cuts a line thru everything till activated or like stated above the stand needs grounded to the plotter bottom - bare metal to bare metal</p></blockquote>

My version is fully activated and registered SCALP4 and my machine is grounded properly. Thank you though for your reply.

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Just to be a stickler for details, the stand doesn't actually need to be grounded, it's the vinyl that generates the static and is what needs to be grounded. Typically the vinyl is sitting on the metal rollers that are part of the stand so ground the stand grounds the vinyl.

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<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="darcshadow" data-cid="409791" data-time="1450211289"><p>

Just to be a stickler for details, the stand doesn't actually need to be grounded, it's the vinyl that generates the static and is what needs to be grounded. Typically the vinyl is sitting on the metal rollers that are part of the stand so ground the stand grounds the vinyl.</p></blockquote>

Got it. Thanks darcshadow!

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Got it. Thanks darcshadow!

 

Appreciate that safety ground nor earth ground are relevant to eliminating static.  Static is a charge difference between any two parts.  A ground for that must be one component of the system.  Those solid or yellow striped green wires must merge at one part of the entire setup.  Any connection to safety (AC receptacle) ground does nothing to discharge static charges.

 

If static is a problem, then increase humidity to over 40% relative. If static is still created with high humidity, then move on to other reasons for misbehavior.

 

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If you believe that shuffle your feet around for awhile then touch the screw on your electrical cover. That zap you feel is the static charge being discharged from you to ground. Ground is the great equalizer, all electricity wants to go to it. The machine is grounded via the power plug and grounding the vinyl to any ground will eliminate any difference between the two.

 

Now yes, technically if the vinyl is electrically connected to the chassis of the cutter and the cutter is not grounded static should not be an issue because the cutter and the vinyl will be at the same potential. But having electronics on a floating plane introduces a whole new range of possible problems and safety issues.

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So I got the Stop Static Kit from USCutter yesterday.  It came with two strong magnets and one 42" Static string.  Installed and did a test cut on one of the designs I was having trouble with and wow.  It worked.  Or should I say it use to work.  I tried the same cut today this morning and it was back to how it was before, cutting lines where they should not be.  It helped a little since not that many lines were cut through the design.  I wonder what the max design size is for my MH871-MK2.  I also wonder if there is a way to upgrade the memory on the machine.

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 Or should I say it use to work.  I tried the same cut today this morning and it was back to how it was before, cutting lines where they should not be.  

Did you do what is always done to eliminate static electric charges - humidity?

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I guess investing in a humidity sensor and a humidifier is a must. Do I néed to be at 40% to relative? This is what I have seen in a post somewhere.

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The alternative to try is getting a can of static guard like what you spray on clothes and spray the machine and surrounding area to see if it helps. I used to have to do it with my value machine and it worked good.

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What Dakota said..... Just because you ground big using the wire doesn't mean nuts actually grounding.... 2 reasons:

1: Paint will not allow conductivity. You'll need to make sure it's actually metal to metal.

2: Just because there's a "recommended" screw to attach the wire to doesn't mean that's the one they attached the ground strap to during assembly. And just because it's grounded somewhere inside the chassis doesn't mean it'll ground through all chassis screws. You'll need to check for continuity between the ground prong on the plug and the screws on the chassis, using a volt/ohm meter. That's the only way to be sure.

Another thing I do for static is keep a dryer sheet on hand. If you keep your cutter close to the wall, you can figure a way to rig it where the sheet touches the vinyl as it moves.

But a lot of times if it makes cuts toward the end of the design, it's due to unregistered software.

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Thank Eazy!  Yes, I have checked the screw to ground prong with a voltmeter for continuity and even checked the wall outlet to make sure it is grounded properly.  As far as the software goes, it was purchased and registered.  Oh and the dryer sheet, that is exactly what I did, hahaha.

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I guess investing in a humidity sensor and a humidifier is a must. 

Why all that?  The purpose is to first identify the reason for faults.  Solving that problem comes later.  Wet and ring out maybe four bath towels - enough to be quite wet but not dripping.  Hanging them to dry in that same room to increase humidity.  Point is to discover if increased humidity (and therefore static electricity) explains this failure.  Makes no sense to solve a problem until that problem is first defined.

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Why all that?  The purpose is to first identify the reason for faults.  Solving that problem comes later.  Wet and ring out maybe four bath towels - enough to be quite wet but not dripping.  Hanging them to dry in that same room to increase humidity.  Point is to discover if increased humidity (and therefore static electricity) explains this failure.  Makes no sense to solve a problem until that problem is first defined.

 

Thanks westom for the advice.  It seems it is working now so I will give it a shot when and if it happens again.

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