bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 My MH 871 is skipping peieces when cutting. for example i cut the words "Mary had a little lamb..." 7x and one of them was missing the "l" in little and others were missing the "a" or only cutting half a letter. Do i need to switch the blade? whats the problem? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 12, 2021 was this typed or did you trace it where those letters might be a slightly different shade of color and missed - or is there a slight mark on the vinyl? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted June 12, 2021 Get down eye level and watch what the cutter is doing. Do you have the speed too high? Is the blade set correctly as posted hundreds of times on here? The blade should be so far in the blade holder that you think it wouldn't even cut. More blade exposed out of the blade holder will make the blade skip while cutting. Look at your teflon cutting strip and make sure no gouges and scratches in it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 3 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said: was this typed or did you trace it where those letters might be a slightly different shade of color and missed - or is there a slight mark on the vinyl? it was typed there is no mark its completley skipped Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 2 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said: Get down eye level and watch what the cutter is doing. Do you have the speed too high? Is the blade set correctly as posted hundreds of times on here? The blade should be so far in the blade holder that you think it wouldn't even cut. More blade exposed out of the blade holder will make the blade skip while cutting. Look at your teflon cutting strip and make sure no gouges and scratches in it. I watched it and it acted like it was cutting but didnt lower to the paper it was just cutting in the air for a split second then went back down and continued. What is a good speed? Its been cutting fine until now so I think the blade is fine but I will look into it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted June 12, 2021 weird - in your cutting software is the cut all colors selected? if you look at it in wireframe do the letters appear? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted June 12, 2021 Too many OPs think the blade has to be way out of the blade holder to cut. This is not true. You want the very least amount of blade. You only cut with the very tip of the blade. Vinyl is only 2.5 mil for most. It hardly takes any blade to cut that. The blade should be so far in the blade holder that you would think it would not cut anything. That would be correct. Then you use the force of your machine to cut deeper. If you are running fast, no need to. It's not a race. I run slow all the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 21 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said: Too many OPs think the blade has to be way out of the blade holder to cut. This is not true. You want the very least amount of blade. You only cut with the very tip of the blade. Vinyl is only 2.5 mil for most. It hardly takes any blade to cut that. The blade should be so far in the blade holder that you would think it would not cut anything. That would be correct. Then you use the force of your machine to cut deeper. If you are running fast, no need to. It's not a race. I run slow all the time. Its not the blade i checked. Its the cutter its not going down to the vinyl its cutting in the air but only for some letters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 36 minutes ago, Dakotagrafx said: weird - in your cutting software is the cut all colors selected? if you look at it in wireframe do the letters appear? yes its all one color Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted June 12, 2021 Does it do it for everything? Are you running the cutter slower now? How big of an area are you cutting? What happens if you just cut a string of the letters that you say are not cutting? l's and a's Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 11 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said: Does it do it for everything? Are you running the cutter slower now? How big of an area are you cutting? What happens if you just cut a string of the letters that you say are not cutting? l's and a's No not for everything. I took apart the blade and put it back together again and it seems to be working ok now but im not cutting as much but we will see i guess it was the blade but i dont understand why. Thanks for your help! I will come back if it starts doing it again im not enirely sure how i fixed it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 20 minutes ago, MZ SKEETER said: Does it do it for everything? Are you running the cutter slower now? How big of an area are you cutting? What happens if you just cut a string of the letters that you say are not cutting? l's and a's Nevermind I didnt fix it. Is is possible the blade is dull? Its used and i dont know when it was last changed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MZ SKEETER 4,709 Posted June 12, 2021 Well, start with a new blade for trouble shooting. That way you know it's not a dull blade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darcshadow 1,626 Posted June 12, 2021 Does it repeat the problem at the same points on the same design? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bevans 0 Posted June 12, 2021 1 minute ago, darcshadow said: Does it repeat the problem at the same points on the same design? no its different every time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darcshadow 1,626 Posted June 12, 2021 Since it's intermittent and you say the cutting arm is not moving down as it should, there could be a loose connection that vibrating loose. These machines are pretty basic inside if you're comfortable opening them up any loose connections/bad solder joints should be pretty easy to see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites