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Graphtec not completing cuts

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whatsinaname

New Member
Hello Folks,
I have a Graphtec FC7000-60. My graphtec wont complete the cuts. It will stop a fraction of mm before the origin point in a shape. And it does this for all shapes. Is this a default graphtec behaviour ? I am having a hard time weeding (add the fact that i am cutting 8 mil paint protection film).

Is there a way I can make my graphtec plotter blade pass the origin point of a particular shape and then move on to other shapes.

I am using Illustrator CS3 with cutting master 2 to output the plots.

BTW, what's the autoweld function used for in the cutting master 2 ?

Thnx
 
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woolly

New Member
if you are sure that there is no mechanical problem, i find that the damaged cutting strip can cause that.
all so watch the vinyl as its being cut to see that it remains flat if it buckles slightly then it will not join correctly.

woolly
 
hiway

hiway

New Member
Because the material is thick you may need to enable tangential emulation so it will over-cut past the start point.
 
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mcgrawdesigns

New Member
Do you have the overcut feature turned on? That is exactly what that feature is designed to do -- cut a fraction past the starting point.
 
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Bill Modzel

New Member
Before you start messing with the offset take a close look at the corners of a square.
If they look rounded a bit or they cut with "points", you need to adjust your offset.
If they're perfectly square, you have to look someplace else.
 
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whatsinaname

New Member
Overcut Feature

How do I enable the overcut feature in Graphtec FC7000?

I had tried enabling tangential emulation but what that does is sends the cutting head screaming (yes screaming) all the way to the right and then gives a Y-position alarm..So I never tried that feature again. What am I doing wrong ?

Corners of squares are points..no issue with those.

I am attaching a picture of how my circles (and other shapes) gets stuck up b/n the origin & end point and how weeding lifts the whole area around.
 

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  • Graphtec_not_completing_cuts.jpg
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bob

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
Anytime a plotter starts doing this sort of thing it's time to clean the tool carriage. 99% of the time this will fix the problem. Just remove the dust cover from the carriage and blow out all of the dust and crud . Pay special attention to the blade up/down mechanism.

It doesn't take much in the way of contamination in this area to really screw things up.
 
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whatsinaname

New Member
I got it all cleaned up very recently when I had the cross-cut issue sorted out from Graphtec techs. But this issue has been there since i got my graphtec 6 months ago..
 
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Bill Modzel

New Member
I had a defective blade holder when I bought my second Graphtec. I had an original 2100-50 that I bough in 89 and never had a problem like this, but the old blade holder was made out of brass, not plastic like the new one.
After jumping through all the hoops like you are, going through all of the steps with my supplier and than with Graphtec, I got a replacement out of them.
I "upgraded" that replacement to the old style brass head and paid the extra bucks for it though.

Having said all that. There are still some fonts that will not cut cleanly and leave that open tag at the beginning of the cut. This always seems to be on "O"s and my guess is that it has to deal with the way the software is handling the direction that the vector lines are drawn.
To say the least, it is a pain, especially on small type. I cut my amberlith films for screenprinting so I cut much smaller type than most of you would cut vinyl. It REALLY shows up there. This was never a problem with the old 2100 and has been a issue with my FC5000 and now my FC7000.

This issue has shown up in too many bulletin boards to think that there is not a problem somewhere. I love my Graphtec, I wouldn't be on my third one if I didn't, but I think this issue is not being addressed as it should.
 
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MPH

New Member
Make sure the blade selected and the blade in use are the same - i.e. CB09U - Blue blade holder, and make sure you are using all the pinch rollers and that the cutting strip is in good shape.

Then check the following one at a time...
Check blade depth. Slow the machine down slightly. Turn on Tangent mode (Menu - under either functions2 or options2 (I forget which). arrow over to the condition you want to use it one and arrow up to turn on. Enter to save.

Also make sure it is a sharp knife.

This doesn't look like offset to me. It looks like tracking.

Try cutting a square, say 6x6 - then measure the sides and see if they are accurate AND square.
 
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whatsinaname

New Member
I had already turned ON the Tangential Emulation and also using the overcut feature. I am seeing an improvement of 50% in the weeding. But still the smaller shapes are giving a hard time and I am wasting a lot of material..Its simply not weeding like regular vinyl..:frustrated:
 
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Juggernaut

New Member
I would agree with stickerguynyc. The default blade and blade holder that come with the machine are designed for cutting intermediate and high performance vinyl (2 mil to 4 mil thickness). This blade is a 45 degree blade and is Graphtec's part number CB09. For thicker material a different blade is recommended.

The 60 degree blade (CB15) is used for cutting material that is thicker than vinyl. Graphtec also believes that you will need a different blade holder for the 60 degree blade, though I have heard mention that some users have been able to get a 60 degree blade to work in a 45 degree blade holder.
 
bob

bob

It's better to have two hands than one glove.
Juggernaut said:
I would agree with stickerguynyc. The default blade and blade holder that come with the machine are designed for cutting intermediate and high performance vinyl (2 mil to 4 mil thickness). This blade is a 45 degree blade and is Graphtec's part number CB09. For thicker material a different blade is recommended.

The 60 degree blade (CB15) is used for cutting material that is thicker than vinyl. Graphtec also believes that you will need a different blade holder for the 60 degree blade, though I have heard mention that some users have been able to get a 60 degree blade to work in a 45 degree blade holder.
Click to expand...

Not quite.

CB09 represents .9mm diameter blades and CB150 represents 1.5mm diameter blades.

Each size has both 45 and 60 degree blades available. Each diameter has its own blade holder. Graphtec's blue blade holder is for .9mm blades and the red blade holder is for the 1.5mm blades.

Don't try to use a blade of one diameter in a holder of the other diameter. You might get away with it but that's all you'll be doing; getting away with it.
 
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