Laserpoint 53" and VinylMaster Cut v4.3 intermittent cut problem

[BillBled 0]

Hi,
I'm on a US Cutter Laserpoint 3 (53") running VinylMaster Cut v4.3 - I'm with the NC DOT and we primarily use it to cut truck numbers. Sometimes it works fine, but intermittently - and I haven't been able to detect a frequency or pattern, it cuts so the letters and numbers overlap each other, commas print higher than they should, etc.
I've attached some JPG examples. 

Does anyone have any ideas as to why this happens? 

Thanks for any advice. 
Bill Bledsoe 
NC DOT - Div 9

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

Hopefully you have plenty of vinyl free to do the entire order and you are not pulling from the roll. Never pull from the roll while cutting.   Did you mess with the pinch roller tension?  You shouldn't.  Do you have the pinch rollers over the grit rollers on the bottom?  They should always be. Make sure the set screws in the grit rollers are tight.  Does it do the same thing with a pen drawing?    

[BillBled 0]

Hi,
Thanks very much for the reply - I'm asking for a co-worker - so I'll get with them tomorrow and ask him your questions. Sounds like all good points. I do think he is pulling from the roll while cutting. The pinch roller issue is interesting and I"ll have to check. 
Thanks again for the suggestions!

-Bill

[haumana 1,220]

Slack is your friend.  I always will pull sufficient amount of slack that the entire cut job can be done without ever pulling direction from the roll, my machine doesn't do well with tension 

I got laughed at because this is one of the first things I did to my machine ... I added a reflective decal, because it doesn't matter how long I've been using cutters, I sometimes still forget 

[darcshadow 1,626]

The problem is interesting, no slack could account for the design cutting over itself, but it's an awfully clean cut. Typically pulling from the roll causes ugly cuts, not completely misaligned cuts. It also wouldn't account for only the commas being misaligned, and even those are aligned with each other. I hope they report back once the problem is corrected.

[BillBled 0]

Hi everyone,
Sorry to be out of the loop - multiple fires (so to speak). I'm back on the cutter, and the operator sent me these photos of his setup to share. I think the "no slack" idea may possibly have some merit and will get him to pre-pull the amount of vinyl off of the roll before the cuts and see if there's an improvement. Here is what his setup looks like - again - sorry for being out of the loop. I will do better at keeping up. 

-Bill
 

[darcshadow 1,626]

I would suggest moving the vinyl to the left and find a position where you can get a pinch roller at both edges. Also, when cutting only 24" roles, you don't really need 4 pinch rollers, 2 should be good enough really.

[BillBled 0]

hi all,
I just heard back from the operator, and he said he does pre-pull slack off the roll before printing, so that the cutter is not pulling against any tension from the roll. Also, he said the tensioning rollers were directly over the gripper rollers already. 

Does anyone have any additional ideas?

thanks,
Bill

[BillBled 0]

 

I would suggest moving the vinyl to the left and find a position where you can get a pinch roller at both edges. Also, when cutting only 24" roles, you don't really need 4 pinch rollers, 2 should be good enough really.

OK thanks!

I'll let them know and we'll try that.  

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

Agree, need the far right pinch roller on the right edge of the vinyl. I have a 30" Graphtec that only has 2 pinch rollers and it works fine that way. You don't need to use all of those pinch rollers.  Get down eye level with the machine and watch it. Run the machine slow. I never run my cutter fast. 

With the force at only 65, it makes me think that you have too much blade exposed out of the blade holder. It should be less blade, more force. That blade should be so far in the blade holder that you think it would not cut at all. You should just barely even see the tip of it. This works for any vinyl. Blade depth is the first thing that has to be done. Too much blade will cause drag.  Check your TEST cuts from the machine. 

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. You should barely see and feel the blade tip out of the blade holder. Regular sign vinyl is only 2-3 mil thick. You only cut with the very tip of the blade. When you think the blade is so far in the blade holder, that you think it would not even cut, that is probably correct. The blade holder should be almost touching the vinyl with hardly any gap between the vinyl and the blade holder. With cutter off, push the blade holder down and get down eye level with it. If the blade is set correctly, even pushing down the blade holder, you cannot cut thru the wax paper backing, because the blade would not be long enough. It's not about just not cutting thru the wax paper backing, but also having the least amount of blade possible to stop drag.

[BillBled 0]

Hey MZ Skeeter - thanks so much for the detailed explanation - I will have them check the blade depth per your instructions!

[kainth.c.s 53]

What type of connection port it is? USB or Serial. My machine used to do the same thing until I switched it to the serial RS232 9 pin port. If you happen to have that port on your machine, give it a shot.

 

Morever, if you think it is right, you can share the file so someone can look for hidden layers and objects. Also, when the cutter is in operation, get someone to stay near the cutter and listen to some abnormal noise it might make before messing up.

[BillBled 0]

It's on a USB cable. I think it does have a serial connection, but will need to verify. That gets in to I.T. stuff at the State which can be difficult - but we will check. I think sharing the file may be OK - it's just truck and division numbers - but again - will have to check. Thanks for your reply and info. 

[BillBled 0]

 

What type of connection port it is? USB or Serial. My machine used to do the same thing until I switched it to the serial RS232 9 pin port. If you happen to have that port on your machine, give it a shot.

 

Morever, if you think it is right, you can share the file so someone can look for hidden layers and objects. Also, when the cutter is in operation, get someone to stay near the cutter and listen to some abnormal noise it might make before messing up.

This is one of the files that has messed up - It's the one pictured for "DIV 7" (i.e.: Division 7)

DIV NUMBERS.vDoc

[BillBled 0]

 

What type of connection port it is? USB or Serial. My machine used to do the same thing until I switched it to the serial RS232 9 pin port. If you happen to have that port on your machine, give it a shot.

 

Morever, if you think it is right, you can share the file so someone can look for hidden layers and objects. Also, when the cutter is in operation, get someone to stay near the cutter and listen to some abnormal noise it might make before messing up.

Just curious - the laptop that is running our plotter doesn't have a serial port on it - are you on a computer that actually has a native serial port, or are you using a USB to RS232 converter? 

[darcshadow 1,626]

Few computers anymore have serial ports.  The recommended adapter is the Tripp-Lite Keyspan adapter. Cheaper versions don't always work, the Tripp-Lite is known to work.

[BillBled 0]

 

Few computers anymore have serial ports.  The recommended adapter is the Tripp-Lite Keyspan adapter. Cheaper versions don't always work, the Tripp-Lite is known to work.

Thank you!

[BillBled 0]

This is a picture of the blade depth. How does this compare to what you all are using? 

[darcshadow 1,626]

WAY, WAY to much! You should just barely be able to see the blade. Follow Skeeter's instructions above for setting blade depth.

[BillBled 0]

 

WAY, WAY to much! You should just barely be able to see the blade. Follow Skeeter's instructions above for setting blade depth.

Ok thanks - let me get in touch with the operator and get it reset. Will test after that. 

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

The blade should be so far in the blade holder that you wouldn't think it would cut, The tip should be almost at the bottom of the blade holder. Vinyl is only 2-3 mil, that is all you need to cut with, the very tip of the blade. Use the instructions and scrap vinyl to set it. Vinyl cutters have a TEST feature on them, use it and get the right blade depth. 

[kainth.c.s 53]

 

It's on a USB cable. I think it does have a serial connection, but will need to verify. That gets in to I.T. stuff at the State which can be difficult - but we will check. I think sharing the file may be OK - it's just truck and division numbers - but again - will have to check. Thanks for your reply and info. 

It will have a serial port, most of the times, very next to the USB port. The only different thing is, the type of port it has, whether a 9 pin port or a 15 pin port. I will give your file a go, its just, I am struggling to open vdoc files as I do not have the software with me. But, I will have a look at the file. The only reason I asked to have a look at the file is most of the times, it comes with a lot of hidden layers whenever we work straight from the client files.

[kainth.c.s 53]

If this is how your cutter looks from the side, the port on the extreme left hand side that has RS232 is the serial port. I have the same 9 pin port on my creation CT630 Pcut

[kainth.c.s 53]

Also,whenever you cut the media that has the tendency to do such weird things, please stay near it and looks for some abnormal movements or sounds. If this problem is due to the machine losing position due to some motherboard component malfunctioning, improper connection or static charge present in the vinyl roll itself, it will make some abnormal sounds before messing the cuts up.

 

There happen to be many posts encouraging people to switch to Serial Connection ports rather than USB Ports. In case you don't happen to find a suitable cable, try getting Tripp life Keyspan adapter that can connect the serial port to the computer

 

In the meantime, I will have a look at the file

[kainth.c.s 53]

 

Just curious - the laptop that is running our plotter doesn't have a serial port on it - are you on a computer that actually has a native serial port, or are you using a USB to RS232 converter? 

I have a workstation that has an old configuration just enough to keep the machine going without any unrequired movements. believe me, a cheap workstation with a usb hub hooked on for transferring the files using flash drives works wonders