LP3 Suction

[obscure diamond 1]

Ive had the LP3 for about a week now. Its actually a really good cutter. I plugged it in and windows 10 and vinylmaster pretty much took care of the rest. Had my first calibrated cut and weeded in less than 10 mins after assembly. Not too loud and the fact you get all the bells and whistles for such a cheap price makes it hard to turn down for a first cutter. I mainly do decals and small signs/flyers. Entertainment industries. I have a Colorcamm, its right there with the cutting quality and speed.

I see the descriptions talk about powerful suction with no fan, anyone explain this without me having to crack it open and see?

It doesnt suck much and I dont hear anything. Could just be me, or my unit. it has holes where they should be but idk if its sucking really. I taped off everything that wasnt covered to try to gain some suction. Has a large grate hole on bottom that looks like a fan could go. May put one in myself and see if i can get it to suck that vinyl down.

Other than the suction, which isnt an issue since I dont need much length, this unit works great. Sturdy stand, rollers spin forever. simple controls. Its a very good and featured unit for the price.

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

"Quieter fan-free motor with powerful downforce!" This statement? 

  I am not reading that it has a powerful suction.   The motor does not require a fan.  This cutter has a much higher down force than most cutters at 800g.  Which means that it can cut thru most thicker materials.   Most value cutters specs are at 350-600g.   Is there something else that your seeing about fan/ suction that I don't?  If so, show us. 

[obscure diamond 1]

Yep thats the one. Just misleading myself upon looking at holes on cutter and thinking about suction and then the coincidence that the statement fits. Probably just going to fit a 120/140mm HO pc fan on the bottom of the unit where there is the hole and screw holes in the corners, that should pull some air through the holes.

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

You have to know what "down force" means on a vinyl cutter.  The down force is the amount of pressure applied to cutting the material. The proper blade depth and the proper down force is needed to cut your vinyl correctly. 

[obscure diamond 1]

Downforce is a term used all over my cutters though. I run a Bobst Mastercut 145...60" flatbed platen offset die cutter as well, we have air holes just like these on the big presses and we adjust the downforce of their suction. The downforce of the platen and the die, the downforce of the blanker hitting the cartons out of the cut sheet of paper. Honest mistake really, glad i didnt review the product with that mindset on the statement they provided. 

Still worth 600$ 

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

Most value cutters have a down force of 300-600.AVG..  This LP3 cutter has a down force much higher at 800g according to specs. .   My Graphtec FC vinyl cutters are not even that high. 

They have this on the ad. 

Cut virtually any materials including vinyl, stencil mask, and so much more.

[obscure diamond 1]

On the panel it also says pressure, not downforce, for adjustments so theres that bit also. I was hoping for a stronger push so i could get through some reflectives and such. I will not gripe about it not having a fan as its not a big deal for regular oracal stuff. Given it has the spot, sounds like a fun mod.

Do you run one of these lp3 or have any tips on the unit itself? Im still learning this process vs paperboard die cutting which ive been doing all my life.

 

thanks for the help

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

Vinyl cutters/Plotters use the same basic functions and have for many years, Some with just more bells and whistles.  Depending on which company made it, as to what they put on their button controls. Control panel. My Graphtec says Force. Or even in the cutting software, what they call it.    Pressure/Force is the same thing. When someone asks about either one for their settings, we know what they are talking about. I might be wrong, but I think this last version LP3 cutters were introduced in 2018.   Several different Laser Pointer models in the past. 

By the way, how did you set your blade depth. ?  Reason I ask, is because UScutter, keeps posting videos with the wrong way to do it, and it is too much blade depth exposed. Blade depth is the first thing that you start with and it has to be correct from the git go, or the rest of your settings will not be correct. 

Tip:  Never be pulling from the roll while cutting, Always have enough vinyl slack to do the order.  My cutter has a prefeed, It helps with tracking and pulling the vinyl to give it the slack it needs.

Buyers guide says this on reflective and your cutter.   But buyers have tried different materials with their cutters.  Some use 2 passes while cutting thicker materials. 

NOT for use on

• laminate
• sandblast mask
• reflective
• window tint

 https://www.uscutter.com/index/page/static/subpage/buying_guides_new

Your welcome

[obscure diamond 1]

I set my blade depth by almost cutting all the way thru the material itself before putting it in the machine and then make fine adjustments with the buttons. Normally i would measure all of this as if I was making a die, but i dont have a way to measure the tip of the blade inside the holder without a nice instrument out of my reach. Saw their video and it made no sense when crossed with my knowledge of die making of why i would use a credit card to set my depth. 

Knife holder and its brass locknut seem fairly cheap and make for shoddy adjustments but it works. Do we know if others fit this unit? Shared parts?

Yeah I see the blurbs mention no reflectives, im guessing its to cover uscutters butts from hassles and returns since its not the best setup for reflective. Ive seen the graphtecs and rolands and there is a clear difference in the units in terms of quality but the knives all seem the same. I still feel like this cutter is going to be a hit once it gets out there more due to its features. It is hard to find any info or reviews on them. If anyone wants photos or something about it ill try to help.

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

That is the video that I am referring to. Credit card is incorrect. It is way too much blade exposed.  This is how to set the blade depth correctly. and is posted as a sticky in Instructional Contributions section of the forum. 

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 and feel the blade tip out of the blade holder.

Most value cutters use a Roland style blade.  A Graphtec blade is different.   Like I mentioned before, I believe this cutter was introduced in 2018.  Don't know of many buyers using it. 

 

[obscure diamond 1]

Thats a good example of a kiss cut to know I got lucky and ended up in the right area. The blade basically feels like a burr on mine. Like a metal shaving stuck in your finger and catches on your clothes. Ive been cutting with it pretty good so far. Sometimes ill see the paper come with the vinyl still and turn it down a couple.

These are the max settings on the cutter pictured

the speed is made in increments of 100, so its more like 1-8.

the pressure is 1-500, so 800g has no real relevance to the values given from my understanding. But I can see these settings changing so much when you switch materials and blades that it may not even matter.

These examples were cut at 100 for speed and 205 for pressure on oracal 651 gold and gloss black.

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

  Setting numbers are irrelevant. But there is more precision in the higher end cutters. Roland, Graphtec and Summa.   Each vinyl cutter is different even the same model. Also vinyl can be a little different depending on color and lot. There are no set in stone setting numbers for vinyl cutters. It is all trial and error for what works with your cutter and supplies to make a cut to your liking.    That is why you should check your blade and force on the TEST cut feature of your vinyl cutter.  As well as checking your blade offset.  Roland style blades require you to set the blade offset. Graphtec blade offset is normally always ZERO. 

[obscure diamond 1]

Ill have to work my way up to a graphtec. Id like little fuss in the future.

Not much of a fan of vinylmaster but it does what it says, is just an extra step really. What are the top guns for cutting from illustrator?

 

appreciate all the help for the newbie

[MZ SKEETER 4,708]

I use bare bones Flexistarter 8.6 for cutting.  But years back I was able to pick up for cheap Flexidesigner 10 which is pretty much Flexisign Pro with out the cutting drivers.   Last year I was able to pick up on Ebay a Graphtec FC8000-75 30" cutter for cheap.  Ya just gotta keep looking and have the money to buy when great deals come up.  Craigs List etc. 

Flexisignpro is top gun. Does it all.   The Graphtecs come with many different soft wares, Stand alone design and cutting and others with plugins for Illy and Corel draw.   PC and Mac   Your welcome.   The Rolands come with their own software also. plus plug ins.