Graphtec FC8600-160 Hangnails Driving Me Nuts!!!

[zillion29]

Our Graphtec FC8600-160 is giving me fits of rage trying to cut Bright Green Controltac 180. I know these letters are on the small side for that material (around 1'') but I can't dial this out no matter what setting I try. I get hangnails on the inside and outside of every perfectly round shape I cut. All letters are cut perfectly, except ones with start/end spots that are catching. I played with overcut, offset, acceleration, force, amount of blade exposed, new blade, swapping the axis - no effect. Sending from GSPPlot and using Gerber Omega 6.0. Are there any fixes or tricks that I could use beyond this?

 

[Solventinkjet]

It looks like your offset setting is way off. Offset is not a trial and error settings. It is an exact setting specific to the angle of the blade you are using. If it is anything other than what the blade manufacturer states it is, that is your problem.

 

[Jburns]

I agree with the above, and for graphtec factory blades, on the machines I used FC8000 and FC7000 offset was 0. also blade exposed should be a tiny tip barely peeking out.

 

[zillion29]

I'm using all factory blades and holders. Offset was usually -1, but 0 and +1 have had little effect. Blade is barely protruding - I've got it dialed up farther than I ever have before, actually.

 

[klingsdesigns]

How is the cutstrip?

 

[zillion29]

How is the cutstrip?

It was completely replaced by Graphtec service about 2 months ago (Previous strip had about 5 years of abuse on it).

 

[zillion29]

It was completely replaced by Graphtec service about 2 months ago (Previous strip had about 5 years of abuse on it).

I just removed it and rotated it, just in case and it had no impact on cut quality.

 

[pjfmeister]

Also check your blade and holder could either have a very small chip in the blade or piece of vinyl stuck up inside the holder... I have seen both cause cut issues.

 

[Joe House]

If your blade holder is 5 years old, it could be worn out, or like pjfmeister said, debris inside it or a chipped blade.

 

[zillion29]

Also check your blade and holder could either have a very small chip in the blade or piece of vinyl stuck up inside the holder... I have seen both cause cut issues.

That was a wicked good idea. There was no debris in the holder or damage to the blade, but it was a worthwhile exercise that I'd never tried before.

 

[zillion29]

Have you seen the little ball bearings in there that the blade uses? I remember the first time I was fidgeting with one of them and took it apart and was amazed at the size. Puts ballpoint pens to shame!
My money is still on the tool setting...

I'd agree, but I only ever use 3 conditions including the pen. And this whole mess has had me even mixing and matching seeing if I can eliminate it. I was wondering if GSPPlot just doesn't like to talk to Graphtec and all the firmware and driver updates when it got tuned threw something out of whack - kinda like cleaning an old machine and it fails because the dirt was all that was holding it together.

 

[zillion29]

Really? I would have guaranteed that was the issue. One of my guys cut this yesterday. View attachment 138668
All I did was change the tool to the one it always is on and it cut perfectly. View attachment 138669 View attachment 138670

OMG, yeah . . . I'm the only one running this machine, so I don't have any minions to blame it on. Goes to show that those conditions and tools actually do something afterall.

 

[Jburns]

Look in your user manual, and change your settings to ignore settings from the software... I have a feeling omega is mucking things up on your settings. There is a function in that plotter that ignores software settings, and only uses machine settings.

 

[zillion29]

So that was the issue? Did I just win the internet?

I think it was a combination of things. #1 culprit appears to have been that the knife holder hadn't EVER been blown out or lubed. Then I tightened everything, flipped the cut strip, dialed back all my settings, confirmed the offset, and changed the blade.