Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby heathertheresa » September 22nd, 2015, 6:29 pm

I'm not getting clean cuts on my shapes. I'm cutting 2mm craft foam with the 60+ long blade in the click holder set at 4, velocity of 200 and force of 160. The shape was created from the library of SCAL 3.071 and the edges look choppy. I have the blade offset at 0.70 with overcut check marked. Pictures are of both the front, back of the shape, the edge (not pictured here) looks like its a bit twisted, like the cut is not straight from top to bottom?

I'm not that experienced with my machine, so I don't really ever know if I've got the blade inserted correctly. I try my best to get only 1 mm of the blade sticking out with the regular blade holder. And I do the best I can getting the height set when inserting the holder into the cartridge. I use the guide that came with the machine (and a magnifying glass) over the media I'm using, but it seems like I'm not getting it set right consistently. The mat i have is a very slightly warped here and there, so sometimes the blade drags across the media, scratching it, just before cutting starts. Can the mats be flattened?

Any pointers about getting clean cut and/or getting the blade set correctly is greatly appreciated!!
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby Gigi » September 22nd, 2015, 10:05 pm

Yes the mats can be flattened out first of all. If you do a search on the forum you can find different discussions on that. quickly you can roll it in the opposite direction, rubber band it and leave it overnight. You can set it in the sun to warm it and then flatten it - there are ways. It is always good to rotate the mat as you use it to prevent/minimize the warping.

As for the craft foam, or anything thick, you are much better off cutting at a lower force and doing it 2-3 times than maxing out the force. And that is a pretty high force for craft foam - it should cut easier.

If you only have 1mm sticking out, trying to cut on one pass will not get through 2mm of material - that is why the multi pass is a better option and you might want to extend the blade more when cutting craft foam. You said you have it at 4 in the click blade, but I don't know how far that extends it as everyone sets their click blade a little different. And different brands of craft foam sill cut differently because some are more dense than others. you might have better results using the extra sticky mat, also.

My guess is that your blade isn't extended enough so you are getting choppy cuts from the back side because it isn't clearing the material.

Practice on a basic shape with corners first, like a square,. until you get good results and then do a more complicated shape. I always recommend that when using a new material and checking out what is needed - and that is AFTER using the test button. Use that every time you cut a new material as that will prevent you from wasting media you don't need to waste. Make the test button part of your cutting process and you will have fewer times when you aren't happy with the results because you work it out there first.

Hope that helps a little.....
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby heathertheresa » September 23rd, 2015, 10:55 am

I've made some progress! I've got one mat rolled up to help flatten and today using my other mat, that is already a bit flatter. I think I've better figured out how to set the blade depth and install it in the holder, so I'm getting cleaner cuts at a lower force of 30, still 300 velocity, with 1 pass. I'm still using the 60 long blade in the click holder. I think I'm down to just having and issue with the blade offset. I'm attaching pictures that show the different blade offsets I'm using. Even at 0 offset, I'm still getting a jutted corners. Any more help is again, very appreciated.
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby MeFlick » September 23rd, 2015, 11:37 am

While several of the settings can be changed around, blade offset is not one of them. The blade offset number is not something you are suppose to be changing/playing around with. There is a specific set number required for each blade type/length. Since I don't usually use the 60 degree long blade, I cannot tell you what that set number is. You need to go back and find out what that is and use it and try your test cuts again with that correct number and the other settings you have found that seem to be working better. This is because the blade offset number is basically telling the software where the tip of the blade is from the center of the blade holder, it is thus a static number based on the specific blade angle.
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby heathertheresa » September 23rd, 2015, 12:26 pm

I did find in the manual for the silver bullet that the blade offset for 60 long should be 0.70mm and found on this forum that overcut should be 1.2 for 60 long. I tried those settings and didn't get clean corners. The manual also tells me that when the cut has these jutting corners the offset is to high, so I tried lower settings and still am getting small juts at the corners, even at 0 offset. Could this be a calibration issue (i have no idea how to calibrate, so I won't be trying anything like that on my own!) or could I have the blade installed incorrectly?
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby Gigi » September 23rd, 2015, 2:51 pm

Its hard to install a blade incorrectly and calibration only comes into play when you are doing a print and cut.

Did you to a test cut as suggested with just the test button on the machine? There will always be one corner with a little chard but the rest should be clean. Is the material firmly attached to the mat. I think I asked you these questions already, but are you using the extra sticky mat? The craft foam needs to be well adhered to the mat - all materials do. There is a chance that it is lifting at the corners so you are not getting a clean cut. Are you brayering the foam to the mat?

Melanie is right - stay with the .7 offset. Where are your pinch wheels while you are cutting. Are they outside the material? It looks to me like your material is stretching out of shape. Try cutting at a higher speed to be sure the blade isn't dragging it on the corners. You may want to tape the edges of the material down to ensure that it is not moving on the mat. Try one thing at a time so you can see what makes a difference.

Be sure your blade is not nicked as well as that would affect the corners....... My guess is that the material is not well adhered to the mat so is moving with the cutter going at a lower speed.

Keep your settings as they should be so you have a controlled field, then check the things I mentioned, one at a time..
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby heathertheresa » September 23rd, 2015, 4:11 pm

I've done several test cuts and am right now just working on getting a square cut correctly. Picture is of a test cut next to a square from the SCAL library. I have overcut set to 1.2 and blade offset set to 0.7. I did brayer the foam down to the mat and use painters tape to secure it, brought the speed up to 350 (maybe that should be higher still?) and used just a little more force at 35. I've also tried a new 60 long blade and had the same juts in the corners, so the blade itself isn't the issue. I'm trying one change at a time.

I've only been lowering the two outside wheels; I've found in the past that the wheels leave indentation marks on this foam that don't go away, so I've not been lowering the wheels that are over the foam. The foam sheet is 12" x 18" long and eventually I want to be able to cut a shape 17.5" long. I have the 24" machine, and I've been placing the mat with the long side into the cutter. Maybe I should turn the mat 90^ so that another wheel can be lowered?

My next step will be to clean and add a Re-Nu sheet to this mat and I really hope that helps! I really appreciate all the suggestions, any others will be appreciated too!
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Re: Not getting a clean cut/blade holder install

Postby Gigi » September 23rd, 2015, 10:23 pm

You have the pinch wheels right - using them outside of the fun foam is what you should be doing.
There is no reason to rotate the mat for an extra pinch wheel as it's not skewing - if that was happening it would be more noticeable. BUT - it is a good idea to rotate the mat to minimize the mat warping.

I still wonder if you increased the force if that would give you a "quicker" cut on the corners and thus not drag it out. Does that make sense? Since the fun foam is so pliable (at least most is) the lower speed might have the blade sort of catching on the turn since it is thicker and not as firm as other materials. I think it is worth a try. If I had some I would try it, but I don't. And I know there are a gazillion varieties of fun foam. The last time I cut some was eons ago - so long ago that I didn't even transfer the information to my notebook :(

This machine cuts better at a higher speed, but you do normally slow it down with thicker materials. Since this is taking very little force to cut, I am wondering if increasing the speed might help on the corners.

The other trick in cutting corners is to move the nodes so instead of a sharp 90 degree angle, you have a slightly rounded corner. You do it in such a way that it's not visible in the actual design, but the machine gets the message to cut a rounded corner rather than an angle and it handles that easier. Try the speed first....... and everything else that you are doing...
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