vinyl gets skewed while cutting

[tshirtn00b 12]

Hi Everyone.  I'm new to the board and new to vinyl/vinyl cutting, thanks for having me!  I was referred to the USCutter brand and specifically a LaserPoint from a member at t-shirtforums.com which I read all the time.  Anyways, I received my 48" LaserPoint w/stand and get everything up and running.  The only problem I seem to be facing at this juncture in time is with the vinyl itself when the cutter is working.  It appears that one side of the vinyl is moving faster than the other and the whole sheet gets skewed/cockeyed/crooked and ruins the job.  I am only using two of the rollers, one at each side of the vinyl (24" roll)  should I be using three?  What actually feeds the vinyl back and forth?  Is it those wheels or is it the long roller on the bottom portion?

Again I have a LP 48" cutter connected via the serial cable using SignBlazer Elements on a Windows XP machine.  The dimensions of the logos I am trying to get range from 8" x 8" (tried doing a few smaller logos in a row) to larger ones 12" x 22" and each time I run into the same problem.

Let me know if there's any other info needed.  Thanks.

[midwaste 4]

I am not sure how the 48" works, but I have the 24" and it has 2 separate drive rollers in the base under the vinyl.  Make sure your rollers are over the grit portion of these rollers, not on the smooth portion at the ends or in the center where they meet.

If the 48" came with three rollers, I would use all three as well.

Also, make sure your vinyl is laying flat, not tented up in the middle when you engage your drive rollers.  I believe the LP has a fan inside that creates a small suction around the drive rollers, so if the machine is on when you are aligning and setting your drive rollers, this should help.

[tshirtn00b 12]

Cool.  I'll give that a shot when I get home.  It actually came with 5 rollers, should I try all 5?  Thanks!

The vinyl isn't tented when it's going through however there are portions of it that bubble up quite a bit.  I can see this being a problem with the blade itself if it's not addressed.  Hopefully this is due to the lower quality vinyl I am using to practice on.

[tshirtn00b 12]

Midwaste - looks like it cut beautifully.  For some weird reason as I type this I am having an odd case of deja vu but that is neither here nor there.  I haven't weeded it yet and I would like to do a few more tests but hopefully your suggestion has resolved my issue.  Thanks!

[midwaste 4]

If there are portions bubbling up, you are probably using sh*tty vinyl.  I would try some Oracal 651 just for reference, it's not much more expensive.

Wow, 5 rollers?  I would probably try to use all of them..

[haumana 1,221]

I would use all 5 rollers if possible. The more rollers, the less tenting and drift. Using all five should also insure even wear on them. Just make sure when you're not using your cutter, to keep the rollers in the "up" position to prevent them from getting flat spots.

[cohesion 0]

Also, if you are only using 15" or 24" vinyl on your 48" cutter you might want to make sure that the roll of vinyl isn't moving around on the vinyl holders. (or whatever they are called... the rods that hold your vinyl on the back of the stand) There should be some end pieces that come with at least one of the rods. If you have problems with that band that goes over the slot in it, try just putting the band on the rod right behind the end piece or maybe get a collar to put on there. Either way it makes it easier to change rolls than putting the band in the slots in the end pieces.

Let me know if this doesn't make any sense and I'll take some pictures of my setup.

[tshirtn00b 12]

Thanks for the tip.  I have just been setting the roll of vinyl on top of the rollers behind the cutter, I haven't really noticed any problems.  Dealing with those end pieces when putting vinyl on or taking it off of those rollers seems kind of cumbersome.  Up to this point, I haven't run into any problems by simply placing the roll on top of the rollers.

[midwaste 4]

I wouldn't worry about the roller ends on the roll holder bars, the only thing that affects the vinyl tracking are the drive rollers.  If the drives are pulling off center, the roller guides arent going to do anything.

Start clamping the vinyl down from the center roller, then smooth it out and clamp down towards the outside, that might help.