blade not lifting on large cuts

[barrypatch 0]

I am having trouble with the blade not lifting on large cuts on my LP24.  I wanted to check how a certain font looked, so I cut one word and had no extra lines on it.  When I cut the entire piece, I can see cuts (not all the way through) from the blade not lifting.  The pattern matches how the blade does the cut.

I have a grounding wire from the stand to the roller (as I saw in a previous post) and I still got the lines where the blade doesn't pick up all the way.  I rolled the vinyl off the roller to help reduce static and I still got the lines.  I moved the wire to go from the stand to the screw under the cutter and still have the lines.

I can't think it's a blade adjustment issue, because small cuts are okay.

I really need to get this fixed, I have lots of big pieces to cut.

Ideas?

Nancy

[barrypatch 0]

I just noticed when I move the vinyl through to check to make sure it's aligned, I see a cut line where the blade is.  So, for some reason my blade holder is setting lower than it should?

I am determined to figure out my problem, but I am clueless how to fix it.

Nancy

[cutme 5]

can you post some pics of your cutter? does the knife move up and down freely?

bb

[haumana 1,221]

slashing can be caused by several things... you're off to a good start making sure that the cutter itself is grounded. make sure that the blade is just barely poking out of the blade holder (not further than half of the thickness of a credit card). I can barely see the very tip of the blade sticking out on my blade holder. Make sure that the blade and holder are clean of adhesive. It is possible for some vinyl and/or adhesive gum up the blade and the holder. It is possible that your vinyl has a high level of static - other have found it helpful to use a dryer sheet (i.e. Bounce, etc.) and feed the vinyl and gently go over it. make sure the holder is seated well.

can you post some pics of your cutter? does the knife move up and down freely?

bb

+1

[barrypatch 0]

One thing I did notice after I posted was that the blade holder wasn't screwed in all the way.  When my nephew changed blades a few weeks ago, I think he said something about that.  I screwed it in all the way so it is pretty tight and the lines aren't as bad.  The knife does move up and down freely.  I am going to adjust the blade a very small amount to pull it up and see if that helps. 

I will play with it more tonight and see what happens.  I am thinking the holder wasn't tight enough and that caused the blade marks when I was checking alignment, but it also might be out too far.  I am going to apply the big pieces I cut last night.  I will see how it does after I take the backing off, I can check to see if it cut too deep.  It weeded easily.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Nancy

[haumana 1,221]

Good luck, keep us posted 

I, shamefully, went through a lot of vinyl trying to 'dial in' the cutter. It took me some time, and a few "I need to take a break before I start hitting with a sledge hammer," before I got it run smoothly for me. I'm pretty sure that it takes the average person a lot less time. 

After getting the blade all situated, I figured out for my particular setup and vinyl that the best settings were pressure:  85~90 (depending on vinyl), and cut speed: 40~60 (depending on intricacy or thinness of design). Other than that, I try not to stray too far, else I end up jacking my setup. I also try not to pull the blade and holder out of the carriage unless absolutely necessary (for clean-up and such). I find that even though I try my best to keep the blade holder at the same depth, my fingers will usually move it a smidge here and a smidge there and then it's all jacked again. 

[barrypatch 0]

I messed with the blade height and it's not any better.  Now I have the lines on the small stuff too.  My pressure is 110, I have backed off the blade height twice, my cutter has a ground wire to the stand.

I tested tonight with small pieces of vinyl that weren't on rolls, so I am not sure if static on the vinyl is an issue.

I am going to sleep on it and see what happens tomorrow.

Thanks.

Nancy

[Guest]

Pictures of the end result will help us greatly in diagnosing this issue. Please post them here and submit a ticket to support@uscutter.com as well.

[barrypatch 0]

I tried taking pictures, but it's very hard to see.  The lines follow the same pattern as the blade path when cutting.  I finally got it working, I must have had something incorrect with the blade holder.  I don't really know what was wrong.  I took the blade holder out again and then put it back in.  When it wasn't cutting, I could see the blade holder was too close to the vinyl.  That is why I got the faint cut lines when I was aligning the vinyl.  The blade was out a little too far and somehow the holder was down too far. 

I just cut 4 lines of text for a door and there are no extra faint lines.  I am going to watch when I take the blade holder to clean the blade to make sure I get it back in correctly.  I am also wondering if vibration was causing it.

Thanks for all the tips, I am back in business and I have lots of orders!

Nancy

[haumana 1,221]

glad to hear that you're back up and running. 

[frdmftr 0]

I'm experiencing possibly the same cutting error but do not believe its related to blade height. My 'extra' slicing occurs as a result of the spindle not retracting all the time in the 'travel' mode of the cutting sequence. I am referring to travel mode as the expected 'non-cutting' travel of the head to a new position or returning to 'home/start' position. The coil should energize and 'lift' the spindle during that motion. Sometimes it acts normal, sometimes not. A good example of the error occurs when I'm cutting duplicate objects. I will get slicing as it moves to start the next object and then may get a slice when the entire tile is complete, slicing all the way across the vinyl as it returns to lower left. Frustrating as it ruins your job.

My initial diagnosis is the coil is working intermittently.

Any ideas would be 'extremely' appreciated (I repay by sharing some cool files I've created)

[CRD 9]

The coil is only energized to put the knife DOWN.

To get it in the NON CUT (KNIFE UP) position it is de-energized.

A spring makes sure the knife SHOULD go to its NON CUT position.

Do remove the cap over the coil unit and check for free movement.

Paco

[frdmftr 0]

Guess I have the 'how' it operates reversed. Thanks for the reply.

With that cleared up, what would be causing the coil to remain 'energized' causing the 'slicing' during travel (non-cutting movement command)?

[CRD 9]

What if you switch of the machine and by hand push down the knife holder.

Does it return to it home position easy or is there a delay?

Is it smooth in movement?

Paco

[ajgarber70 0]

i have the same issue from time to time also my blade sticks out about 1/16 is that to much. my cutter only seems to do it when i am cutting alot at a time but if i just turn it on and cut 1 or 2 things it seems not to do it.