# Graphtec cutting incorrect



## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

Hi,

Whenever I cut small(around 0.2inch) letters, It always have "hangnails" which cause my vinyl to get "stuck" when I am weeding any design. It looks like its not ending the cut, the same place it started to cut the letter. When i make text bigger, then this issue seem to disappear.
Im using:
- Graphtec 5000-40-CRP
- CB09UA – 1.

Tryed:
- Cutting on different material (neenah papers and chemica hotmark)
- Using different blades
- Different angles(30,45 and 60)
- Made sure the display/tools is showing 09U
- Tyed different speed (7-20)
- Quality is 1
- Offset is 0










It keeps making this extra(Looks like "J") cut on ever job i send + look at how it messes up everything


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## GordonM (May 21, 2012)

Play with the offset value if you're getting corners that stick. Try to make your adjustments with the test pattern. That's what it's for. When you get that right, most other cutting is fine.

I would say that 0.2" (1/5") letters is pretty small, just slightly larger than the size of text in a book. Are you sure that's what you meant?


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

Could be several things… I would back the blade off if you can, just have a small amount of blade exposed. Change the off set, try .25 and see what that does for you. If you are using a 60 degree blade try the offset at .5 
Also with small letter you need to slow the cutter down. Another thing if you know how to reset your cutter you might want to try that to get it back to the factory defaults and then do a cut.


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

did you try condition 2 quality 2? that's what I leave mine at all the time, no matter what I cut, unless I change to the thicker blade.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@GordonM

Yes. 
I have attached my off tests. -5 to +5 and they all have there issues with the corners if you zoom in closely. I hope you can see it from the scan i made, but with a magnifying glass, i can see it clearly. The "J" it for some reason cuts - do you have any idea why it might do that? At times it comes, then i basicly do nothing at it disappears. Might just be a replacing the media and then it can disappear.

@Corel Whisperer
I tryed with having almost no blade shown at all and that gave the same result. What do you mean by .25 and .5? Is it the offset angle you talk about? When i change the offset at the display, i only have 0,1,2,3,4,5,-1,-2,-3,-4 and -5. which i did try.
I have set the speed to 7. What speeds do you run at, when its small letters?
I have tryed resetting it.

@mfatty500
I have now tryed quality 1,2 and 3 and that didnt fix it.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

dkdesign said:


> @Corel Whisperer
> I tryed with having almost no blade shown at all and that gave the same result. What do you mean by .25 and .5? Is it the offset angle you talk about? When i change the offset at the display, i only have 0,1,2,3,4,5,-1,-2,-3,-4 and -5. which i did try.
> I have set the speed to 7. What speeds do you run at, when its small letters?
> I have tryed resetting it.


 I don't have a Graphtec so you will need to check the manual to see what the numbers translate too. The setting I suggested was for the offset .25 or .5 
In the attachment you sent it looks like 0 is the best setting. I would try a different blade holder to see if that helps. Blade holders can go bad and cause the issue you are seeing and it will show up on smaller graphics more.


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## uttkarshsing (Sep 11, 2013)

Use advance cutter to help you to proper work.


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## lrsbranding (Aug 6, 2011)

My Graphtec CE 5000 has the hangnails on small fonts also. Called GraphTec support and tried a number of things including a firmware update and nothing helped. It didn't do it when it was new. I noticed it after a brown out while cutting. If the crooked lines aren't part of the artwork then I'd say something is loose. Don't have a clue about the j if it's on everything. Do you see it on your artwork if you view it in a wireframe?


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

lrsbranding said:


> My Graphtec CE 5000 has the hangnails on small fonts also. Called GraphTec support and tried a number of things including a firmware update and nothing helped. It didn't do it when it was new. I noticed it after a brown out while cutting. If the crooked lines aren't part of the artwork then I'd say something is loose. Don't have a clue about the j if it's on everything. Do you see it on your artwork if you view it in a wireframe?


Depending on the mechanics of the cutter it could be a loose belt. I don’t know if the Graphtec cutters use belts like the Ioline’s, if it does this can be caused by a loose belt, I have seen this on Ioline’s. I have not seen this on Roland’s, they don’t use belts to run the head, and they use a cable system.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

I should probably have said this before, but the danish seller who has worked 10+ years with graphtec products, he said, that the protection strip, wouldn't have influence on this issue(will look into it, very soon tho). But i still want to mentioned it in here: [media]http://oi41.tinypic.com/wlu6pj.jpg[/media]@Corel Whisperer
Thanks for the tip. A bladeholder cost $100+ right? pretty expensive for such a thing, but def. worth it, if it might fix my issue.

@uttkarshsing
What do you mean? Or do you mean "Advanced settings", where i can choose angle etc. if yes, what do you suggest.
The belt thing you talk about, is that only for his brownout problem?

@lrsbranding
Sorry to hear. Hope we will find a solution soon.
What is wireframe? My guess is that its something to show the path in illustrator etc.? This also happens when i make test cuts(not using pc for that.). This happens periodic(mostly happens..) and when it do, it will show the "J" every single time, it starts a new design. So all the test cuts will have it, but when i cut a design from the pc, then it will only do it once and thats at thethe beginning of the design.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

dkdesign said:


> I should probably have said this before, but the danish seller who has worked 10+ years with graphtec products, he said, that the protection strip, wouldn't have influence on this issue(will look into it, very soon tho). But i still want to mentioned it in here:


OMG! If this is a photo of your cutting strip this is what is causing the issue!!!! 
Think of it as riding a unicycle down a bumpy road and trying to draw a shape at the same time….no wonder the direction changes look bad….get a new strip!!


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

hehe no point  okay, guess i will never call him again.
Is it okay to run a few test cuts, without the cutting strip? will that give me the correct result? then i will go order it right after the test.
(offtopic: i didnt make this cut in the strip.)


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

I wouldn't the depth will be off due to the strip missing. Do you have a piece of carrier from some Thermo Film you can put over the one that is there to get the job out? Thermo Film has a clear but sticky carrier you can use it in a pinch over the cutting strip.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

Dont think so. I have a graphtec carrier sheet? tryed it and the result wasnt to clear. Ill buy the strip and post my results. thanks

Edit: Its still making the "J" when im using the sheet.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

I will first place an order, when i know all the stuff i need to buy.
So if i use a carrier sheet, the cut in the strip wont matter right? if correct, what is the problem with this attached file, where i printed+cut the circles, but as you can see, they all vary on how it cuts the black line in the circle.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

Im told, that the "J" as i mentioned, is not a mistake, but a deliberate act of the plotter. Its being performed each time the plotter makes the first cut at a new media. Its used to rotate the blade in a given direction before the cutting starts. its not a malfuntion.

Im still told, that the cut in the protection/cutting strip isnt the reason for the problems on the letters. More suggestion guys?


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617A9bjYDh8[/media]


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Take the top cover off and loosen those 2 screws and adjust the little wheels until they are snug and re-tighten the screws, as far as that blade holder being loose, maybe replace that also.
Mike


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## aimagedesign (Sep 2, 2009)

dkdesign said:


> Im told, that the "J" as i mentioned, is not a mistake, but a deliberate act of the plotter. Its being performed each time the plotter makes the first cut at a new media. Its used to rotate the blade in a given direction before the cutting starts. its not a malfuntion.
> 
> Im still told, that the cut in the protection/cutting strip isnt the reason for the problems on the letters. More suggestion guys?


 
The 'J' cut is a function of the Tangential mode.


From the picture you took 09u is a much better cut (obviously)!
What did you do differently?

It does, to me, look as though something is loose.

Are you still having issues?

Peter


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@mfatty500
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fbMS8LqmuM[/media]Thanks, its now fixed. But it didnt solve the problem :-/
I have two issues:
1. Hangnails
2. (*most important to fix*)Reads the marks and doesnt cut precisely. Then i used:
"auto reg. mark" -> "mark offset" and i changed that again after i fixed the above, and there settings is now:
X= 000.1
Y=-000.3
But when i change these settings, it will only make the first circle Okay. All of the circles are cut different.
I then tryed to use the pen tool(shown in display) to see if it was the 09u blade holder, but im not sure what to think of the result. The bad thing is, that its many times bigger then the blade..

Pen test:
- Outer circle = printed
- Inner circle = cut
- Green(vertical - ) and Blue (horizontal | ) is there to show how the cuts align up against each other. I draw the first two at the Red color and then copy/past them over to the next line of circles.. Hope it makes sense. But if you can zoom in at the picture, it does vary some.
Lets say its not the 09u blade holder, blade, its all snug up there, then what others options is there left? what settings might i have missed or done wrong?

@aimagedesign
"What did you do differently?" what do you mean?
No its not fixed


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Have you tried to set to the factory default? What software are you using? Have you tried to re install the driver for your machine?


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@mfatty500 Yes a couble of times now. I will try again later and see if it solves anything.
I use illustrator with cutting master 2 (not tryed version 3). I can try to install it on my laptop tomorrow and see how this will do.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@mfatty500
I have tryed installing Cutting master 3 and reinstalling the driver and it didnt solve any of the issues. Still cutting all the circles differently(important) and the hangnails(less important at the moment).
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkHqodpuHQ[/media] the blue area at the blade holder, isnt snug/moving a bit - is that normal? any suggestions for settings i could try?


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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

dkdesign said:


> @mfatty500
> I have tryed installing Cutting master 3 and reinstalling the driver and it didnt solve any of the issues. Still cutting all the circles differently(important) and the hangnails(less important at the moment).
> [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkHqodpuHQ[/media] the blue area at the blade holder, isnt snug/moving a bit - is that normal? any suggestions for settings i could try?



Are you sure you have the blade installed correctly? The blade that was in the CD5000-60 you sold me was installed incorrectly when it arrived. In watching the video you have attached to this post it looks like the blade is installed the same way on this one.

In the video you attached it looks like you loosened the knob on the carriage and just lifted the blade holder up. The blade holder should be held down by the clip on the carriage. If you loosen it further that clip should pull out enough for the blade holder to be fully inserted into the carriage.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

The blade is cutting through the material/vinyl and is just hitting the backing/2nd layer a little bit - if i adjust the force some, then it wont cut through it. Have tryed many different settings and it always turns out this way. So i guess the blade is set correct

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVEkqK2Vy3Y[/media] <- think im doing what you say i should?

thanks


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

We don't do anything under 1/4 inch. It just isn't worth it


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@binki thats also the reason why i decided to put that as less important . Without the other one fixed, im pretty lost.


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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

dkdesign said:


> The blade is cutting through the material/vinyl and is just hitting the backing/2nd layer a little bit - if i adjust the force some, then it wont cut through it. Have tryed many different settings and it always turns out this way. So i guess the blade is set correct
> 
> [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVEkqK2Vy3Y[/media] <- think im doing what you say i should?
> 
> thanks


Not really. With the blade holder installed wrong it will still cut, it just cuts for ****.

Take a closeup picture of your blade holder in the carriage and I'll tell you if it's in correctly.


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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

headfirst said:


> Not really. With the blade holder installed wrong it will still cut, it just cuts for ****.
> 
> Take a closeup picture of your blade holder in the carriage and I'll tell you if it's in correctly.


Actually you don't even need to. I looked at the first frame of that video again and it is installed wrong. 

Unscrew the pressure knob that holds the blade holder in. Keep unscrewing it until the silver bracket moves back far enough for the blade holder to drop completely into its fitting. Then push the bracket back and tighten the screw. 

You'l need to reduce the amount of blade you have coming out of the holder and reduce the force or you will tear up your cutting strip after doing this.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

Im sorry, but i dont understand how im doing it wrong?
Its all the way down(attached picture).
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QNdYGxt8c[/media]
Pulled it all the way off, so you could better see that it wont get any further down


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## headfirst (Jun 29, 2011)

dkdesign said:


> Im sorry, but i dont understand how im doing it wrong?
> Its all the way down(attached picture).
> [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QNdYGxt8c[/media]
> Pulled it all the way off, so you could better see that it wont get any further down



You're still not getting it. I might be doing a bad job of explaining this.

Look at the video you posted above:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVEkqK2Vy3Y[/media]

In the first frame of that video, the lip of your blade holder is sitting above the blade holder bracket.

The picture you just posted above does not have the blade holder bracket on it at all.

Put that piece back on and make sure the bracket goes ABOVE the lip of the blade holder. Then screw it back in. This prevents the blade from moving.

The picture I've attached shows how it should be set up.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

To me they look very much the same. In my picture, you will see that 1(red) is above green circle
Again sorry, if im still not understanding it​


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@headfirst ?

"In the first frame of that video, the lip of your blade holder is sitting above the blade holder bracket." the bladeholder (green) is UNDER it?


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

is the blue part still wobbling around? if so unscrew it a part from the black part and see if there is an o-ring in there, I thought there was one but I cannot find mine, because I don't use it either it, is worn out. See if that o-ring is shot. Something tells me there is one in there.
Hope this helps
Mike


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

this might sound stupid, but is the spring around the blade? Or have you replaced it?


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

*mfatty500* Sorry for not responding. I didnt know i had a respond in here.
No the blue part isnt moving around and the spring is around the blade. Have tryed different springs and blades.

*1. *[media]http://i.cubeupload.com/vpSJZu.jpg[/media] New cutting strip.



*2. *[media]http://i.cubeupload.com/PdOHgw.png[/media] It's a little difficult to see, but the corners on the square is doing the same thing as in #3. This is the perfect amount the blade is sticking out. If i do it any less, i wont be able to remove the testcut, without having issues



*3. * [media]http://i.imgur.com/L4PsgPA.png[/media] "times new roman" text cut on the left and peeled on the right.



*4. *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya_n22H-BOw At times it will start making a sound while its bouncing quickly to the left and right. When i move the head with the arrows, it stops right away. The carriage is nice and snug/not moving anywhere.


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Was wondering if you got that machine running right or not, Maybe this is off topic, but does the machine track properly? Meaning are the pinch wheels lining up with the grit bar?


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

@*mfatty500*
If i understand you correctly, then you are asking for what there is in the picture and the answer then is yes. The plotter will complain if its outside the blue area


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

I see you have posted on the other forums, have you contacted Graphtec? All of the rollers line up with the grit bar?


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

*@mfatty500*
Yes.
"All of the rollers line up with the grit bar" yes they are all infront of the blueand both pinch wheels are always within these, else the plotter will complain.


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## dkdesign (Apr 9, 2012)

The belt is curving, since the carriage is lifting it up. Im told from another, that hes belt is running straight. When i get home later today, i will open it up and see whats going on - any suggestions to which part of the plotter, that is causing this problem? let me know, if you need more info/pictures:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq6x62KtO5k
[media]http://i.cubeupload.com/eaNFD2.jpg[/media]

[media]http://i.cubeupload.com/mgJwxw.jpg[/media]

Also tryed the Oracal 638, which game the same results.

*Edit:*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsWp_QGclgg

Any suggestions? Not sure how to get the two roller on each side to be higher and the belt thats going through the carriage, doesnt doesnt seem as if it could get any lower in there. So the only thing i can think of, if the carriage could get further down?


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