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MH871 Not Closing Cut Lines

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Haven't had this piece-of- a year yet, and have had a multitude of issues with it. So far, I've been able to mess around with it and get it to cut correctly. Until tonight. It has started not closing any shapes, lines, etc. (See picp) It's as if the blade is going to the next cut point before its picking up from the vinyl. I've messed with all of the settings I know of: speed, pressure, offset, overcut, blade depth, and variations and combinations of each, new blade, grounded the machine better, etc. Nothing doing. Some settings made it a little better, but not correcting. I know this is a bottom shelf cutter, but come on. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I'm seriously to the point of getting out of vinyl until I can eventually afford a better machine. 

Screenshot_2017-07-05-22-10-51.png

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must be a pretty small pattern as those little hooks are where the blade first comes down in a different orientation to where it needs to go until dragged into position (how these cutters actually turn the blade is by dragging it - you say you tried overcut but that is exactly what will close those as it makes the cutter go a little past the end of the cut to make up for the course stepper motor in these value cutters.  looks like your offset is pretty spot on 

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7 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

must be a pretty small pattern as those little hooks are where the blade first comes down in a different orientation to where it needs to go until dragged into position (how these cutters actually turn the blade is by dragging it - you say you tried overcut but that is exactly what will close those as it makes the cutter go a little past the end of the cut to make up for the course stepper motor in these value cutters.  looks like your offset is pretty spot on 

So basically, too much detail and I'm being too OCD about it. Lol. That's frustrating.  But thanks for the response. I'll mess with the overcut a little more. Was hoping something was causing the little hook tails that I could get rid of. 

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Have you tried tightening the belt a little on the carriage head?   Just throwing that out there. 

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3 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Have you tried tightening the belt a little on the carriage head?   Just throwing that out there. 

No I haven't. I'll have to look that one up. I took the plastic cover off the head and investigated, everything seemed tight and in place. Thanks!

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I believe you can take 1 of the end caps off and at the pulley there is a way to tighten the belt.   I have have read that before on here.   Your welcome

So just checking , how did you set your blade depth, so that you know it is correct? 

This is the correct way to set blade depth, if you have any problems,

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.  You should just barely see or feel the blade tip out of the blade holder. 

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14 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

I believe you can take 1 of the end caps off and at the pulley there is a way to tighten the belt.   I have have read that before on here.   Your welcome

So just checking , how did you set your blade depth, so that you know it is correct? 

Kept adjusting it in and out until it was cutting through the vinyl and making a barely visible line on the backing. Did it several times at different pressures. Pretty sure it's correct anyhow. 

Also believe I'm going to order a serial cable. Not sure if it'll make any difference, but I've seen enough people suggest it. 

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Hopefully, you can barely see or feel the blade tip out of the blade holder. Too much blade exposed can cause a lot of problems, You only cut with the very tip of the blade.   Yes  serial cable or a Tripp lite Keyspan Adapter is best.  The USB in the value cutters is just a cheap Chinese chip set.  Not TRUE USB like higher end cutters. 

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Serial cable is great, but I would not expect it to fix this issue. What sort of scale are we looking at here? How big are those gaps between the start and stop of the cut?

Also what software are you using, and have you tried a different one? No idea why it would suddenly stop working as before, but you can't rule it out.

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3 hours ago, darcshadow said:

Serial cable is great, but I would not expect it to fix this issue. What sort of scale are we looking at here? How big are those gaps between the start and stop of the cut?

Also what software are you using, and have you tried a different one? No idea why it would suddenly stop working as before, but you can't rule it out.

The gap in the lines are about 0.8mm. It is a small design, but I've been cutting very small detailed stuff since I got it without this issue. 

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Have you cut this design in the past? Or have you tried cutting an old design, just to verify that it is not an issue with the file?

You said this just started happening, has anything changed recently?

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It looks like some shapes are closed while others are not which could indicate mechanical problems. Check the belt tension and that the grit roller bolts are tight as others have suggested. Also check that the blade carriage is properly attached and not loose. Check the arm that tightens around the blade holder for cracks. 

Prefeed the vinyl from the roll by hand. 

The settings I used for my old Mh721 were are follows. 

Offset .25 mm, Overcut .04 or .08 inch.

I typically cut Oracal 651 at a force of 140 to 160. I don't remember the exact speeds I used but I think it was around 300 for medium detail and 100 for fine detail. Higher speeds would shake the machine to death and cause the material to shift more than normal. 

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