Difficulty with smaller cuts

[Submaweiner 1]

I cannot, for the life of me get anything with any detail to weed properly. I even have some issues with large stuff... I've done EVERYTHING I can think of as far as the machine are concerned. The cuts look perfect, yet I still cannot get smaller pieces to weed properly. I've read a little bit that it may just be the vinyl I'm using (Green Star Gloss Black and White). I just placed an order for Oracal 651 -- is this going to help? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

most of the time it can be the set up of the machine - first start with skeeters blade depth instructions

 

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.

slow the machine way down and make sure you have a sharp clean blade and holder.  the value cutters take a bit more fussing to make those small cuts work good - going to oracal is also a great way to go

[slice&dice 2,467]

Hangnails? Inside the cutting software is a feature "Blade Offset" -- .25mm is a decent default.

[Submaweiner 1]

47 minutes ago, slice&dice said:

Hangnails? Inside the cutting software is a feature "Blade Offset" -- .25mm is a decent default.

Hangnails is a perfect way to describe it! Most of the edges are cut, but the corner or initial cut point will catch. I'll have to give the Blade Offset some more attention.

Thank you!

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

offset actually regulates how the cutter makes corners and if set wrong will cause square corners to be rounded or have beaks - what you are looking for in your software is actually called overcut - it will make the cutter go just a little past the end of the last segment to make up for the area missed commonly by stepper motor cutters that do not have quite the accuracy of a servo motor cutter - hence leaving a little on the last step

 

[Submaweiner 1]

25 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said:

offset actually regulates how the cutter makes corners and if set wrong will cause square corners to be rounded or have beaks - what you are looking for in your software is actually called overcut - it will make the cutter go just a little past the end of the last segment to make up for the area missed commonly by stepper motor cutters that do not have quite the accuracy of a servo motor cutter - hence leaving a little on the last step

 

That makes a lot of sense. I've been fiddling with the offset, but still have that hangnail. I'm using VinyMaster Cut V4.0 and I can't find anything about overcut... any other term I might need to be looking out for?

 

Thank you!

 

**EDIT** Nevermind, I found it under Device Settings > Measurements. Currently the overcut is set at .079. I'm going to experiment with bumping that up little by little, see where it gets me. 

Thanks, again!

[Submaweiner 1]

I've been experimenting with various settings (offset, overcut, blade length, pressure, speed) and still cannot get this to work. I'm trying to print simple bold text at about .35". I'm not getting terrible hangnails like I was, but I cannot get some parts to stick when weeding - they come right up. Typically, it's the straight lines; the rounded objects weed well. 

It's almost like the vinyl comes off of the backing too easily. Is this typical with GreenStar? Can I expect better results with Oracal?

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

that is not uncommon when doing that small of detail - I use a ball burnisher to hold really small parts down when weeding - I think the only thing in my stock that really doesn't do that is the 3m cast that cost 5 times as much as the greenstar - now if you get that unit to "print" at all I will be truly impressed - heck I had to pay $13K to do that

[Submaweiner 1]

Well... I guess I'm just going to alter my prints... that's super disappointing. I really appreciate your help!

[mb20music 760]

If you want to try some Oracal 651 and Oracal 751, I can mail you a few small scraps pieces I have laying around.

In my opinion, Oracal 751 is easier to weed than 651 particularly on smaller text and graphics.

I have never tried the Greenstar vinyl.

[Submaweiner 1]

I really appreciate the offer, mb20music. I've already ordered both to give them a shot, though. Hopefully I can get the results I'm looking for,

 

Thanks, again! incredibly kind of you

[arty-rc 719]

I made some 1/8 lettering for a friends model boat last week. After having a hard time weeding the letters I re-cut them and applied my transfer tape. I then removed the backing paper and weeded them from the transfer tape. I re-applied the backing paper and they were ready to give to my friend to apply. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,298]

10 hours ago, arty-rc said:

I made some 1/8 lettering for a friends model boat last week. After having a hard time weeding the letters I re-cut them and applied my transfer tape. I then removed the backing paper and weeded them from the transfer tape. I re-applied the backing paper and they were ready to give to my friend to apply. 

don't you use a graphtec too arty?  servo machine vs stepper