We have had an Graphtec FC4100-100 for over 8 years. In all the time I have worked with it, I have rarely encountered any problems that could not be easily solved, but last week a new problem appeared and we have been unable to fix it.
The plotter no longer cuts anything correctly. It does not matter if it is big or small (though the problem is more obvious on small pieces). We have cut simple shapes and text in various fonts. The same problem appears on all of the jobs. There is definitely nothing wrong with the actual cut files.
There are a few different errors in the cuts, though I suspect they are all related to the same problem.
1. The most common problem is that corners are "extended" - they look almost like serifs, but they appear on sans-serif fonts and shapes as well.
2. Some letters have small rounded "nubs" extending outside the usual boundaries of the letter. This is sometimes coupled with an area where the a small rounded hole is cut out of the letter along the edge. Together, it makes the letter look as if someone cut off part of the letter and pasted it on another area of the letter where it does not belong.
3. Some characters and shapes fail to connect at all. They have more-or-less the correct shape, but the beginning point and end point do not match - they aren't even close.
My initial thought was to replace the blade, but that did not solve the problem. I have also fiddled with a lot of the settings on the machine, but we have not made any progress in fixing the problem.
I took a couple pictures of a cut I made this morning that illustrate the problems (see below). Does anyone have any ideas?
The plotter no longer cuts anything correctly. It does not matter if it is big or small (though the problem is more obvious on small pieces). We have cut simple shapes and text in various fonts. The same problem appears on all of the jobs. There is definitely nothing wrong with the actual cut files.
There are a few different errors in the cuts, though I suspect they are all related to the same problem.
1. The most common problem is that corners are "extended" - they look almost like serifs, but they appear on sans-serif fonts and shapes as well.
2. Some letters have small rounded "nubs" extending outside the usual boundaries of the letter. This is sometimes coupled with an area where the a small rounded hole is cut out of the letter along the edge. Together, it makes the letter look as if someone cut off part of the letter and pasted it on another area of the letter where it does not belong.
3. Some characters and shapes fail to connect at all. They have more-or-less the correct shape, but the beginning point and end point do not match - they aren't even close.
My initial thought was to replace the blade, but that did not solve the problem. I have also fiddled with a lot of the settings on the machine, but we have not made any progress in fixing the problem.
I took a couple pictures of a cut I made this morning that illustrate the problems (see below). Does anyone have any ideas?
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