Bill Curtis

pressure settings

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Okay, I tried asking this question before and I didn't seem to get a straight answer. I am trying to cut HTV Glitter vinyl for a jacket. I have set my blade up the way in the tutorial. I need to get a pressure setting that will cut the vinyl so it can be weeded. If someone could assist me with this it would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to convert from a Cricut cutter to an MH cutter.

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20 minutes ago, Bill Curtis said:

 I have set my blade up the way in the tutorial.

There are not any set in stone settings. You have to experiment with force.  No 2 cutters are alike, even the same model can be different.  What tutorial?  Too many wrong instructions out there.  You must set your blade depth correctly to the vinyl that your cutting. Do not use instructions that have to do with using a credit card or post it notes.  You will need a very sharp blade to cut glitter, as it dulls blades fast.   Run some test cuts.  You may even need to run 2 passes, instead of 1.   Directions below are for sign vinyl. You may need the blade out a little farther to cut glitter. There are not any set in stone settings, write them down. It still won't be right the next time, but hopefully close. Or keep an extra blade holder for glitter vinyl. 

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 barely see and feel the blade out of the blade holder. Regular sign vinyl is only 2-3 mil thick. You only cut with the very tip of the blade. 

This thread answered all of your questions.  The higher the number, the more force you are using. 

 

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Glitter will require more force (which is a higher number), if you've done a force trial and error on any regular HTV vinyl, or any regular PSV vinyl, then you would have discovered those results.

There is not specific force number that we can give to you (for any kind of vinyl) - we don't know what brand of vinyl you're using, we don't know the age of your vinyl, we don't know the condition of cutting strip, we don't know the age and condition of the blade  you're using, we don't know what angle blade you're using, we don't know the design that you're cutting - whether is it's just basic shapes or big text, or if it's something intricate, etc. Yes, all of these things are factors.

I know you don't want to waste your time and vinyl, however, we've guided you as best as possible and from this point forth, it really and truly is dependent on your specific machine (because same model machines can require different levels of force, but that's just how sensitive some of the parameters), so you really need to trial and error this on your own to get it dialed in. 

... and there are times where it's just better to go over the design twice. Meaning, if you're not getting it to cut through just the first time around, it might require two passes. The trick to that is just get your design and do a copy and paste, but leave the second copy sitting on the original. If that's something that turns out to working better for you, then write that down. I have a running Google sheet that has my settings for which vinyl, using specific speeds, specific force, etc. It's not set in stone, because as the vinyl I have ages, those settings have to change. I don't go through inventory like a lot of other members here do, so it can get tricky, but at least it's a jumping off point and I tweak from there and update the numbers.

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Bill, do not gloss over Skeeters blade exposed length advice. This is the single most common error in new people and is a bit counterintuitive at first. Does not see like it should matter all that much and practically every new owner does it wrong and has all sorts of trouble. Doing glitter you will have to set the blade specific to that product as it is much thicker than standard vinyl or HTV. Another word of advice, if you have not cut much stuff, glitter is about as hard to deal with as it comes, even for us old timers. I hate glitter. So if you haven't ran your machine on other things enough to know it you will be facing even more uncertainty about what's happening. 

Set your blade like Skeeter said then you can work into the cut pressure until it gets there. Glitter should have a clear plastic carrier sheet that can handle overcut pressures so if you overdo it a little it probably won't go clear through. Do a small square (like 3/4") to test your settings until you get it cutting cleanly through but not through the back carrier. Run it fairly slow as well. I'd guess somewhere around 80 or 100 mm/sec You can cut thinner stuff faster but speed can cause issues so be careful until you know your machine well. I have a $3500 cutter and only cut about 200 mm/sec most of the time. 

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