Suddenly Not Cutting Correctly-Tried Most Fixes

[uppercutboxco]

Hey there guys!

So I've had my Silver Bullet for a week or two now, and have made many successful packaging samples at this point! Yay! But the issue is...

Suddenly my cuts are not going all the way through and randomly curving, as if my offset values and overcut values are off!

image2 (1).JPG

image1 (1).JPG

Cutting Specs:
60 Plus Long Blade
Offset: .7mm
Overcut: 1.2mm (figured that one out after scouring the forums. Booklet should specify since it's the only one more than 1mm, but didn't fix my issue)
Single-Pass
v300
f100

Screen Shot 2018-06-05 at 2.00.30 PM.png

I have used these settings many times and it's suddenly not working.

What I've tried to correct it:
Resetting Silver Bullet Machine
Resetting SCAL4 Settings and Reopening
Verified no debris in standard blade holder
Replaced Blade
Verified material isn't moving/Mat is sticky enough still

Help!

[uppercutboxco]

Also does the 60 Plus Blade need to be the same 1mm (dime-ish) amount poking out of the holder, or is it different for that as well? Wondering if maybe it got wobbled lose?

[Gigi]

If your blade is sticking out too much it can wear down (I dont know how much you are cutting daily) and it could be that you need a new blade. Have you tried a new one just to see if it works? Also if it is wearing down you may need to increase your pressure or try using a multi-cut to see if you get better results.

You don't mention what you are cutting exactly other than box material. If you have any plastic in the material at all it will wear down your blade - one more thing to look out for.

Also be sure you have not accidentally nicked the blade. That is easy to do when learning. If it hits the edge of the mat it "can" nick.

Are you sure your mat is not shifting at all? Are your pinch wheels holding well? If it is randomly curving (just re-read your post) it is possible that your mat is skewing. How heavy is your material and how many pinch wheels are you using and which ones are you using? If the pinch wheels are covered in adhesive they need to be cleaned as they will not hold the mat down well in place and random curving sounds like the mat is slipping a little? It is warped at all or still flat? Lots of things to check and any one of them can affect your cutting.....

[MeFlick]

Gigi, next to last line in the OP's post says that they have replaced the blade.

uppercut, if you don't have the blade seated in the blade holder tightly, it can work its way loose and introduce some wobble. However, what also can do that is if you don't have the blade holder its self situated tightly in the blade holder clamps it can loosen up and create some wobble.

Like Gigi, usually when you get shifting, you need to check to make sure that the blade is not skewing. You mentioned that you had verified that the material its self was not moving, and that the Mat was sticky enough but you didn't say if you checked for the Mat skewing. Make sure that you have your pinch wheels properly aligned so that they are where the grit shafts are on the bottom roller so it properly holds. This is an easy thing to miss. Even those of us with experience with the cutters miss that sometimes. Another thing that can cause skewing is having too much blade exposed and/or too much force/pressure which causes the blade to catch in the material. If the places where it seems to be catching/skewing and causing random curving is on curves, that would also lead me to think that you possibly have too much blade/pressure. Like Gigi, I would also recommend that you use less pressure/blade exposure and try doing a multi-cut if cutting thicker board for boxes. This will often provide better results overall. In general, you just need enough blade exposed to cut through the media being cut. The settings given anywhere are just "suggestions" as for places to start as there are other variables that come into play for each cutter - like how old is the blade, the more used/worn it is the more exposure, pressure needed then if a new blade for example. I can't help on the 60 plus blade because I have seldom ever used it even when I was cutting boxes out.

[uppercutboxco]

I am cutting 18pt-24pt (so far just 18pt) C1S SBS Paperboard-never plastics.

The rollers are perfectly aligned with the grit wheels-I always leave them there. I have placed painters tape on the mat where the far left roller hits as my media is rarely that wide, and the rollers pick up a ridiculous amount of adhesive! I think I had to clean two of them after using it less than 5 times before I learned about the painters tape trick through here. My mat is not warped yet. I bought a 24x48 mat to trim to two 24x24 as that's ideal for packaging, and will be using them once it gets warped.

I will try easing up on the pressure and backing off the blade a little, and maybe try a multi-pass!

I will note that I started out with the 60 Degree Standard blade before I bought a pack of Long Blades, and although it isn't the ideal blade (Ideal is 60 Degree Plus) for this medium/purpose (ripples thicker stock along cuts sometimes), I never had this issue until a day or two after beginning to use the 60 Degree Plus, and was sudden, not a gradual thing.

[Gigi]

Hmmmmm - so have you gone back and tried a regular 60 degree blade to see if that works well just to figure out where the issue might be? Have you pulled in the 60 degree plus blade to be sure it isn't sticking out too far? You can also check the mat to see if it is digging in too far.

Another thing to consider is that sometimes things can be fine and you think you are cutting the same material, but the manufacturer has a different lot and it responds quite differently. I dont think that is your issue, but it's one more thing to tuck away in the back of your mind. The fact that the problem started with the switching of the blade makes me wonder if the issue is that simple. So let me know what happens if you put in a regular blade and the cuts are fine. That will at least help us focus on a narrower fix!

[uppercutboxco]

Came into work this morning and turned it on and suddenly it's behaving! Maybe I did have my blade sticking out too much because all my settings are still the same as yesterday. Maybe it was in a mood yesterday? Maybe I was? Good thing is it's working now and I am able to narrow it down to a couple possibilities at this point if it happens again.

Thanks you guys!! So much love and help here, it's great!

[uppercutboxco]

And I totally hear ya on the different lots even in the same line of paper! I do packaging production management, and we have had issues with random paper mill's lots coming out bad and missed QC on their end.

[Gigi]

You are so very welcome. I am glad you have things cutting back to normal again.

Happy to be here for you - holler if you have any other issues. We do our best to trouble shoot and help!

Have a great day!