3 Kells Design 2 Posted May 1, 2021 We have a new CE 7000 cutter and I'm having to put in force numbers or extend the blade extremely far to get any sort of cutting done. I've followed the instructions, checked the blade depth with the loop, but wind up with force settings of 18 - 20 to cut Oracal 651. Is this normal behavior? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,708 Posted May 1, 2021 No, not normal. You should be using the blue tip holder, best to use 60 degree blade. CBO9U.. A lot people use 60 degree for everything. Make sure the flange is over the blade holder lip and holding it down. Make sure the blade holder bottom is screwed on tightly. Make sure that you didn't break the blade tip off. Look at it closely. If you have never used a Graphtec before, blade offset is 0 (zero). This is the easy way to set blade depth. 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted May 2, 2021 Force for 651 on my CE6000-60 Plus ranges between 12 - 20, depending on the color and crunchiness (age) of the vinyl, strictly using a 60* Clean Cut Blade. Just make sure that the blade holder is seated properly and properly tightened. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted May 2, 2021 My bet is, like said above, the ridge of the holder is not under the retainer but on top. Also the ce7000 has 2 places to put the blade, use the back one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3 Kells Design 2 Posted May 2, 2021 It came with the CB09UB which is a 45 I believe? I’ll order the 60 as that’s the consensus. I’ll try setting the blade as suggested. Once I’ve got it cutting it works great 18 hours ago, MZ SKEETER said: No, not normal. You should be using the blue tip holder, best to use 60 degree blade. CBO9U.. A lot people use 60 degree for everything. Make sure the flange is over the blade holder lip and holding it down. Make sure the blade holder bottom is screwed on tightly. Make sure that you didn't break the blade tip off. Look at it closely. If you have never used a Graphtec before, blade offset is 0 (zero). This is the easy way to set blade depth. 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. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,708 Posted May 2, 2021 1 hour ago, 3 Kells Design said: It came with the CB09UB which is a 45 I believe? I’ll order the 60 as that’s the consensus. I’ll try setting the blade as suggested. Once I’ve got it cutting it works great The angle of blade should not have anything to do with cutting at force 18-20. You should not have to cut at that kind of force. Unless you are cutting very thick media. Regular sign sign vinyl like Oracal 651 is only 2.5 mil. You should be doing TEST cuts with the TEST feature on your vinyl cutter, You can check it there and not waste vinyl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3 Kells Design 2 Posted May 2, 2021 2 hours ago, MZ SKEETER said: The angle of blade should not have anything to do with cutting at force 18-20. You should not have to cut at that kind of force. Unless you are cutting very thick media. Regular sign sign vinyl like Oracal 651 is only 2.5 mil. You should be doing TEST cuts with the TEST feature on your vinyl cutter, You can check it there and not waste vinyl. I've been using the test cut feature but I'm still having to use extreme force. I'll tinker with it here in a bit using your method for getting the blade depth right Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted May 2, 2021 just making sure that your blade holder ridge is captured UNDER the holder as shown 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3 Kells Design 2 Posted May 2, 2021 Just checked it and nope! Was above it. Hopefully that fixes it! thanks! 3 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said: just making sure that your blade holder ridge is captured UNDER the holder as shown 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,708 Posted May 2, 2021 The 2nd post we mentioned that, and 2 others said the same thing. Post 3 and post 4 above. Make sure the flange is over the lip of the blade holder. Those instructions for attaching the blade holder are in your user manual and show the flange holding down the blade holder lip with pictures. No wonder you have problems. Best to back that force off before you start cutting again. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haumana 1,220 Posted May 3, 2021 10 hours ago, Dakotagrafx said: just making sure that your blade holder ridge is captured UNDER the holder as shown That's a great photo! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
