Thick cardboard holds blade down

Thick cardboard holds blade down

Postby shabadaba » October 4th, 2015, 10:05 am

Hello,

I'm trying to cut a thick cardboard type material using my 60 degrees long shaft blade mounted on a standard blade holder. The material isn't exceptionally thick, using a caliper I measured the thickness to be about 1.5 mm. Sometimes when the blade holder lifts up to move to a different position the blade is left stuck on the material. And so as the machine moves, the blade gets dragged along the material leaving a long gash. Has anyone else had the same problem? My machine settings are: velocity=50, pressure=100 with 2X multicut.
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Re: Thick cardboard holds blade down

Postby Gigi » October 4th, 2015, 10:30 am

Just out of curiosity, have you done a successful test cut in that material? That is where I would start. And although you may need to slow the machine down a little when cutting a thicker material, a velocity of 50 is really low. And just because the material measures within the range of the cutting ability of the machine, it could be that your material is fibrous or denser than most cardboards so the blade is sticking in something. I am just throwing things out there because there are so many different kinds of cardboard/chip board - some cut like butter and some are pretty finicky - it just depends.

What kind of a design are you trying to cut? Is it something intricate so the blade is getting stuck at a "point" or is it a simple shape? Did you check to be sure the blade is not nicked or chipped?

Just re-read your post again, is the blade actually getting stuck, or do you have it too low and it is dragging in the material? Be sure you are using the setting tool and have enough room for the blade to come up and move...

If you can rule out the easy things that can cause problems and the shape is simple, I would increase the speed and see if your results are better. Just try a square and play around with the speed and see if that makes a difference, and then when you get a clean cut, try your project again.

I have had a blade drag, but never actually stuck, so I am just throwing out possible things to try.
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Re: Thick cardboard holds blade down

Postby shabadaba » October 5th, 2015, 2:28 am

Gigi wrote:Just out of curiosity, have you done a successful test cut in that material? That is where I would start. And although you may need to slow the machine down a little when cutting a thicker material, a velocity of 50 is really low. And just because the material measures within the range of the cutting ability of the machine, it could be that your material is fibrous or denser than most cardboards so the blade is sticking in something. I am just throwing things out there because there are so many different kinds of cardboard/chip board - some cut like butter and some are pretty finicky - it just depends.

What kind of a design are you trying to cut? Is it something intricate so the blade is getting stuck at a "point" or is it a simple shape? Did you check to be sure the blade is not nicked or chipped?

Just re-read your post again, is the blade actually getting stuck, or do you have it too low and it is dragging in the material? Be sure you are using the setting tool and have enough room for the blade to come up and move...

If you can rule out the easy things that can cause problems and the shape is simple, I would increase the speed and see if your results are better. Just try a square and play around with the speed and see if that makes a difference, and then when you get a clean cut, try your project again.

I have had a blade drag, but never actually stuck, so I am just throwing out possible things to try.


Thank you for the Reply Gigi :) Yes I tested these settings by cutting a small square from the material and it produced clean cuts. The design I'm trying to cut is not very intricate but it does have sharp corners so I opted to go for a slower speed just to make sure. My blade is relatively brand new (this is actually the first time I'm using the 60 plus long shaft) and I did use the the setting tool to set the blade.

By stuck, what I mean is this: After finishing a cut and as the blade holder lifts to move back to the origin or to a different position, the blade shaft would sometimes get pulled out of the blade holder and the tip would remain stuck on the material. And so as the machine moves, the blade gets dragged along leaving a long gash. As You've mentioned, the material is probably too dense. So is there a way solve this or should I just ditch the material?
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Re: Thick cardboard holds blade down

Postby pigtailpat » October 5th, 2015, 8:08 am

ditch it. Top specs is around 1 mm for this machine. I myself won't cut anything denser than 2 ply mat, which is around .8 mm and 1/32" inch. 1.5 mm is over specs and you will have trouble.

Pat
New owner of an 18" cougar and the gazelle...still a newbie at the cougar and will soon explore it............
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