Pixelmaster

Cutter scores everywhere

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I received my SC2 recently and immediately determined that the carriage was off the track and I resolved that.  Then I determined that there was additional damage as the optical switch at the top of the carriage had the two diodes completely bent out of shape and the plastic u shaped piece that is supposed to be mounted to them was totally loose.  I found the article that describes how to fix it and that is resolved.  Now I have more problems...

I read in this forum how to properly set the blade depth so I adjusted it and my cuts were immediately better however the cutter sometimes does not cut areas it should cut (it never cuts too deep now that the cutter was adjusted properly) but some areas are not cut deep enough or not at all.  The hold downs are positioned properly and tensioned properly...

Also the cutter is cutting the entire path; even between objects.  Cut lines everywhere. I'm inclined to believe that the electromagnet in the carriage is not operating properly?  Or the spring is not raising and lowering the blade properly??

Speed = 100

Pressure = 100

I'm using the SureCutsAlot Pro 4 software package on an iMac.  

I would really appreciate any feedback this group can offer as I know you all have more experience than I do with these machines...

See photos:

1237001937_SC2CutterProblems.jpg.e36f7eda0a403cbae775f7746cc6d5a4.jpg

Cervelo logo.jpg

Cervelo logo copy.jpg

_MG_6759.jpg

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I am trying to find a video usc made a few years ago about bending the outside of the solenoid when it didn't travel freely 

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I can't seem to find it - they may have removed it - does your carriage arm that holds the blade holder move up and down freely when turned off?

 

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this was for the original sc so not sure it pertains to the sc2

 

SC Classic Vinyl Cutter - Blade is not dropping to cut the material

 

Carriage does not return to a neutral position.

 

If the carriage does not return to a neutral position, then we will want to remove the black cover off the carriage by removing the 3 screws holding the cover to the carriage. 

After removing the carriage cover, look down at the top of the carriage. You will see four screws on top of the carriage. The two screws toward the front of the cover can be adjusted to fix issues with the z-axis movement of the carriage. Loosen the front two screws no more than two full turns. Then replace the carriage cover and please run a test cut.

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I would open an 'RMA' ticket with USCUTTER on Monday and get this defective unit back to them, and start with a fresh machine.

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1 hour ago, slice&dice said:

I would open an 'RMA' ticket with USCUTTER on Monday and get this defective unit back to them, and start with a fresh machine.

who do you suppose will pay the shipping - from past experience?

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Choose wisely, grasshopper. Pay to get that broken machine back to the warehouse (and pay for another to be shipped, most likely) or keep a messed-up and non-functional unit sitting right where it is, doing nothing productive.

Money talks. If I had to pay another $80 shipping and get a new machine arriving so I could then fulfill my orders, you think that $80 would bother me? No.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, slice&dice said:

Choose wisely, grasshopper. Pay to get that broken machine back to the warehouse (and pay for another to be shipped, most likely) or keep a messed-up and non-functional unit sitting right where it is, doing nothing productive.

Money talks. If I had to pay another $80 shipping and get a new machine arriving so I could then fulfill my orders, you think that $80 would bother me? No.

 

 

Or support might be able to troubleshoot it over the phone and have him up and running Monday . . . Remember when 5hey has that batch come in that needed a adjustment to that same solenoid a couple years ago?

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So sorry to hear that you're having all these issues.

If there were that many things that were broken straight from the unboxing, I'd be getting a replacement machine.

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13 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said:

I can't seem to find it - they may have removed it - does your carriage arm that holds the blade holder move up and down freely when turned off?

 

First of all thanks to all that have responded to my question.  I really want this unit to work but right now I totally feel like I got a lemon. 

I tried to reach support all day last Friday and spent over 90 minutes on hold over the course of 3 calls and support never picked up my call.  I also submitted a support ticket including my photos.  I hope that they will respond to me on Monday! 

The carriage arm feels "gritty" (best way I can think of to describe it) when I manually move the blade holder up and down.  The return spring at the top is not strong enough to bring it back up under its own power.  It does not appear to have the free play necessary to operate properly.  This is probably why there are score lines everywhere.

I'm going to try the suggestion from Dakotagrafx to loosen the two screws at the top of the solenoid to see if that helps...

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2 hours ago, Pixelmaster said:

First of all thanks to all that have responded to my question.  I really want this unit to work but right now I totally feel like I got a lemon. 

I tried to reach support all day last Friday and spent over 90 minutes on hold over the course of 3 calls and support never picked up my call.  I also submitted a support ticket including my photos.  I hope that they will respond to me on Monday! 

The carriage arm feels "gritty" (best way I can think of to describe it) when I manually move the blade holder up and down.  The return spring at the top is not strong enough to bring it back up under its own power.  It does not appear to have the free play necessary to operate properly.  This is probably why there are score lines everywhere.

I'm going to try the suggestion from Dakotagrafx to loosen the two screws at the top of the solenoid to see if that helps...

the reason it would feel gritty is the solenoid is rubbing on the coils inside  - not aligned properly.  these units get packaged in china and shipped across the ocean to memphis and sometimes get josled too much enroute (picture a container with hundreds of those units in it on a containership)- I really wish that video had not been lost = it showed loosening it up and a slight tweak to get it back in alignment and moving freely - that spring doesn't have to exert much force to get it to return up when aligned properly

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After adjusting the screws by backing them out of the top of the solenoid the "gritty" feeling was still there but my cuts improved dramatically and I thought all was good but no... after making two good passes the third, fourth and fifth time it is now failing to cut some of the objects in the design and also dragging the cutter head.   I tried to tweak the screws but there is no further improvement.

The adjustment you suggested helped a lot but the cutter still does not work properly and it is totally unreliable. 

This is a faulty unit and I will need to resolve this with US Cutter on Monday. 

I'm hoping that they will send me a completely new cutter/carriage unit (if it is something that I can replace on my own).  

I expect that they will make this right after all of the effort I've put into this so far on my own (and with your help here in this forum).  Thanks again for everyone's input and assistance!

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they will make it right but will more than likely send replacement parts after they have you test a couple of things - unfortunately as far as returns = they have had it for 15 years on most plotters the buyer pays shipping back - part of offering the lowest prices on items.  but they have always made it right with those of us that have had problems

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Spoke with Karl (President of US Cutter) and he was great. 

Sending me a replacement part and hooking me up with talk time with Support to provide guidance regarding how to pull and replace this portion of the unit.

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You spoke to our 'Fearless Leader'? That's impressive. Hopefully the new cutter head resolves the issue.

It's probably not tremendously difficult to remove and replace, within a few minutes. Let us know how it goes.

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Something is better than nothing. If that happened to me, I'd prefer they send me a new machine.

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Karl sent me the replacement Cutter Carriage and it was about a 30-minute job to break the SC2 down and swap the Carriage.

The new carriage is silky smooth moving up and down; like night and day compared to the original which was rubbing inside the solenoid.

Here is a picture of my first successful "victory lap" with the new carriage in place.  Weeds perfectly without any imperfections in the cut.

Thanks again to all here for your assistance on this little repair journey!

FinalCervelo.jpg

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glad you got it sorted out - many of us have been there and in the end have plotters that serve us very well at a great price

 

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More problems.  After replacing the cutter carriage I processed a variety of projects and it cut perfectly.  I shut the machine down for several days and came back to cut a new project.  It cut one letter and then the cutter stopped plunging deep enough to cut at all.  I've tried several times and it won't plunge to cut deep enough to even score the vinyl.  The cutter is moving up and down it just won't cut anything.

The cutter is not moving freely at the very bottom of the vertical travel required (the travel that is required to get the cutter to penetrate the vinyl).  This is a different version of my original problem.  I may have to ship this back for a replacement.  I don't know what more I can do.  Does anyone have any ideas?

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It is doing that for all jobs? (ie. all of them start off okay, then all do not get deep enough cuts, or it started off good, and each subsequent job it stopped cutting deep enough?)

With the power off, how easily does the carriage head move up and down?

Does is get the shallow cuts at the same point with each (duplicate) job?

Have you checked your cutting strip to make sure there aren't any slices in it?

Have you tightened up the blade holder?

Do you have the correct blade depth set?

Go back the to drawing board, and set the machine up as if it were new and you're dialing it in for the first time.

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No, only the first job cut one letter and then nothing.  I've rebooted.  Tried again and not cutting vinyl at all.  The carriage head has a very gritty feeling at the very bottom of it's vertical movement.  It does not move freely.  The cutting strip is brand new.  This is a machine that is about 2 weeks old.  I've tightened up the blade holder and checked the blade depth.  I'm at the end of my rope here.  The machine is set up properly in every way.  I've tried running test cuts and it won't cut the vinyl at all.  I've even tried to increase the pressure beyond what was previously necessary for this vinyl and no luck.

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Gritty is probably not good. If you're mechanically inclined, take the holder out and try to figure out the range of motion, where is moving and could possibly be causing it. I know you're here at the forum for insight, but at the moment, the best advice is try to be patient and try to troubleshoot it on your own, as well as submit another trouble ticket with USC.

Pull the blade holder out, pull the blade out, start from scratch. Make sure the blade spins freely in the holder, there is a chance that there might be debris in the holder itself making the blade difficult to rotate in the holder properly.

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OK I solved the problem.  I thought that maybe during the manufacturing process they aren't removing small particles/debris from the cutter carriage and this is why it feels gritty and not functioning properly? 

I got my air compressor out and after removing the cover from the carriage I blasted the electromagnet and the travel up and down is now silky smooth and the test cuts are perfect. 

If you don't have an air compressor I think a can of aerosol keyboard cleaner (compressed air) would work also.

I thought this might help others that may encounter this problem in the future.  Thanks again to those of you that are so willing to help out here!

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Glad to hear you were able to get it work smoothly again. Thank you for posting how you resolved it. It will most likely help others in the future!

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So, I just got my SC2 tonight and experiencing EXACTLY what PixelMaster had experienced.  It is "gritty" and will not move freely.  I will try the steps outlined above tomorrow.  Any updates on this issue?

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