FC8600 what a gem

[stxrmxn]

Ok so for the last 5 years my FC 8600 ran fine. All of a sudden, out of nowhere it starts cutting off.
It reads the cropmarks fine.
But at the front edge of the sheet it looks like it needs moving minus on the x axis but on the back edge of the sheet it looks like it needs moving plus on the x axis by about 5mm each way.
I have factory reset it but still the same.
Running it through Flexi.
Re installed the cutter on flexi.
Exactly the same.
I have seen other threads with the same issues but no answers.
Steve

 

[TopFliteGraphics]

Check you friction rollers. Sounds like the pressure is uneven

 

[CanuckSigns]

There is a calibration test you can do where you print out a series of crosshairs and have it cut, then adjust as needed.

The fact that it's off in different directions on the front & back of the sheet is odd. I can't think of anything that would cause that. Does it have issues finding the crop marks on the sheet?

 

[netsol]

i read this post this morning, and i was wondering if what he was describing is just the
friction feed slipping a little when it advances?.
something like bad pinchrollers?

 

[CanuckSigns]

i read this post this morning, and i was wondering if what he was describing is just the
friction feed slipping a little when it advances?.
something like bad pinchrollers?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that cause the cuts to all be off in the same direction? he described the cuts being off in opposite directions on the front vs. back of the sheet.

 

[Joe House]

I love how something can work "fine" for 5 years and all of the sudden something doesn't go quite right and now the plotter's "a pig". It sounds as if the scale is off for some reason.
Is it just this file or are all jobs doing this now?
What media are you printing on? Is the liner slick? Is it heavy? - Magnetic could do this to you.
Check the pinch wheel pressure as mentioned above.- are they the same? are you using all available wheels?
Are the grit wheels clean? Have you checked the pinch wheels? - they're a consumable you know.
Is this laminated media? I've seen laminators with improper tension stretch a print and cause this type of mis-cut.
For print/cut troubleshooting I like to create a simple file of 2" blocks spaced 1/4" apart in a matrix of roughly a square that will fill the width of the media with a contour cut right on the edge of the print. So, on a 54" printer/plotter combo, do like 20 across and 20 deep. Now you can measure your print as it comes off of the printer, then measure after lamination if that's part of the workflow, and then measure the cuts after you cut it. Compare all of these with the file. Many times the printer is off, and we think it's the cutter.
A little more rare, it could be the feed motor is wearing out and not keeping track, but you'd probably be seeing error codes when this is the case.

Good luck

 

[signage]

the plotter is just a piece of equipment a person has to operate and set up, it doesn't do anything other than what the operator makes happen.

 

[stxrmxn]

We cut with 2 passes on thick laminated material, and both passes cut in exactly the same place so i am guessing it is not the pinch rollers otherwise it would be off on the second pass. Rollers were changed about a month ago and we always keep the grit rollers clean because of the nature of work we do and the way we cut out
It really does seem as though the scale is off somehow. I cannot find anything in the manual where you can alter this. If i scale down my cut file on the artwork by say 98% in illustrator and drop it dead centre then that cut file looks pretty much how the final job ends up cutting out.

 

[stxrmxn]

Well i figured out the problem.
When printing our jobs in flexi, in the labels and marks section there is an option to "add margin"
This was set to 0, I must have changed it in the default set up somehow.
i set it to 2mm and now seems fine.

Hope this helps anybody else having these issues.

 

[player]

Well i figured out the problem.
When printing our jobs in flexi, in the labels and marks section there is an option to "add margin"
This was set to 0, I must have changed it in the default set up somehow.
i set it to 2mm and now seems fine.

Hope this helps anybody else having these issues.

You need to apologize to your cutter.

 

[signage]

Like I said it isn't the plotter it is the operator, now you need to go hug you Graphtec and appolgize for calling it a pig:-{)}

 

[stxrmxn]

Like I said it isn't the plotter it is the operator, now you need to go hug you Graphtec and appolgize for calling it a pig:-{)}

Yes i suppose i do.
Sorry old girl.