Strange looking cut

Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 4th, 2017, 9:10 pm

Hi,
Can anyone tell me what could be causing this? The mat is new and the blade is youngish.
Thanks
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby MeFlick » July 5th, 2017, 8:48 am

What media are you trying to cut? Is it card stock or something thicker like foam (I can't tell)? What blade are you using? Did you verify you have the correct blade offset number for the blade that you are using? You said the mat is new but how "sticky" is it - especially for the media you are trying to cut?

Several issues can cause the end point to be offset from the start point. It may just be one thing, it may be a combination of things. You can have the wrong offset for the blade being used. Your force can be too high for the thickness/density of the media. Depending upon what media you are cutting, some times it may be better to lower your force and have more than one pass. What speed were you using? It might be necessary to slow the speed down to give the blade time to move through the media in question. I You can have too much force, too much speed, and need more than one pass. Is the material well stabilized, either with a backing or a very sticky mat. How much "stick" you need on the mat depends on the media being cut. Not sticky enough and the media can shift. Even a new "regular" mat may not be sticky enough for some media.

So, if you give a little more details/information we might be better able to help you troubleshoot the exact cause in this instance.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 5th, 2017, 12:09 pm

Great response Melanie - as always.

The only other thing(s) I could think of was (1) even though the blade is fairly new, check for a nick in it, and (2) be sure the mat is clean so the blade is not catching on something on the mat or (3) the media could be shifting if not properly sticking. Melanie mentioned all of the most common causes - I am just throwing some of the more unlikely but possible ones out there too!

Totally agree that knowing more info would be a huge help - type of media, blade, force and velocity, overcut settings, etc.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 5th, 2017, 9:23 pm

Thanks all for your responses.
The paper is 65# Neenah Astrobright card stock, which cuts beautifully.
Genuine Roland 60 degree blade (1mm offset)
f=45
v=800
overcut=1mm
When I tested with a new mat and blade the same issue occurred. The offset is accurate because squares and larger circles are perfect.
Is it possible that I need a new blade holder?
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 6th, 2017, 12:01 am

Well since you mentioned the blade holder - which one are you using? Just curious. Since you are doing fine with other cuts, then that would pretty much rule out the blade, mat and blade holder. Is this a circle that you are just pulling from the shape library? Did you happen to click on the node tool just to see where they are and if there is an errant node?

What happens if you lower the velocity? Sometimes that can make all the difference in the world. Just thinking what I would do if that was happening (after checking my blade, mat etc). When you say you are using a genuine Roland blade, are you getting them from another source or are you purchasing from Sherri? I ask because getting Roland blades from other sources does not guarantee quality and that has caused issues with many over the years.

Just throwing things out there........
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Thyme » July 6th, 2017, 2:02 am

Gigi,
That is not one of our blades when it has an offset of 1mm - that is a huge offset!
What size is the circle you are cutting? My guess is that it is pretty small and that the size of the offset is what is causing the problem. Try setting the overcut to zero and using two passes instead.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 6th, 2017, 6:16 am

Thanks again everyone.
I purchased the blades directly from Roland (http://www.rolanddgastore.com/) California. I'm using the regular blade holder.
The circle is one I drew using the shapes icon in the menu. I will try your suggestions and let you guys know.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 6th, 2017, 8:47 am

Thyme wrote:Gigi,
That is not one of our blades when it has an offset of 1mm - that is a huge offset!
What size is the circle you are cutting? My guess is that it is pretty small and that the size of the offset is what is causing the problem. Try setting the overcut to zero and using two passes instead.


Dawn -

I so agree. I didn't see where she said there was an offset of 1mm - just that she had an overcut of 1mm. I am familiar with the card stock she is cutting and I don't think it should need two passes at all - it's medium weight at best - cuts easily.

I have another question. I know how you and Sherri feel about blades purchased elsewhere - but not sure about directly from the place that she listed - supposedly a Roland store. Is there still a quality issue there as opposed to where you purchase. I know you both check and double check blades and quality and am not sure anyone puts that care into the blades that you do. I will use "another blade" in a pinch, but I have to be desperate!! I have learned to keep a large stash available so I dont have to resort to anything else! :)
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Thyme » July 6th, 2017, 9:18 am

If it is a genuine Roland blade then the quality should be fine, it is "Roland fitting" blades that can have quality problems. However a blade with an offset of that size is not going to be good at cutting small shapes (that is the reason I asked the size of the circle) so taking off the overcut and using two passes is an attempt to correct that problem and not because the media needs to passes to cut through.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Thyme » July 6th, 2017, 9:20 am

Sorry, that should read "two passes" and not to passes
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 6th, 2017, 9:44 am

Understood. The offset should be .25mm if one of our blades - right?
Thanks Dawn.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Thyme » July 6th, 2017, 10:23 am

Yes, or 0.6mm for Detail blades and 0.7mm for the 60plus
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 6th, 2017, 1:07 pm

Yes - was just checking for the 60 degree that she was using....... :)
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 6th, 2017, 4:02 pm

Hi All,
It's the Roland Store that one may access from within the site for Roland cutters. I certainly paid enough for those babies :o and the quality is excellent. Will let you know on the testing.
Thanks!
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 7th, 2017, 12:44 am

I Just spoke with Sherri and she has no idea of the quality of the blade at the site where you are buying, but was unaware of a Roland store so.... (just sent her the link to the site)...

She suggested that you might want to ask them what overcut and offset they suggest for the Silver Bullet for the blades they are selling as they are not the same blade that she and Dawn are selling and cannot vouch for the quality or what is best for our machines.

And as Dawn already pointed out, the offset you are using is not what we recommend for the blades "we" sell for the machines. So if the 1mm offset gives you good cuts on other shapes, there is a clear difference in the blade you are using.

I hope using some of Dawn's suggestions will give you better results.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 7th, 2017, 7:12 am

Gigi thanks for the follow-up and sharing Sherri's suggestion to contact Roland directly. You "read" my mind on that one.
As a FYI, I wasn't looking for Sherri or Dawn to vouch for the quality of the Roland blade or say whether or not it is best for my SB. I realize the offset of my Roland blade is different from the blades that are sold for the SB because I've used those blades. A difference in offset is not a quality issue; all one needs is the blade to fit in the holder. Dawn's thought that the offset is a possible culprit is a good one given the size of the circle.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby MeFlick » July 7th, 2017, 7:29 am

You still haven't noted what size the circle is? How small is it?
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby Gigi » July 7th, 2017, 9:19 am

I know you weren't expecting either Dawn or Sherri to comment on the quality of the blade you are using - but I had questions and was trying to clarify my own issues with what you are using. And I didn't want to confuse other users, especially new users, who might be reading this and be puzzled.

You can choose to use whatever blade you want, of course, but we cannot support blades that do not come through our channels. So the blade is an unknown to us, as is the quality of the cut - as you are experiencing.

And we still need to know the size of the circle you are cutting just because we all learn as we try to figure out the issues you are having - and what could be the problem.

As an aside (not to confuse the issue), I use a 45 degree blade when cutting the card stock that you are - but then I prefer the 45 degree for most cuts and we all have our favorite cutting blade(s). :) You might try one of our blades if you have them with the proper overcut and offset for them and see if there is a difference.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 7th, 2017, 2:00 pm

Ok thanks for clarifying Gigi. The circle is .25 in.
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Re: Strange looking cut

Postby mmhockeyfan » July 9th, 2017, 8:59 pm

Hello All,

I performed tests with a pen, click blade holder, and regular blade holder and I'm leaning toward a blade holder issue.

Before testing, I cleaned my grit rollers and tightened and reseated my trays. In all cases I used a new mat. The only brand new blade was the SB blade. The other blades were in good condition. Paper was 65 # Astrobright, force=45, and speed=350. Offsets were .25 for SB 60 and Roland 45 and 1 for Roland 60. As a FYI, the Roland 60 produces a perfect square using the 1mm offset.

Test 1 Regular blade holder test-I cut two .25" and two 1" circles with the SB and Roland blades (both 60 degrees) and both blades produced results similar to the picture in my initial post. The SB blades performed slightly better. With both blades, the larger circles were good and the smaller circles were less than perfect in that they were not perfect circles. With respect to the .25" circles, the first circle in the series looked good, but the second circle did not.

Test 2 Pen test-For this test, I added the letter "O" and the number "0" to the two .25" and two 1" circles. I did so because I wanted to see if the same issues arose with round shapes other than circles. One pen produced great results until a slight bend occurred in the nib during testing. When I cut the "O" and "0" with that pen, the "O" and "0" looked like the picture I sent in my initial post. I switched to another pen, tested, and got great results. Since the pen with the bent nib produced similar results to Test 1, my guess is that the regular blade holder is not holding the blades perfectly straight. Consequently, I didn't redo Test 1 with "O" and "0".

Test 3 Click blade holder-I cut the same shapes and text as in the pen tests using SB and Roland 60 degree blades and a Roland 45 degree blade. Click blade setting "1" for each cutting session. The Roland 60 degree produced results similar to Tests 1 and 2 (bent nib). The SB 60 and Roland 45 produced great results. I'm stumped here because I rarely use the click blade holder so I'd be surprised if this needed to be replaced.

Thoughts?
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