# Cutter blade not moving up and down



## JDesigns (Feb 25, 2007)

My cutter has been working fine until today. Now it seems that the part that holds the blade is not moving up and down at the appropriate time, if at all. Sometimes, the blade comes down to start the first cut, then stays down so every move it makes is cut. Other times, it makes every other cut. I tried the word Alumni. I got the outer A but not the little triangle inside, then I got the l, skipped the u, got the m, skipped the n, got the i, but no dot on top. 

It was working fine until today and I use it several times a week. I've changed every setting on the cutter, my software and even changed the blade from 45 to 60 and back. I tried cutting a file I cut all the time and it did the same every other cut thing. Of course, I have a job for a very big client (my first one for this particular client) and I need to figure out what is wrong. 

It is a DSI/New Star/Omega OM-70 cutter. I purchased it used from a friend and it has always been reliable. I do not have a manual and am not sure how to even go about getting it fixed. I planned on getting a Roland GX24 later this year but was hoping to wait till business picked up a little.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!


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## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

You may have done this already, but did you make sure the blade was in the groove of the blade holder and not on top? I once wasted a ton of vinyl with this same problem only to find out the blade wasn't sitting in the holder properly. Hope you get it working


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Could a speck of dust be jamming it? maybe a light spray of wd40 might help.


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## [email protected] (Apr 28, 2009)

Hello,

Here are a few suggestions:



Check to make sure your blade holder is seated properly and tight.
Turn the cutter off and restart your computer.
If this doesn't help, reinstall your software and buy a new blade holder.

Good luck,


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## JDesigns (Feb 25, 2007)

Thanks, everyone. I took the cover off the "head assembly" to look for debris, etc. A quick squirt of canned air dislodged a bunch of metal flakes. It looks like the little magnet attached to the side of the up and down mechanism is breaking apart. I believe this type of motor is magnet driven, so this is probably not a good thing. 

Attaching a pic of the mechanism, just in case anyone has seen this before. Maybe removing and replacing the magnet may help?

Thanks so much for all of your help!!


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## JDesigns (Feb 25, 2007)

Took everything apart and cleaned all moving parts with WD-40, put back together and it seems to be ok. 

Thanks again for the assistance, everyone.

Jennifer


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## ino (Jan 23, 2007)

Yup that WD40 is a miracle worker, couldn't live without one.
Glad you're sorted out.


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