# Need a little help with how to adjust the cutting of my roland stika 15



## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

hi all, im having slight problems with my roland as in it has trouble cutting all the way through the vinyl.

Currently when cutting an area, it will cut a piece of it all the way through the vinyl as expected but after that, all the other pieces it has cut out has hardly cut them out so when pealing back the excess, it all goes as one.

Please tell me how i can see what blade debth i am set up with and what you recommend i should change to for cutting out vehicle graphics vinyl.

many thanks!

regards,

Ryan


EDIT

After reading another post, this could be down to the cutter strip as it does have a slight grove it all the way along,although im not sure if this was here when new or what.

thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

I'd replace the cutter strip, that's probably the issue.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

okay thanks for the input nitewalker.
Is there no way to adjust the cutter debth? or if so, how do i adjust this?

thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Just turn the bottom half of the blade holder.
When I had my Stika SV-12 I would first turn it until I couldn't feel it at all when rubbing my finger across it. I would then increase the blade depth until I could just barely feel it. I'd make test cuts from that point and increase the blade depth in very minuscule amounts if necessary.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

Oo thanks for the info.
I may not need a new strip as I believe I may have altered the blade Accidently when I took it out before.

I'll try adjusting or and see 

Though the strip does have a grove, or is it supposed too?

Nitewalker, what vinyl do you cut?

Many thanks!

Regards

Ryan


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

A strip can develop a groove over time. When getting cuts like you are, replacing it is a very good idea. The groove is what causes uneven cuts. 

So yeah, check your blade depth first, then replace the strip if necessary. If, after adjusting the blade and replacing the strip you still have uneven cuts, try a new blade. If it still is cutting unevenly, replace the blade holder as well.

When I had my Stika, I used it for sign vinyl (FDC 4200) and before I sold it, aqueous printable vinyls (sihl 3988, papilio waterproof and soft white waterproof and mactac JT1958P). It would handle t-shirt vinyl just fine as well. It cut the printable vinyls ok, but I'd not do it all the time on the stika. Your craft robo would be a better bet in that case.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

okay thank you very much.

I dont have a spare blsdr form my roland stika, but could the craft robo blade be used?

thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

I believe they take different blades.

You could probably go for some of the cheap ebay blades and be fine. When things pick up, and once you learn the ins and outs of your cutter, I'd then invest in cleancut blades.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

okay nitewalker, thanks for your input.

Ill try adjusting the blade first of all and then possibly get the strip.
Always got the craft robo anyway.

How much will i find some decent blades of?

cheers


how are these roland blades?

Ebay num : 190458533706 
cheers


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

They'll be fine for learning your cutter, probably no better or worse than OEM blades. They'll cut just fine.

Here's the website for cleancut blades. Ross is a great guy to deal with. Once you learn your cutter, invest in some of those. The ebay pack will last you a while though, so I'd just concentrate on getting those and learning your cutter.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

cheers nitewalker for that.
Im from Uk so not sure how much they charge to deliver though but will def look into it.

One other thing, is there any designs that i can use to test cut my vinyl cutter that are free?

Or any websites anyone suggests i should purchase from?
Looking for vehicle designs so the likes of flames, shapes etc.

many thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Just google the images you're looking for, on the left select "clipart". Or another way I do it is to search fro things like "Flame vectors" or whatever it is you're looking for.

There's also a bunch a free vector sites available online.

Are you familiar with adobe illustrator, inkscape or corel draw?

The Stika has a built in test feature, on my SV-12 it was done by holding down the power button. Yours is probably the same.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

thanks for the reply.

Once i have an image, what do i do then? or are the images your referring too ready to cut?

I currently havent tried any of those but are they free?? As if so, ill learn 


All im used is the free one with the roland stika, called DR STIKA or something and cut master or something i got with the craft robo.
So prob not the best software,

What can you recommend?

cheers


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Hey.
You can usually import vector files (though I'm not sure of the exact formats needed; .eps should be one of them) to the cutting software (dr stika or robo master). What is important is that they're vector based.

Inkscape is free but has a learning curve. Illustrator is good and there's also a learning curve but there's tons of tutorials online for it. Corel draw is my favorite. It's very easy to use yet very powerful. There's also lots of tutorials online.

There's also a lot of dedicated sign softwares, though I'm not familiar with those. I use corel draw and plugins for the cutting software that comes with the cutter.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

cheers nitewalker, so inkscape is free but what about the others?

many thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Illustrator and corel draw aren't free, but you can usually get by with a cheaper previous version.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

okay nitewalker, cheers, ill look into those.

What do you suggest i should look into?

And will which ever you suggest communicate with both craft robo and roland stika through that program.

Thanks


EDIT

ill be looking to create and purchase designs such as flames, shapes for vehicles as well as vehicle texts.

thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

The software that comes with the cutters should have plugins for corel draw or illustrator.

Of the two I like corel draw more, but both are extremely versatile and powerful. If you're on a tight budget, inkscape will get done what you need; there's tutorials online for that as well.

You could check ebay for older versions of illustrator or draw.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

hi nitewalker and once again, thank you for all your input  much appreciated.

Hmm when installing craft robo drivers off the internet, i remember seeing drivers for illustrator i believe, but not roland stika, i really dont know :/ never saw anything so not sure, do you have any idea?

thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Here's roland's support page on the SX cutters.
It mentions corel draw.

Glad I can help. I was a beginner too at one time.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

cheers nitewalker,

Which bit mentions coraldraw as i cant see anything about plug-ins etc.

many thanks


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

You have to select cutters, then SX 8/12/15.
Once the list pops up it under setup/install guides.


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## simpson7647 (Dec 29, 2010)

okay nitewalker, ill have a read 

cheers


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