fokkerdmr 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Been having a great time with my cutter. However, I've noticed that many of my fonts have a small piece of vinyl that is left between where the cutter makes the initial cut, and it ends the cut. When I weed, the letters will sometimes get pulled up and I have to use my weeding tool to hold them in place. Some letters are worse than others. Interiors of letters (like the cutout in a "d" or "o") tend to have the problem. Is there a setting either for the cutter (MH 721-MK2) or for SignBlazer that will help? Or is this just "part of the gig?" I've used the SB_ fonts (assuming they'd be optimized for cutting). But maybe there are "worse" fonts for this problem than others. Any advice or tips to share? Thanks in advance... Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted January 9, 2012 have you tried adjusting your blade offset.? adjust at .05 + or minus and see if it gets better. Blade should barely be seen out of the blade holder. You can take your blade holder out of the machine and firmly in your hand, cut across a piece of scrap vinyl. should cut the vinyl and no mark, in the wax paper backing, Then use the force of the machine to cut the correct depth. A drop of 3-1 oil in blade holder. can help your blade spin freely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fokkerdmr 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Interesting. I'd not tested the blade cut depth that way, and have been wondering how to get the right balance between blade depth and cutting pressure. So, doing your test, 150g of pressure was too light to cut the vinyl all the way through. 200g was sufficient to cut through, and left no trace of the cut on the wax paper. Testing 300g, 400g, 500g, and 600g showed increasing cut depth on the wax paper. The blade still hasn't cut through the wax paper at 600g. Now, I'm starting to see a bit of rise on the blade holder as it cuts. I can crank down the brass knob for the holder, but that just seems like it's asking for trouble at some point. I really don't want to tighten it past the oh-no second. Is there a "best practice" for tightening down the holder? Since the cut pressure maxes out at 600g, should the balance of cutter blade offset and pressure be optimal at around 300g of pressure? Or, does it really vary depending on the vinyl material being cut (I'm using Greenstar intermediate calendared). Thanks, Dave Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted January 9, 2012 did you adjust the blade like I told you to do first? by taking the blade holder out of the machine and in your hand cutting across a piece of scrap vinyl firmly? That is how you adjust the blade depth... It should only be cutting the vinyl and not marking the wax paper backing. Once you get it adjusted to that point, put the blade holder back in your machine.. Then adjust your force to maintain the same cutting depth, only cutting the vinyl and no marking on wax paper backing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fokkerdmr 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Yep, did exactly as you suggested. Made several cuts in the vinyl and adjusted the cutter depth (offset) until I was getting no mark in the wax paper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted January 9, 2012 the cutter depth is not the blade offset. You adjust the blade depth with the force on your vinyl cutter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted January 9, 2012 blade offset is in your cutting software. usually starting at .25mm and can be adjusted + or minus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fokkerdmr 0 Posted January 9, 2012 Gotcha... Found that... Testing now .. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrior35 2 Posted January 10, 2012 300g is WAY too much force! If the machine is set properly it shouldn't take more than 60g of force to cut intermediate calendared vinyl. I cut at 40g with my clean cut blades and 60g with my Roland blades. I am also using a mh721. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrior35 2 Posted January 10, 2012 You are getting the rise on the blade holder because you are using so much force. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nsackman22 2 Posted January 24, 2012 Been having a great time with my cutter. However, I've noticed that many of my fonts have a small piece of vinyl that is left between where the cutter makes the initial cut, and it ends the cut. When I weed, the letters will sometimes get pulled up and I have to use my weeding tool to hold them in place. Some letters are worse than others. Interiors of letters (like the cutout in a "d" or "o") tend to have the problem. Is there a setting either for the cutter (MH 721-MK2) or for SignBlazer that will help? Or is this just "part of the gig?" I've used the SB_ fonts (assuming they'd be optimized for cutting). But maybe there are "worse" fonts for this problem than others. Any advice or tips to share? Thanks in advance... Dave Dave did you ever resolve this issue? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
