Martin Manley 0 Posted July 10, 2023 MH Refine was cutting perfectly for about fifteen minutes then began leaving just a mark in the vinyl with all travel lines showing as cuts. I tried experimenting with blade length and force, changing "force" from 30gms to 500gms and no difference - will cut a letter but doesn't rise or fall so cuts all travel lines too, bisecting and ruining cut letters. My first thought was the cutting head carriage was faulty so I changed that but no difference - it's as if the force command has stopped working. UK Cutter support suggested new Motherboard but they don't have the old type that I need on this cutter - anybody else come across this problem? Regards Martin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted July 10, 2023 Z-Chip fried. Quite common with static build-up on the MH unit. Some older MH machines have a Zchip pop-in cradle, which doesn't require soldering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darcshadow 1,626 Posted July 10, 2023 The Z-chip as everyone calls it, is nothing more than a simple LM741 Op-Amp. Should be able to pick one up for about a $1. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice&dice 2,450 Posted July 10, 2023 Everyone calls it the Z-Chip because it controls the Z-axis movement (the up/down of the cutting blade). Here's a video that explains the replacement process on the earlier models.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68rrkF6gFTE 1:25-1:55 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
