fcfinishes 0 Posted December 11, 2010 I have searched and found that most people say this is from static. I will attempt everything I can to ground my machine. I also read that serial port is the way to go, not an option right now. What I can not figure out is this just started today. I have only cut 20 yards of vinyl on this machine and now I get random cuts. Of course this is when I start doing bigger jobs and I seem to waste more than I can get out of a cut. Other than ground straps can anyone tell me what this is and how to cure it. thank you Darin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bayotle 26 Posted December 11, 2010 you can check the depth of the blade for starters. I had an issue with mine for a week or so where the blade wasn't being picked up all the way and it was dragging it across the vinyl. Thought it was something wrong with the eps until i noticed it continued cutting as it went back to it's home position. The fix i had to use was to raise the holder about 1/8-1/4" - once it 'fixed itself' the problem hasn't come back... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
banzaimini1 1 Posted December 11, 2010 Does it stop in the middle of a cut and go back to home position ? If so it was doing it to me because of static but only does it to le on heat press vinyl... Now my (fix) to this was I taped 2 dryer sheets on the back side of the cutter so that the material would rich it as it's being fed into the machine now this was a quick fix for me so I could finish a job but hey it's working great so I'm not gonna bother Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deth502 39 Posted December 11, 2010 i dont believe its static. well, it may be, but i dont think that the only reason. i just did a design about 8", so i get 3 across a piece of 24" vinyl. it was larger text, an outline, then a line of small text. it cut the top large text, then the outlines then, from the far side, started cutting the small text. it did a few (6-7) letters then went back to the home position, then went back to cutting, without lifting, therefore, ruining all 3 due to a cut across them. i tried it THREE TIMES, and it did the EXACT same thing all 3 times. i refuse to believe thats static. i noticed that the letters were a bit small anyway, so i made them a little larger, and they took up 2 lines. i did not change ANY of the file, not the font or anything, just the size of the letters, making them take up another line, and after that, it cut fine, ove4r and over again. im sure some of the problems are static, but im convinced some of them are due to something else. programing problems in sb maybe, maybe a hardware problem with the way the cutter interprets certain information, idk, but i dont believe its static. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
banzaimini1 1 Posted December 11, 2010 Your problem wasn't static... My problem was thy why it fixed my problem and this person started the thread wondering what there problem might have been... Now you can take the above comments and suggestions and do a process of illimination and hopefully one of our posts will fix your problem... Good luck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr300s 1,272 Posted December 11, 2010 I just had this happen yesterday and couldn't figure out why it was doing this? I tried it several different times and always the same thing in the same spot? I looked at it in wire frame and there was nothing there??? I looked at the nodes nothing there?? Cut it bigger and the problem wasn't there. Then tried small and again?? WTF So I re did the image in inkscape and then tried it and all was good. Only thing I can figure something corrupt with the file or SB. But drove me wild for a while. If you can try doing it over from start and see if that will work. If you can cut it smaller to test so you don't waste all that vinyl or put the pen in?? Good Luck Finally good one, installed on wall to test ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bayotle 26 Posted December 11, 2010 That's what mine was doing, seemed to cut when it was supposed to simply be moving - seemed like the cutter wasn't rectracting 100% and was being drug across the vinyl.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcfinishes 0 Posted December 11, 2010 that is what its doing. I really looked at the cuts and it seems like they are during the long travel distances. It was not returning to home, the cutter was moving to another cut it was just a long distance. I had like 8 or 10 random cuts, but they did not go through the vinyl. They were more like sratches across my image. I have checked everything and will recut this later today. I am also having trouble grounding my cutter. I can go from a srew on the cutter to, I have nothing metal in my office except my gun safe and I'm not putting any holes in it to ground this thing. Where else can I go. It is sitting on my desk, no stand. Darin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deth502 39 Posted December 11, 2010 I just had this happen yesterday and couldn't figure out why it was doing this? I tried it several different times and always the same thing in the same spot? I looked at it in wire frame and there was nothing there??? I looked at the nodes nothing there?? Cut it bigger and the problem wasn't there. Then tried small and again?? WTF So I re did the image in inkscape and then tried it and all was good. Only thing I can figure something corrupt with the file or SB. But drove me wild for a while. If you can try doing it over from start and see if that will work. If you can cut it smaller to test so you don't waste all that vinyl or put the pen in?? Good Luck see, same thing. funny for the hundreds of times ive seen this mentioned here before, this is the first time i mentioned my theory, and now i see that others are having the same conclusion. theres got to be a glitch somewhere. would be nice if it could be found, and at least identified, so it can be avoided, if not fixed. were/are you using sb too, 300? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcfinishes 0 Posted December 11, 2010 Its happening to me in signcut. I use it so I can put in my own weeding lines. I haven't tried this image in SB yet but I will today. Darin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr300s 1,272 Posted December 11, 2010 were/are you using sb too, 300? Yes sir even though I have a brand new flexi starter here I cant seem to break away from SB LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcfinishes 0 Posted December 13, 2010 Static my foot. I have dryer sheets hanging all over the damn place. I ran a ground strap from the cutter to a actuall ground bar and I still get random drags through my images. I'm really getting burned on how much vinyl this is wasting. I now there are bugs on a few of these machines, but I just can't figure this one out. I also am a little upset that the frame of this cutter is twisted. All four feet do not touch at the same time. I stuffed some post-its under one untill it was level. I happen to work in the fabrication industry, so level is a big deal in my world. Plus my OCD kicks in and it gets really bad..LOL Darin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted December 13, 2010 Static my foot. I have dryer sheets hanging all over the damn place. I ran a ground strap from the cutter to a actuall ground bar and I still get random drags through my images. I'm really getting burned on how much vinyl this is wasting. I now there are bugs on a few of these machines, but I just can't figure this one out. I also am a little upset that the frame of this cutter is twisted. All four feet do not touch at the same time. I stuffed some post-its under one untill it was level. I happen to work in the fabrication industry, so level is a big deal in my world. Plus my OCD kicks in and it gets really bad..LOL Darin That is the stand you are grounding right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcfinishes 0 Posted December 14, 2010 No Dakota, I am on a desktop. I had nothing to ground to, so I ran a wire to a ground bar to see if would make a difference. There was no change. I am almost wondering if it is in the file somewhere. I got the graphic off the web and used inkscape to ouline it. The weird part was it was only on the first 6 inches of vinyl that I ended up with random cuts. I did a total of 6 stickers and only the first 2 had cuts through them. They were the first 6 inches of length. The rest of them are just fine. I am also noticing that the cuts do not always go throught the vinyl. They are more like scratches instead of cuts. Darin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr300s 1,272 Posted December 14, 2010 I am almost wondering if it is in the file somewhere. Darin So I re did the image in inkscape and then tried it and all was good. Only thing I can figure something corrupt with the file or SB. But drove me wild for a while. maybe you could post the file? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeBlow 5 Posted December 15, 2010 Darin when it cuts in the same place each time it's usually an open path. I don't know what program it was created in you said you used Inkscape to re-do it. Inkscape traces the image therefore tracing over the open path that is why it was ok when it was re-done using Inkscape. When you look for an open path it is quite often not where the stray cut is occurring but somewhere else. That fools most people because that's where they are looking for the problem to be. The plotter is reading the data ahead of what it's cutting then finds an open path and makes the stray cut. Joe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deth502 39 Posted December 15, 2010 that may very well be in his case, but for mr300 and i, i can say with a certain degree of certainty that it isint. in his case, a simple resizing, nothing more, solved the problem. mine was more or less just a resize too. i made the letters bigger, and then made it 2 lines. in any event, the only image i was cutting was a simple outline that ive cut HUNDREDS of times before, and the rest was text. not converted to curves, but just raw text. i still say theres something going on that keeps getting overlooked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fcfinishes 0 Posted December 17, 2010 I seem to have found the problem. It would seem that my step by step cutting length was causing the random lines. I was watching the preview using signcut and whe the cutter moved a long distance for relocation is where I would get the cuts. I played with the step by step length and since the cutter did not have to move so far diagonally I no longer got the random slices. These machines are amazing in what they can do. The simplest of things can throw a big wrench in the gears though. Its the little things like this that I am glad to be a patient person. I get really mad, but since this is not my first income, I can relax and work it out. Darin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikes Signs 0 Posted January 26, 2011 Mine started doing the same thing today. I am cutting an image that I have cut 50 + times with no problems. I have the image 4 wide across a 24" piece of vinyl. In the middle of cutting the image it starts to go kind of slow the makes a pass across the whole sheet with the knofe down and then returns to where the problem started. Then it just stops. I have only had this happen once or twice in the past, but today it keeps doing it. I cant get through cutting one image without it messing up the rest of the sheet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted January 26, 2011 Mine started doing the same thing today. I am cutting an image that I have cut 50 + times with no problems. I have the image 4 wide across a 24" piece of vinyl. In the middle of cutting the image it starts to go kind of slow the makes a pass across the whole sheet with the knofe down and then returns to where the problem started. Then it just stops. I have only had this happen once or twice in the past, but today it keeps doing it. I cant get through cutting one image without it messing up the rest of the sheet. another guy got his going this way, Thank You Everybody! Just finished grounding the unit. Sprayed antistatic spray around base and wiped down the cutter & stand also, BAM everything works normal again! Yee Haa! Till next time or should I say till next problem CHEERS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikes Signs 0 Posted January 27, 2011 Mine started doing the same thing today. I am cutting an image that I have cut 50 + times with no problems. I have the image 4 wide across a 24" piece of vinyl. In the middle of cutting the image it starts to go kind of slow the makes a pass across the whole sheet with the knofe down and then returns to where the problem started. Then it just stops. I have only had this happen once or twice in the past, but today it keeps doing it. I cant get through cutting one image without it messing up the rest of the sheet. another guy got his going this way, Thank You Everybody! Just finished grounding the unit. Sprayed antistatic spray around base and wiped down the cutter & stand also, BAM everything works normal again! Yee Haa! Till next time or should I say till next problem CHEERS I guess I'll give that a try. How did you ground the cutter? Just to the stand, or did you hook to something else? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted January 27, 2011 Read this thread http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php/topic,26216.0.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmatson 2 Posted January 8, 2012 hey guys I got the same problem. Today i cut 4 decals. 2 where trashed it didn't finish cutting the inside of a A it just moved to the next cut but drug the blade the whole way. and it happened on the same side both times. Here is a pic of another image you can see. the cutter pasued than drug the blade straight and than resumed cutting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmatson 2 Posted January 8, 2012 my unit is grounded very well. right into the house wiring and to my stand it's on. and still got the same problem. First cut is fine but the second one. It paused cut straight and than resumed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites