Graphtec FC8000 cutting strip

[Lea Marc]

Hi guys,

Does anyone have any suggestions on alternatives for the cutting strip on our FC8000? At over $50cdn each time they're an expensive consumable..

Thanks, Steve

 

[Solventinkjet]

Your cutting strip should be good for a year at least and I have seen some last the entire life of the machine! If you are changing it more often, you need to adjust the blade pressure better.

 

[gabagoo]

I always find that what kills the strip is one day you load some vinyl and the leading edge rips the strip right off...then you have a problem. Last time the strip came off in 2 pieces as the cutter basically wore through it. I did not have a replacement and used 3M primer to put it back on and it actually worked for over 3 weeks until a new one arrived.

I too wonder how something so thin and small can cost so much, but failed to find anything online when looking up teflon strips. I wonder where this is used in other industries?

 

[ikarasu]

Your cutting strip should be good for a year at least and I have seen some last the entire life of the machine! If you are changing it more often, you need to adjust the blade pressure better.

I think it depends on what your cutting. When cutting Diamond grade / EG grade, My strip tends to get cut into quite a bit. Because of the chrystals / skewing in the DG, Some spots tend to cut deeper than others. If I cut a lot of DG, my strip tends to die pretty quick. If just vinyl/EG, it lasts for years.

That said, I did look into alternatives... Theres a ton of different options. I know one guy just used DG and applied that... Never tried it though.

Another option is teflon tape. I havent used that myself either... but lots of people swear by it.

The strips are universal. All you need to do is measure you size/width you need, and buy a strip. Ebay mimaki strip (Google the part # for the FC8000, it'll tell you the dimensions of the strip), and buy the correct "Mimaki" version. I purchased a white strip, came to $15-20 or something... with no glue, but you can buy 3M glue strips also. I did it once, and it works great - Probably not worth the hassle though. Where are you buying it from? I believe ND has it for under $8 a FT. We bought 6 FT for under $50. Which is probably the route we'll go next time, as it';s not worth the hassle to google around and find cheaper strips, and all the work to apply the glue, etc, when it's replaced once or twice a year. Thats pretty much 1 job worth... Much quicker to just go with the original part.

 

[Lea Marc]

So have lower pressure with more blade exposed rather than less blade exposed and more pressure?

 

[ikarasu]

So have lower pressure with more blade exposed rather than less blade exposed and more pressure?

You want as little blade exposed as possible. Generally you test it on a piece of vinyl first... Take the blade holder out of the machine, run it against the vinyl, and turn it up so its just enough to cut through the vinyl + score the backing paper.

then adjust pressure - Vinyl doesn't change much... but blades get duller, or get knicks, etc. So it's good to run the "Test" cut under condition everytime you change the vinyl. It cuts a tiny square about 1 CM... so you don't waste any material if you place it right.

Graphtec Plotter/Cutter Blade Height Adjustment - YouTube Thats a good video to see how.


Are you changing the cut strip yourself? The first cut strip I changed died within a month. You have to make sure the surface below the cut strip is REALLY clean and smooth. The user before me had big gouges into below the cut strip... so sadly my machine will never be perfectly smooth However you can sand it down, fill it a little bit, and so long as it's mostly smooth, you shouldnt be changing it much. Even glue residue can mess it up. Take 20-30 minutes, clean everything as best as you can before applying it. applying it right is just as important as setting the blade depth right.

 

[Robert Gruner]

Ikar,
Excellent post!
Endusers cutting Diamond Grade on drag knife cutters like Graphtec take a bigger toll on cutting strips. If you cut a lot of Prismatic film I would recommend the Summa Tangential knife cutter.
For either the Graphtec or the Summa cutter, when replacing the cutter strip, use a good adhesive remover to make sure the cutter groove is clean of all debris.

 

[Lea Marc]

Thanks Ikar, very helpful. Yes the user before me did not use a cutting strip so we do have gouges in the plastic strip underneath and yes each strip lasts around a month. So I guess the gouges underneath help the strips wear out faster because it's not smooth and flat the whole way across. That would also explain probably why at different points across the strip the blade cuts through the vinyl more than other points when the force and blade exposed is unchanged.

I'll look into filling in those cracks. The strips for sure help it's just at $50+ a month or so you start to wonder if it's worth it, it's just too bad they weren't used from the start. i did read another post about how it's too bad one doesn't come with the plotter from the factory, then you would know it's a consumable part that need replacing periodically, like an ink cartridge..

Steve

 

[Lea Marc]

Is there a good filler you'd recommend for the plastic strip?

 

[ikarasu]

I believe we used something like this - 3M Super Fast Plastic Repair 04247

Not that exactly... it was just some filler we had laying around from another job. You pretty much sand the plastic below down as much as possible (Be careful not to sand it too much, or itll be uneven), fill it a bit.. sand it, fill it a bit, sand it, etc... For the most part ours is ok. everything cuts perfectly except DG... which is like yours, cuts ok in some parts, not ok in others. When we do DG... we just cut right into the strip. Tack on an extra few bucks per job on DG, and that'll pay for the strip.

You can purchase the plastic piece underneath (Or so I read, in another thread... when I researched this months ago). Not 100% sure on the part name, or cost, but it May be worth it for you to do in the long run. But I suspect it's the gauges thats causing your issues. At the very least I'd sand it down next replacement, even if you dont fill it... it should save your strip a lot of wear.

 

[ikarasu]

Is there a good filler you'd recommend for the plastic strip?

Anything that hardens. I'd go for some sort of plastic epoxy, or the 3M stuff I just linked. Anything at home depot that fills/bonds to plastic should work. Theoretically, your blade will never touch it, since it's not supposed to even cut into the cutting strip. So the purpose is just to make the surface below the strip flat, and hard enough that the pressure wont push it down. Any plastix epoxy, or plastic filler should work.

I believe we actually used bondo. Bondo Home Something like this. But again, anything that dries hard / isnt too messy will work.

 

[eahicks]

I've been wanting to try some scrap Kevlar strips....back a piece with banner tape, cut in to 3/16" strip and apply.

 

[ikarasu]

I dont know about kevlar. It might dull the blade... And if your using original blades, replacing a $100 blade is more expensive than a strip I've heard of people using Teflon tape Blog | Tapes & Technical Solutions - Custom Adhesive Solutions Like at the bottom of this blog. They seemed happy with it... think they got a roll that could do the machine 100x over for like $50 on uline. You can also buy Teflon sheets... Some people have a CNC router, buy a sheet, and cut it down. Theres plenty of different options to try out if you're feeling adventurous. But realistically, you shouldn't be replacing it more than once every 6 months minimum. Bake the cost of a strip into your pricing, and save yourself a headache trying to find a replacement that works as good.

 

[Lea Marc]

Thanks for all help, I'll try filling it. I think at this point it won't make things worse. We did look at replacing the plastic strip but that whole assembly was $2000-$3000cdn.

 

[eahicks]

I dont know about kevlar. It might dull the blade... And if your using original blades, replacing a $100 blade is more expensive than a strip

$100 a blade?? Where are you buying a blade that is that much? Mine are $15 from Clean Cut.

 

[ikarasu]

$100 a blade?? Where are you buying a blade that is that much? Mine are $15 from Clean Cut.

Official graphtec blades are $100 Canadian here in canada. Genuine Graphtec Cutter Plotter Blades

My company used to only use them... Then I found out about cheap chinese blades. Bought a pack for $2 per blade... and I've been using the same blade for the whole year I've been here without a problem. Most people tend to use the official ones though, since thats what their supplier offers... At least in Canada.

 

[eahicks]

Official graphtec blades are $100 Canadian here in canada. Genuine Graphtec Cutter Plotter Blades

My company used to only use them... Then I found out about cheap chinese blades. Bought a pack for $2 per blade... and I've been using the same blade for the whole year I've been here without a problem. Most people tend to use the official ones though, since thats what their supplier offers... At least in Canada.

Hmm...looks to be 77.50 for a 2 pack. You must not be talking about the standard blades.

 

[ikarasu]

Hmm...looks to be 77.50 for a 2 pack. You must not be talking about the standard blades.

Ahh. Didn't see it say a 2 pack. Thats pretty cheap! I just checked my local supplier. 5 pack of CB09 is $330. 2 pack is 147... So $66 CAD + 14% gst/pst, if buying by the 5 pack. $75 canadian per blade. CB15, which we use for diamond grade / engineer grade, is $330 for a 2 pack.

Canada has..."Slightly" higher prices, even when factoring in the exchange rate. But like I mentioned... I pay $2 per blade. I figured even if I had to change it out monthly, vs every year, it's still cheaper. I was presently surprised/happy that it's been 6 months, and showing no sign of wear yet. And at this price, I can get a 5 pack of each type/degree, and it wont break the bank I havent tested the blade holder I paid $12 for yet (Onlyone in stock by my local supplier seems to be a green tip, and it's going for $260 canadian... Seems to be about $140 on graphtecs site, so sounds about right). It's crazy the price they charge for these things, when it costs them pennies to make.

I love to support the local supplier when I can, but when it's 99% cheaper to purchase online, it's hard to say no. (And just to point out... I don't blame the supplier. It's graphtec that sets these prices...And people pay it, so I see nothing wrong with that either. Supply and demand!)

 

[Lea Marc]

Where do you get the cheap blades from?

 

[ikarasu]

Where do you get the cheap blades from?

Shop cb09u online Gallery - Buy cb09u for unbeatable low prices on AliExpress.com Thats where I purchased this set. It takes about a month to arrive though... But at that price, you can buy 10 of each. Ebay also has cheap ones, some localish. Graphtec CB09U Blade Holder + 5 Blades for Vinyl Plotter Cutter 30deg45deg60deg Mix | eBay From USA shipping... so probably 1-2 weeks max (A bit more costly per blade though).

Just keep in mind they will dull faster than the expensiver blades. That being said... I've used my vinyl blade for 6 months now, and no shows of wear/tear. I imagine it's a cheaper material, so you might knick the blade more easily if you cut into the strip... I don't cut into it much, so it's not an issue for me. But at $5-10 for 5 blades, it doesn't hurt to test it out and see if it works for you.