# Vinyl cutter going off track?



## Bro (Feb 25, 2018)

Hello everyone

I've posted a question before on this forum about my vinyl cutter having problems.

My vinyl cutter is a PixMax 720 (pretty budget cutter I know) I am using the signcut software to send to the cutter and I am using InkScape to make the vector.

I have tried lots of different things to try get it to cut correctly such as:

Changing the offset
Tightening and loosening the rollers
Straightening the blade holder (I will show a picture of what I mean. I put some masking tape in the holder because it didn't look straight. Still didn't make a difference)

Nothing seems to be helping

Its like the cutter goes off track and finishes the cut in a different place from where it started.

I'll post some pictures of what I mean

Hopefully someone can give me some advice

Thanks

https://postimg.cc/gallery/32z8yuwe4/ (Hopefully this shows the pictures)


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

should not need tape for a factory holder

looks like offset issue from pics
what type of blade (ie. 30/45/60) and your offset value?


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Yeah, that tape in the blade holder mounting looks way dodgy to me. Is this the proper blade holder for that model of cutter?

You only show a single cut. Can you provide pictures of multiple cuts in different designs? Do the nicks always appear in the same places on the same designs?


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## Bro (Feb 25, 2018)

webtrekker said:


> Yeah, that tape in the blade holder mounting looks way dodgy to me. Is this the proper blade holder for that model of cutter?
> 
> You only show a single cut. Can you provide pictures of multiple cuts in different designs? Do the nicks always appear in the same places on the same designs?


The tape was added by me as a test to see if it made a difference. The blade holder is the one that came with the cutter. I have taken another picture to show the blade holder without tape on it (it doesn't look straight) 

My blade is a 45 degree I have tried a 60 though and didn't notice a difference. My offset is 0.5 which seems quite high to me but if I drop it lower it seems to make the corners too round. I have also taken a picture of my settings.

Here are the pictures

https://postimg.cc/gallery/30jpazuws/


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

if you scroll down on this thread you will see the 'Quick Reply' box
click 'Go Advanced', scroll down and click the 'Manage Attachments' button
click 'Browse' to add a photo from your computer, click the next 'Browse' to add another, etc.
(under the browse buttons is a list of all the file types and max. sizes you can upload)
once you are finished uploading your images, click 'Close this window' in the upper right
now finish your text and hit 'Submit Reply'


for my zing the 45 blade has an offset of 0.25


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## Bro (Feb 25, 2018)

Here are the pictures


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## Bro (Feb 25, 2018)

I have changed the offset and taken some pictures to show the results. When I watch the cutter closely it looks like the blade sometimes jumps and isn't smooth


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Probably not related but what the hell... we had a really bad tracking problem with a roland GX24 a year or so ago... Turned out the handle that you use to lock down the rollers, the 2 screws holding the handle on had come loose and it wasn't locking the vinyl down to the rollers hard enough. A quick tighten of the screws and it tracked perfectly... Not sure how the locking mechanism works on that model but figured it was worth a mention...


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## Bro (Feb 25, 2018)

Sounds like the same mechanism as mine. It has 2 screws on each roller with a spring that you tighten by hand. I have tried to tighten them before but it didn't seem to make a difference. How tight should they be? I've never been sure how much to tighten them


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

Not sure, on the Roland, it was just screws holding the handle to the mechinism that locks the rollers. When they were loose, it wasn't able to lock the rollers completely tight.


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## ramlej2019 (Nov 26, 2018)

Is it used for the contour cutting? If the blade sometimes jump you might adjust the speed of the cutter. For me, I have some issue before like the blade jumps and later I figured it out the it was the speed of the cutter.


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## Bro (Feb 25, 2018)

I have put the cutter speed down to the lowest it will go because I thought the speed may have been the issue but it didn't change anything


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Bro said:


> I have put the cutter speed down to the lowest it will go because I thought the speed may have been the issue but it didn't change anything


That's because it's not the speed that's the issue. 

The most probable cause is slipping, caused by uneven roller tensions, worn or damaged rollers, worn or damaged gritshaft, or loose blade/holder. 

I cut vinyl on my Silver Bullet cutter at its top speed of 800cm/sec, even intricate cuts, and never have a problem.


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