kmorenor

Trouble with my us cutter mh 871

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Hi fellas, I've been having some weird trouble with mi USCUTTER MH 871, it doesn't cut vinyl, just leaves the mark, but doesn't penetrate. Even with the force on maximum.  I just changed the carriage in hope that the old one was the cause, but the problem persists.  Someone can help? Thanks!

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Show pictures of the the carriage and blade holder.  Are you sure you have the blade holder inside the clamp?  Is the carriage head wheels firmly down in the rail?  Is the blade holder going up and down? How did you set your blade depth?   Is this a new cutter?  What do you mean, just leaves the mark? Have you checked that you haven't broken the blade tip off? 

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Could this possibly be the rare case where someone has too little blade exposed? :huh:

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usually when we hear this complaint it is someone cutting the wrong side of htv - looking forward to more info

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5 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

usually when we hear this complaint it is someone cutting the wrong side of htv - looking forward to more info

I hope not. They signed up 5 years ago. 

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1 hour ago, Dakotagrafx said:

usually when we hear this complaint it is someone cutting the wrong side of htv - looking forward to more info

Hey man, thanks for answering, but, no, not the case.  In fact, I have no trouble with heat transfer vinyl, because it´s softer than vinyl. I've been working with that cutter for over 5 years.  It's in perfect condition.  Just started to lose strength when it comes to harder materials.  That's It.  It would go over the design and hit the vinyl with the blade, but does not go deeper, and just leaves the trail where the blade passes.  I have tried with different speeds and force, but nothing. When I'm sketching, the pen marks the way of the carriage.  If I put it a bit up, it doesn't touch the paper, if I put it a little bit down, it cuts/writes all along the way of the carriage.  Today, I have to let 2 or 3mm of blade to cut htv, and all of the strength, which as you know, 600g is a lot for a well functional cutting machine.  In the picture you can see that I  have more than enough blade out, but it barely cuts. By the way, the blade is brand new.

IMG_20200818_170346.jpg

IMG_20200818_165919.jpg

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2 hours ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Show pictures of the the carriage and blade holder.  Are you sure you have the blade holder inside the clamp?  Is the carriage head wheels firmly down in the rail?  Is the blade holder going up and down? How did you set your blade depth?   Is this a new cutter?  What do you mean, just leaves the mark? Have you checked that you haven't broken the blade tip off? 

Hey man, thank you for answering.
Are you sure you have the blade holder inside the clamp? Yes it is.
Is the carriage head wheels firmly down in the rail? Yes, I double checked.  As a matter of fact I just replaced the carriage, but the problem persists.
Is the blade holder going up and down? Yes, i see it going up and down.  But when it goes down, i notice it lacks strength.
How did you set your blade depth? Manually.   Before it malfunctioned, i use to have less than 1 mm out of blade. Now I need up to 3 mm to cut just heat transfer vinyl, that's the only material it cuts.
Is this a new cutter?  No, it's been working for 5 years, but other than that, it's perfect.
What do you mean, just leaves the mark? It means the blade leaves the trail where it passes, but doesn't go trough the vinyl. 
Have you checked that you haven't broken the blade tip off? I have tried with several brand new blades.

It started randomly, just one day I needed to cut htv, but it wouldn't go through with my normal settings, you know, I used to work with medium speed and about 120-90 g in force.  Now, I have to set it at maximum. 
 

Can you see the marks it leaves in the sketch.  And if I pull it up just a little bit, it doesn't touch the paper.

Will send videos.
Thanks. 

IMG_20200818_165822.jpg

IMG_20200818_165919.jpg

IMG_20200818_170001.jpg

IMG_20200818_170233.jpg

IMG_20200818_170346.jpg

IMG_20200818_170358.jpg

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2 hours ago, darcshadow said:

Could this possibly be the rare case where someone has too little blade exposed? :huh:

Noo man, come on.  I've been working a lot with this cutter, just some day it wouldn't cut deep enough. :thumbsup:

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Isn't the ring of the blade holder supposed to be inside the clamp?  Isn't there a groove inside that the ring fits in? .

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9 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Isn't the ring of the blade holder supposed to be inside the clamp?  Isn't there a groove inside that the ring fits in? .

It could be part of the problem man, if I put it down, it hits the bottom and would be messy.  Is there any way of diagnosing the board?

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From what I am seeing you have way too much blade exposed out of the blade holder.  HTV and regular sign vinyl normally have the same cutting settings.  Also check for scratches and gouges in your cutting strip. They will cause problems. You should just barely see the blade tip out of the blade holder.

This is correct way to set your blade depth.

To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and in your hand, 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 your blade tip out of the blade holder.

  

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2 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

From what I am seeing you have way too much blade exposed out of the blade holder.  HTV and regular sign vinyl normally have the same cutting settings.  Also check for scratches and gouges in your cutting strip. They will cause problems. You should just barely see the blade tip out of the blade holder.

This is correct way to set your blade depth.

To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and in your hand, 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 your blade tip out of the blade holder.

  

Yeah I have a lot of blade showing, because, if I cut it down, it won't reach the vinyl.  So I have to set it as long as possible.  My problem is that it doesn't go down strong enough to cut whatever is on the mat.  The press is set at maximum, 600g, and with that much blade out, it would go through any material, but it doesn't.  So, not enough strength.  And it's a new carriage.

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Maybe some of these people who own the MH cutter can come a long and help. A good working cutter, you shouldn't have to do that. You keep the blade as short as possible. 

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5 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said:

Maybe some of these people who own the MH cutter can come a long and help. A good working cutter, you shouldn't have to do that. You keep the blade as short as possible. 

Whit a short blade it cuts nothing.

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IMG_20200818_165919.thumb.jpg.a3fc026c49d18323b79e75c82256feea.jpg.53b501a8d38ede35a45b3735370b8ca3.jpg   Doesn't this Lip of the Blade Holder get sandwiched BELOW that Top Ledge of the Carrier?

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way too much blade exposure but also folks this is NOT a US version of the refine plotter - notice the laser dot wires next to the blade holder - so there may be other differences - also I know slice has mentioned before that older refines sometimes develop cracks in the arm that causes this 

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It looks like the blade should be removed and set to depth properly as detailed in an earlier post Skeeter. Make sure the blade holder is totally free of any debris, because I get teeny tiny pieces of vinyl in it all the time.

Once that's done, then it looks like the blade holder should be slotted in behind where the tension screw is, rather than sitting on the top/above it. Then you should also be able to dial down the blade force.

You might also want to check your cutting strip, because even minor cuts and slashes in it can create the most troublesome cuts.

Another thing to consider is the age of your vinyl. Any old vinyl I have requires a lot more force.

Good luck and keep us posted.

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He has the holder in correct for a MH.

Is the holder straight? In some of the photos it looks like it might be at a slight angle. I had a problem with mine where holes in the arm were not lined up and the blade holder would sit an a bit of an angle. I took a file to the arm and filed the hole till the top and bottom lined up. I then had to put a few layers of tape around the holder so that it would fit tight and not move around but it worked out well for me.

The cutting strip looks pretty tore up as well and could be contributing to the problem.

Has the cutter ever worked for you?

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14 hours ago, skarekrow said:

IMG_20200818_165919.thumb.jpg.a3fc026c49d18323b79e75c82256feea.jpg.53b501a8d38ede35a45b3735370b8ca3.jpg   Doesn't this Lip of the Blade Holder get sandwiched BELOW that Top Ledge of the Carrier?

Doesn't fit.

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Take the blade out and turn the machine off and post a photo of the holder. When off it should drop and sit on the cutting strip.

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There is the possibility that it is time to retire that old plotter, finding the right main boar could be tough and no guarantee that would be the problem. 

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6 hours ago, darcshadow said:

He has the holder in correct for a MH.

Is the holder straight? In some of the photos it looks like it might be at a light angle. I had a problem with mine where holes in the arm were not lined up and the blade holder would sit an a bit of an angle. I took a file to the arm and filed the hole till the top and bottom lined up. I then had to put a few layers of tape around the holder so that it would fit tight and not move around but it worked out well for me.

The cutting strip looks pretty tore up as well and could be contributing to the problem.

Has the cutter ever worked for you?

Hello, the cutter has been working OK, just some random day, it wouldn't cut.  Like it's not strong enough to go trough the material.  The blade holder is straight.  There may be some tearing in the cutting strip, but the problem is about the cutting press. In the drawing it looks that the blade/pen touches the material where it is not supposed to cut.  If I lift the blade a little bit, it doesn't even touch the cutting strip.

IMG_20200818_170358.jpg

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5 hours ago, darcshadow said:

Take the blade out and turn the machine off and post a photo of the holder. When off it should drop and sit on the cutting strip.

 

IMG_20200819_111425.jpg

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20 hours ago, skarekrow said:

IMG_20200818_165919.thumb.jpg.a3fc026c49d18323b79e75c82256feea.jpg.53b501a8d38ede35a45b3735370b8ca3.jpg   Doesn't this Lip of the Blade Holder get sandwiched BELOW that Top Ledge of the Carrier?

It doesn't fit.

 

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Is the carriage head seated on the rail correctly? Clearly there's a position problem as the blade holder should be touching the cutting strip when the cutter is turned off.

I'm not near my cutter right now but when i get a chance I'll look at mine closer and see if I can see anything that you could adjust or account for the extra height you're seeing.

Again though, has this cutter ever worked for you? Or is this a new problem?

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