# BIG ISSUES with Vinyl Cutter-Plotter! [Graphtec CE6000-60]



## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

This is a *HUGE problem in cutting-quality and precision* that has been going on to a mild or sometimes SEVERE degree since day-one...

Today while designing/producing an order fulfillment the cut quality accuracy issues reached a boiling point. *We actually stopped production entirely, because we're out of ideas/solutions for how to fix the problem* that has persisted for so long. *PLEASE READ BELOW AND HELP*


*Cut accuracy* (straight lines, corners, turns, even simply items like letters)
*Contour cutting* (leaves little "picks" one every shape/letter where the blade lifted after completing the cut, this can sometiumes peel the letters up)
*Wavy lines* (PLEASE SEE ATTACHED PICTURES to show many of these issues in detail)

*Equipment:
- Graphtech CE6000-60*
- Brand new 45-degree blade (swapped it out seconds ago, and problems didn't improve)
- ALL SETTINGS are exactly to specification from Graphtech for Siser Easy-Week Stretch material [Speed: 30, Pressure: 9] Although we have tried increased, decreasing both of these values, and extending and shortening the blade with no luck

NOTE: The only thing we can think of is trying Tangential Cutting, but we've tried that in the past, and with all the lifting of the blade-holder, we end up getting peeling issues because the blade doesn't complete drag along the contours to cut the shapes...but honestly we're getting these issues on letter, we're not even cutting sophisticated detailed shapes!


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

cutting strip?

blade not rotating freely?

edit: check this thread


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

into the T said:


> *cutting strip?*
> The Teflon strip underneath the blade that the materials gets pulled/pushed across has seen better days, but it is BY NO MEANS in horrible condition. It has a couple cuts on it, but we haven't damaged it any further in recent weeks and the problems have been escalating more and more. We might replace that part anyway to be safe, but knowing Graphtec it'll be a $5,000 part LOL!
> 
> *blade not rotating freely?*
> ...


*NOTE*: We just swapped out our Siser Easy-Weed Stretch for Siser Easy-Weed standard, and the problems were 50% improved. The Siser Easy-Weed Stretch is glossier on the back and has a HUGE tendency to lift while the blade lifts, and to "stutter" while the blade is dragging in straight lines. 

This is a new role of Siser Easy-Weed Stretch, 25 yards, and we've had issues with Siser over time having to send back faulty materials. But we think it could be a mix of the material and the blade sharpness (but the confusing part is we're using the same blades from a bulk lot of 30 blades we bought and they've all been good)

**PICTURES ATTACHED showing more issues from today:
**1)* Siser Easy Weed Stretch lifting so badly on the cutter it wrinkles and stops the machine
*2)* Siser Easy Weed Stretch not being cut completely causing BAD lifting on every letter while weeding (we've thrown away a LOT of material today alone)


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

is your blade holder too low?
i think the general consensus is 3 credit cards from the material being cut

(i did just read those cheap blades have a 2-4 week lifespan,
whereas the cleancut is 10-12 months)


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## Amw (Jul 2, 2012)

FLEXYOURFAITH said:


> *NOTE*: We just swapped out our Siser Easy-Weed Stretch for Siser Easy-Weed standard, and the problems were 50% improved. The Siser Easy-Weed Stretch is glossier on the back and has a HUGE tendency to lift while the blade lifts, and to "stutter" while the blade is dragging in straight lines.
> 
> This is a new role of Siser Easy-Weed Stretch, 25 yards, and we've had issues with Siser over time having to send back faulty materials. But we think it could be a mix of the material and the blade sharpness (but the confusing part is we're using the same blades from a bulk lot of 30 blades we bought and they've all been good)
> 
> ...


From my experience this is going to be either (or a combination) of:
1) Cutting strip (they are about $35 for a 2 pack for the CE seires)
2) Blade holder is not tight in the carriage
3) Bad blade holder (the blade is wiggling in the holder causing the wavy lines)
4) Blades that have something wrong with them (like slight bends, etc)
5) Blade not adjusted correctly
6) Debris stuck on or in the tip of the blade holder. 

Have you tried cutting as far to your left (while standing in front of the plotter) to see if you still have the issue with the wavy cuts?

Do you have any OEM or cleancut blades that you can test with...even if it is a little dull? The bulk ebay ones you might get 20 good ones and 5 bad ones. They dont tend to have the same quality control as cleancut or OEM. 

When you make a few of the same design are the problem areas always in the same spot or do they "move" to other parts of the design?


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

into the T said:


> *is your blade holder too low?
> i think the general consensus is 3 credit cards from the material being cut*
> Please see attached picture with 3 credit cards stacked under our blade holder
> 
> ...


We switched back to the OEM blade holder from Graphtec (the $105 one, lol) Nothing seems to help with the stretch material - even though we've been using it for nearly a year now, not sure why today everything seemed to go wrong.


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Slow that machine down, you don't really need to cut that fast. It looks like from that photo that you have waayy to much pressure, and the last one you have way to much blade exposed. Did you try to re-set to factory defaults? I never cut faster than speed of 20.Just because it goes that fast doesn't mean you have to. I don't use the 6000 series but the 5000 series.


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Here's how much blade I have exposed for my Graphtec, let the pressure of the machine do the work, not the blade, you may have broken the tip off by now.


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Try this also:
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.


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## Biverson (Oct 20, 2014)

FLEXYOURFAITH said:


> We switched back to the OEM blade holder from Graphtec (the $105 one, lol) Nothing seems to help with the stretch material - even though we've been using it for nearly a year now, not sure why today everything seemed to go wrong.




I'd say your blade is way too far out. I have the same cutter and cut Stahls Premium plus 90% of the time. I'm also cutting at a speed of 30 and acceleration of 2 and have never had quality issues. I'm assuming the premium plus is similar to the siser you'rereferring to. 

Start with your blade and adjust into the carriage so no blade is showing. Just barely so that when you turn to extend it the blade just peeks out. Look in the manual and it will state how far the blade will go down each 1/4 turn. Then, check the depth of your vinyl and adjust accordingly so your blade is down and matches the vinyls thickness. This will help prevent too much force and length to cut through the carrier. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

mfatty500 said:


> *It looks like from that photo that you have waayy to much pressure, and the last one you have way to much blade exposed*
> THANK YOU, roger that - we'll back the pressure off to the minimum [9] and suck some more of the blade in!
> 
> *Did you try to re-set to factory defaults? I never cut faster than speed of 20.Just because it goes that fast doesn't mean you have to*
> This is a good point, maybe the speed and pressure is making the blade wave and wiggle under force. Wonder why the issues were only prevalent on the Siser Easy Weed Stretch? Maybe the more stretchy material causes some issues and exaggerates the pressure and speed more


Thanks so much for your help!!


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

mfatty500 said:


> Try this also:
> 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.


*THIS IS GENIUS! Never thought of taking the blade holder out and cutting across the vinyl by hand...now that we're thinking about it we've had it extended way too far, we only need to have it extended enough to cut through the material itself. Thank you*


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

Biverson said:


> so your blade is down and matches the vinyls thickness. This will help prevent too much force and length to cut through the carrier


Thanks Biverson, we were able to get our order fulfilled today thankfully, but had to switch materials. We're going to adjust our blade setting in tomorrow!

1) Adjust blade back into the blade holder
2) Slow speed down from 30 to 20

*Q: Should I adjust tangential cutting setting at all?*


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Did you re-set to factory defaults to get a start fresh?


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## SiserNA (Jan 6, 2016)

FLEXYOURFAITH said:


> Thanks Biverson, we were able to get our order fulfilled today thankfully, but had to switch materials. We're going to adjust our blade setting in tomorrow!
> 
> 1) Adjust blade back into the blade holder
> 2) Slow speed down from 30 to 20
> ...


Hey Flex,
If you send a n email to [email protected] and include your photos, they can help you solve your issues. We're always here to help!


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

SiserNA said:


> Hey Flex,
> If you send a n email to [email protected] and include your photos, they can help you solve your issues. We're always here to help!


*Hey Siser, thanks so much for joining the forums! *Thought you had joined because our email came through last week with a link to this thread. We'll re-send the email without images (we attached pictures originally so maybe it was over the limit for Siser's inbox to receive)

*Since you're from Siser and on the forum now, and read the post(s) above and saw the pictures...do you have any ideas rather than sending the email again? If not it's ok, we went ahead and sent the email. Thanks and welcome to T-shirt forums!!!


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## SiserNA (Jan 6, 2016)

For one, the blade is cutting way too deep. I can see in one of the images that it has cut clear through the material. I'm not familiar with the Graphtec but for Rolands, the blade should stick out about a credit card thickness. This is what we recommend for the Graphtec cutters as far as cutting specs:
Blade: 45°
Gram Force: 9-10
Tool: CB09U+0
Speed: 30 cm/s


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

SiserNA said:


> For one, the blade is cutting way too deep


Right on! That's the consensus after we uploaded a close-up of the blade holder. We made the adjustment and have a lot of orders to make up today after the weekend out of town, so we'll report back. 

Any thoughts on why the curvy lines, lifting, and incomplete contour cutting only happened on Easy-Weed Stretch and not our other colors of standard Easy-Week? Wonder if the stretchiness affects the cutting process


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

You may have broken the tip of the blade, that would be another reason for inaccurate cuts. Have you looked at the file in wireframe to make sure there are no stray nodes in it? The credit length of the blade is NOT the proper setting for the blade.


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

mfatty500 said:


> You may have broken the tip of the blade, that would be another reason for inaccurate cuts. Have you looked at the file in wireframe to make sure there are no stray nodes in it? The credit length of the blade is NOT the proper setting for the blade.


Hey there! Thanks for the post. We swapped out blades just to be sure before making this new thread on the forums, so that wasn't it - but it was a great idea and thanks for taking the time to post. 

As far as your last sentence, are you saying the advice from others for credit card exposure of the blade isn't correct, or are you saying I need to make the adjustment so less of the blade is showing? 

Good news is things are improving (see post below) THANKS AGAIN!!


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

*UPDATE:
*
Well hiya fellas! I wanted to let everyone know I took the theme of this thread *[ADJUSTING THE BLADE DEPTH FURTHER IN]* and...*the cut quality is MUCH better!*

The problems have NOT been _totally _remedied, I'll do some testing with the main "culprit" which was the Easy-Weed Stretch material, but on the standard materials the cuts are very precise and I found myself going slowly on the usual letters ("E" and "Y" etc.) that pull up while weeding...and they DIDN'T.

*Thanks guys - I'll follow up soon!*


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

making progress flex

once you have it dialed-in, less headaches, more enjoyment

you and your wife are an inspiration,
i always have a place for you guys in my heart/head


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

As far as your last sentence, are you saying the advice from others for credit card exposure of the blade isn't correct, or are you saying I need to make the adjustment so less of the blade is showing? 



Yes turn that blade in so it barely shows to start with. See my earlier post. Also is the carriage head tight, no wiggling around ?


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Have you tried a different vinyl? Meaning not stretch, like sign vinyl, or regular ez weed


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

into the T said:


> making progress flex
> 
> once you have it dialed-in, less headaches, more enjoyment
> 
> ...


WOW, thank you! That was an amazing and appreciated comment 

Been working on designing some new apparel for an MMA pro, with these new tweaks we'll be providing some super fly new God gear! 

Thanks Into the T


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

mfatty500 said:


> Have you tried a different vinyl? Meaning not stretch, like sign vinyl, or regular ez weed


Absolutely, the issues are only with stretch material. It's more elastic and thinner so the Siser rep explained these issues can occur more so with stretch than standard - thanks!


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

Hey Flex-Did you get my mail i sent. should of been there by now.Sent a few samples. Send me an email.


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

pippin decals said:


> Hey Flex-Did you get my mail i sent. should of been there by now.Sent a few samples. Send me an email.


Hey Pippin - not yet, but looking forward to it!! Thanks a lot


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

*UPDATE PART 2:
*
Thanks to you guys and some help from Siser, we're NOW ABLE to use the Easy-Weed Stretch material again without horrible quality, cutting, and contour issues!!

THANKS EVERYONE 

*SOLUTIONS *= Slowing down speed to 20, retracting blade into holder, decreasing pressure from 10 to 9, and moving pinch-rollers on Graphtec CE6000-60 in 1/8 inch further on each side of the material to keep it more stable and help with lifting when the blade pulls up and rotates.


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

FLEXYOURFAITH said:


> Hey Pippin - not yet, but looking forward to it!! Thanks a lot


Hmmmm . it should of made it there by now..


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## FLEXYOURFAITH (Apr 24, 2017)

pippin decals said:


> Hmmmm . it should of made it there by now..


Shoot me a reply email from our emails a couple weeks back so we can figure it outside of this thread, if you have tracking we'll check it out!


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## SteveJobby (Jan 14, 2021)

HELLO! I know this is an old discussion but if anyone is still follwing, i wrote an article about those issues. It's in italian but you can switch language with the menu on the left side. Hope it can still help.
here the article


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