# Roland gx-24 problem (vinyl roll coming loose)



## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

Hi everyone!

So I have just recently got a Roland GX-24 vinyl cutter and it is giving me one problem. The vinyl roll that I am using keeps getting loose and leaves the right pinch roller. I do not have a stand for this and just use a desk. Could it possibly be the very very slight unevenness of the desk? It seems to usually come off the right pinch roller but occasionally the left. Is there any other reason possible? Does it have to do with the stand? Just frustrated cause I have some orders to fill and I sometimes waste vinyl because I try to do a long sheet roll and it comes off the track. Please get back to me asap. Thanks guys! )


Jeff


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

You have the right pinch roller on the white area correct? This is where the grit roller is. I'd also shim the machine level to be safe. I don't have that machine yet (using a Stika SV-12) but plan to very soon!


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## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

nitewalker said:


> You have the right pinch roller on the white area correct? This is where the grit roller is. I'd also shim the machine level to be safe. I don't have that machine yet (using a Stika SV-12) but plan to very soon!



Yes, I do have the vinyl on the white area. Its actually really far in the middle so that if it starts to head that way, then it will compensate for the lack of stability in the rolling. I have been looking a the Roland stand and I wonder if that would be the problem? hmmm....


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

Yeah when I buy mine I'm getting the stand with it. The GX-24 has a big footprint when on a desk, but on the roland stand not much at all. Also it can be rolled out of the way if necessary. A bit pricey at $300 ($150-$200 would be more like it), but made for it.


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## Twanabee (Sep 14, 2009)

Are you sure that the vinyl is in straight? If it's not, it will creep over to one side or the other. If you have a long job, it will come off the roller.


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## ayukish (Aug 18, 2005)

Are you using the tray that came with the cutter?


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## IYFGraphics (Sep 28, 2009)

ayukish said:


> Are you using the tray that came with the cutter?


There would be the $64 question, if your just laying the vinyl on the table or floor it could also cause this problem, once you cut the sheet unevenly and try to line up the next job by that sheet cut you'll be off every time.

Hope this helps.


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## nitewalker (Jan 27, 2010)

One more thing I was just reading in the manual (getting ready for my own purchase), it states you have to pull the amount of material you'll be using off the roll. A bit difficult to explain but there's a picture on page 53 of the manual showing what I'm talking about.


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## Twanabee (Sep 14, 2009)

John: That's so you don't have the "walking vinyl" problem. If I have let say 24 designs to cut, I just cut say 4 or 6 so I can stop and line up the vinyl under the rollers again. My eyes are not what they used to be. ;-)


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## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

Twanabee said:


> Are you sure that the vinyl is in straight? If it's not, it will creep over to one side or the other. If you have a long job, it will come off the roller.



Hi,

thanks for responding back, yes I do line the vinyl up. i use the grid lines on the front and back to reassure myself that it is straight.


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## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

ayukish said:


> Are you using the tray that came with the cutter?



Hi,

Yes i am using the tray. I hooked it up to the back of the machine like it says to do in the manual. I did everything possible in the manual.


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## Twanabee (Sep 14, 2009)

When you put the rollers down, can you pull the vinyl through? Could be that there may not be enough down force on the upper rollers. Just a thought.


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## Joto Paper (Feb 12, 2007)

Does the roll itself come off the tray in the back as well when you are cutting?

The bottom pinch rollers... do they still feel rough or are they smooth? 
None of the vinyl that feed into the machine is touching the side of the machine right?


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## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

Joto Paper said:


> Does the roll itself come off the tray in the back as well when you are cutting?
> 
> The bottom pinch rollers... do they still feel rough or are they smooth?
> None of the vinyl that feed into the machine is touching the side of the machine right?



Yes they are rough. My Roland Vinyl cutter is brand new and is barely used.


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## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

Twanabee said:


> When you put the rollers down, can you pull the vinyl through? Could be that there may not be enough down force on the upper rollers. Just a thought.


How do you change the down force of the rollers since its just a lever? I know when I put the rollers down i cant put the vinyl through. if that is what you mean. thanks!


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## Twanabee (Sep 14, 2009)

Not sure but if your cutter is new and under warrentee, I would call Roland about your problem. Could be that something got misaligned in shipping. If they cant walk you through things, they should replace it.


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## Joto Paper (Feb 12, 2007)

I don't think you can change the down force of the rollers. Just the down force of the blade. 

You didn't answer the question regarding whether the whole vinyl roll gets knocked off of the back tray when cutting.


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## jlouie41 (Dec 9, 2009)

Joto Paper said:


> I don't think you can change the down force of the rollers. Just the down force of the blade.
> 
> You didn't answer the question regarding whether the whole vinyl roll gets knocked off of the back tray when cutting.



Hi,

Sorry about not getting back to you any sooner, but to answer your question. No, the whole vinyl roll remains on the back tray when it is cutting and is rolling perfectly fine beside the fact that it get misaligned. Not sure what else could be the problem besides trying out the roland stand and fixing the very very small unevenness of the desk. Not sure what else I could possibly do. Thanks for all your guys' help!


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## saveatlas (Sep 13, 2010)

I think this is a bit late, I am a new subscriber but have been reading posts on here for over a year. I have the GX-24, with a stand and I have gotten so mad to the point I am online looking for ways to get this problem with the machine to stop. I use the machine also to cut vehicle decals and it really isnt fun when you get 6 feet into vinyl and the machine feeds the vinyl through crooked and it ruins that much vinyl. I have found one way to make it halfway work is to put a table in front of the machine, so the vinyl rolls out onto the table, i found a perfect plastic folding table at Home Depot that fits and is 8 ft long to let the vinyl roll out onto it, but the problem still happens. I am almost just dissatisfied about the 2,000+ dollars I spent on the machine and the stand.


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## Twanabee (Sep 14, 2009)

I understand your problem. The only thing I can say is to give yourself enough room, that is if you are not using the whole width of the vinyl, set your pinch rollers in as far as you can. That way you give yourself more room for the vinyl to "roam". JMO


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

If you are new to cutting this can be a common problem. The cutter is a friction fed unit and if the material is not loaded straight in the cutter it will tend to walk. Try this… load the material in the cutter, then feed out about 20 inches or more, if the material starts to walk one way or the other stop feeding, straighten the material and feed out some more. You may have to align the material more than once. 
Once it is feeding straight, send the design. 
Also never let the cutter pull the weight of the roll of material. If using the little table tray, make sure the material is loose and looped behind the tray. 
This is where the stand is worth the money. Load your material on the stand and let it drape down between the stand and the back of the cutter. This way the cutter is never pulling the weight of the roll of material and it will track straighter. 
Now in some cases the lock lever will come loose, you will need to check the screws on the lever to make sure they are tight. 
CW


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## Joto Paper (Feb 12, 2007)

I know your vinyl cutter is new... When you are lowering the clamp does the clamp feel loose. We had a customer who couldn't get their cutter to read the length of a piece of vinyl. Turns out he had a few screws loose on the clamp. Once they were tightened, the problem was solved. But it was a real extreme case (the screws were almost going to come off!).


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## saveatlas (Sep 13, 2010)

I think I have figured out the problem and only partial solution, I have tried EVERYTHING to make this work with the GX-24 and this is the conclusion I have came to: I have bought the table, pre-fed the material out to 4+ feet and aligned, I have leveled the machined, checked the springs, etc. Say I am cutting two squares that are 8" wide and 5 ft long for racing stripes on a car, while the needle is down cutting on the left side of the machine it is putting pressure on one side of the vinyl and only gives room for error because its feeding the material in steady while one side has some force on it, so naturally it is going to eventually feed itself crooked. Like a car, if the right front brake sticks slightly while your driving, the car will veer to the right. So, really the only thing you can do is lighten up the down force as much as possible to barely cut through the vinyl to decrease as much pressure on the material as possible. The Roland GX-24's rollers are not strong enough to hold the material tight enough or the motors are slightly week. Too bad this isnt a cheap machine, Unfortunetly


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

Regan, how long have you had the cutter? I have never had this issue. 
Another thing to keep in mind is to never leave the wheels locked down when the unit is not in use. This will cause flat spots on the wheels. Also the wheels on the cutter have changed over the years, Roland now says they wheels should be replaced once a year, same for the blade holder. However I have found if you don’t leave the wheels in the locked position when the cutter is sitting, they will last longer. 
CW


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## saveatlas (Sep 13, 2010)

CW, I have had my cutter sense December of last year, so about 10 months. I honestly can remember a few times that I have left my rollers down overnight where I can totally see your point, but I have had this problem sense day one. I use it for both T-Shirt vinyl and Decal Vinyl for vehicles on the side to pay the bills, and I can remember this happening on anything longer than 3 feet in length on vehicle stripes sense the 2nd day I owned the machine (purchased it new from Josh Ellsworth when he was with Imprintables with Mike). It happens right and left so I can't really say one side is weaker than the other. I wonder if there is a way to make it clamp tighter. That would help ALOT, I almost bundled up 12 feet of expensive vinyl the other day, but maybe it's me that shouldnt expect the machine to cut straight for that long, although I wish it would.

-Regan


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

Regan, if you feed out the 5 feet and feed it back in does it drift? Or does it only dirft when you are cutting? I know you are frustrated, but if you would be willing to try something… load your material and feed out about five feet or more using the arrow keys on the cutter. If it starts to drift, stop, realign, feed out more. Then feed the material back in the cutter and set the base point. Do not roll it back up on the roll of material. Let it drape between the roll and the back of the cutter. 
Remove the blade holder from the cutter. Send a vehicle strip job to the cutter. I know it will not actually cut because you have removed the blade holder. This is just a test to see if it still feeds the material straight while it thinks it is cutting. If it should happen to feed straight and not drift then put the blade holder back in and try cutting the design. If it drifts this time it could be an issue with a dirty blade holder, and should be cleaned. If it drifts without the blade holder the lock lever could be loose. I know you said you have checked this, the other thing it could be is the bar the wheels are on could be out of alignment and be slightly higher on one side. The cutter is still in warranty and I would check with Josh (if you haven’t talked to him already) to let him know you are having this issue. 
CW


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## saveatlas (Sep 13, 2010)

You know, that is an AWESOME thing I should try, because I have feed the material that far out to double check alignment, and it seems that the material pulls to the opposite side the blade is cutting on, so that would only make sense that something is not holding evenly. I have a long job to cut tomorrow night, I will try that and let you know exactly what I find, because this might answer a lot of questions about this subject. Thank you very much for all your help today!


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

I have found over the years when you run into a problem the best thing is to start with some simple tests adding one thing at time to see if you can determine what is causing the problem. Let me know what happens. Remember you may need to clean the blade holder. 
Here are the steps to clean the holder if you have not done this before. 
1. You will need to remove the blade holder from the cutter
2. Remove the cap from the blade holder
3. Clean the inside of the cap on the blade holder
4. Remove the blade from the holder
5. Wipe off the blade
6. Place the blade on a piece of paper
7. Place a single drop of clear oil (sewing or 3 in 1) on the blade
8. Roll the blade in the oil
9. Place the blade back in the holder
10. Carefully rotate the blade in the holder. The end of the blade is sharp, be careful not to cut yourself.
11. Remove the blade and wipe off any extra oil from the blade
12. Put the blade back in the holder 
13. Turn the blade in the holder, if you feel the blade binding the holder may need to be replaced.
14. If the blade has not been cleaned in a while it may need to sit over night before using it in the cutter. This will give the oil time to penetrate the bearing in the holder. 
Return the blade holder to the cutter and do a test cut. The cuts should be better, if they are not we will recommend replacing the blade holder.
CW


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