CG-130 FX Plotter Cutting Problems

[CWP]

Hi All,
I have the Mimaki CG-130FX plotter and I am having a heck of a time getting it to cut cleanly. I have a new 30 degree blade, my pressure is set to 100, speed at 20. I am simply trying to contour cut lettering on vinyl. I have set the blade depth to as low as it will go and still make a cut. I am not going through the backing. I have replaced the rubber strip behind the blade... The problem is that I cannot get it to cut any letters out cleanly. Circles and letters with curves tend to cut well, but the inside edges of any 90 degree cut leave tags behind where it didn't cut (aka: the part you are weeding out, is still attached to the letter). When I do the test square cut, it never comes out clean... What am I doing wrong? Am I missing something? I am new to the machine, and people who worked here before said it used to work great! Never a problem. I haven't made any changes to the setup/configuration; I have only changed the blade! Anybody got an idea? Thanks!

Maybe I will just go with

 

[PDD]

firstly are you 100 percent sure that the knife holder is a real mimaki one. I have a mimaki cutter and even with cheap chinese blades it cuts just great. There are two cutting selftests built into the cutter, have you run those and set your offset 10 110 0.3 works for me with avery vinyl. Use a credit card as a measuring tool and set knife to protrude no more than 1/3 - 1/2 the thickness of a credit card. That will get you in the right ballpark for your knife blade setup. Hope that helps. -Brent

 

[CWP]

I will give it a try. Based on your blade depth recommendation, I might be too long... I have no idea if it is a "mimaki" blade holder. It looks like one!

 

[Smacka]

I have cut alot on that cutter. Sounds like its the file. Did you create the art and outline it, or download a font that was not built correctly? Just asking because you really need to check your path in outline view after you outline it. Maybe some of the paths aren't connected. My 2 cents.

 

[CWP]

Unfortunately I get the same results from the "square cut" test, so I don't think it is the file. Also, I am not building the files as they are being made in pre-press. Thanks for the info though.

 

[PDD]

cut problem

If it won't do the square test (there is also a nicer, larger test from the menu that cuts the word CUT with a square around it for weeding ) is definitely (99% sure) a tool setup and/or bad blade. Been there.. Don't try anything until you adjust the blade depth to a shallower setting. You can always lengthen it or apply more pressure later. If its too long it just won't cut at all and can jam up the cutter. -Brent

 

[OutputTech]

Hi i work on the CG-160
Slow the cutter down, and make sure the blade is not dull or damaged.
Make sure sure its in the back slot, not the front, is for punching.
Or try a 75 degree blade, make sure the blade is tight in the holder and is not staying in the vinyl when it lifts out

 

[Pacific Sign]

Check your Offset

Make multiple test cuts changing the offset value each time. start with an offset value of zero and incrementally work your way up to 1.00. Look for the cut that looks best. If you still have any questions, let me know.

 

[asignstop]

I have this problem every once in awhile. Make sure you save your presets/profile. then remove the plotter from production manager and reinstall (I use Flexi) This works for me. What it is is a problem with the commands sending to the plotter and doing a driver reset helps until it gets corrupted again.
Windows 10 is notorious for this happening right after it does a major update.