SUMMA D140R - I need serious help.

[Goatshaver]

Either I'm missing something huge or this cutter is a POS. Cut fine the other day, came in yesterday and went to cut a job, I tested to make sure my pressure and depth was still good. Cut the job and weeding the excess didn't come up smooth and had to hold the cut pieces down and pull away the excess vinyl.

I even switched to a new blade and went through adjusting all my settings and it looked fine doing the tests but then I cut the actual job and it had barely cut through the vinyl. Could my blades be crap? Could my cutting strip need to be replaced already? Is my blade holder broken?

I don't know whats happening, either I'm doing something seriously wrong or I've got some machine problems. I'm getting so pissed off at this thing. I've only had it a couple months now and I'm having way too many issues doing simple stuff.

 

[Johnny Best]

How far out is your blade sticking out of the blade holder? It should only come out a small bit as to how thick your vinyl is. Are you setting the information (pressure etc.) through the cutter or your software? Does it happen with both cast and calendar vinyl?

 

[rjssigns]

Could be a bad blade. Ran into that with my SP540V. Needed new blades so I bought Roland OEM. Figured I was good to go. Nope. Started okay then mangled cuts one after another. So I tried another blade, same thing. Finally looked at the blades with a magnifier. Tips snapped off the three I tried.

 

[Goatshaver]

M

How far out is your blade sticking out of the blade holder? It should only come out a small bit as to how thick your vinyl is. Are you setting the information (pressure etc.) through the cutter or your software? Does it happen with both cast and calendar vinyl?

I set it initially by taking whatever I'm cutting, and dragging the blade, by hand across the material with medium pressure to see if it cuts through or just barely. I stop when it's just starting to cut through the material. I don't really use cast vinyl so I can't say anything for that. I set my info through the cutter and don't let the software dictate the pressures, etc.

 

[Goatshaver]

Could be a bad blade. Ran into that with my SP540V. Needed new blades so I bought Roland OEM. Figured I was good to go. Nope. Started okay then mangled cuts one after another. So I tried another blade, same thing. Finally looked at the blades with a magnifier. Tips snapped off the three I tried.

Just by a visual I noticed the blade I bought looks slightly different than what came with the machine. Not sure the manufacturer of the blade I bought but I got it from Grimco. I did look through a magnifying glass and didn't look like the tip was broken.
Also have a 60 degree blade and that one gives me jagged edges along the vinyl when I do the tests for FlexCuts.

 

[rjssigns]

Just by a visual I noticed the blade I bought looks slightly different than what came with the machine. Not sure the manufacturer of the blade I bought but I got it from Grimco. I did look through a magnifying glass and didn't look like the tip was broken.
Also have a 60 degree blade and that one gives me jagged edges along the vinyl when I do the tests for FlexCuts.

Blade of unknown origin could be your problem. I've only used Summa blades and that goes back over two decades. Never had any issues with them and they last.

 

[Goatshaver]

Blade of unknown origin could be your problem. I've only used Summa blades and that goes back over two decades. Never had any issues with them and they last.

I just ordered some new blades to see if that's my issue. Guess I'll find out when I get them. Just have tons of work to get through and this is really putting a damper on things.

Right now I'm cutting 3.4mil vinyl and 3mil overlam. Most I do FlexCuts through. My pressure for contour cuts is 165 and FlexCut is 310/180 (I had a pdf for setting up FlexCuts and it said to bump up Flex pressure 5-10% more than used for contours).

 

[rjssigns]

I just ordered some new blades to see if that's my issue. Guess I'll find out when I get them. Just have tons of work to get through and this is really putting a damper on things.

Right now I'm cutting 3.4mil vinyl and 3mil overlam. Most I do FlexCuts through. My pressure for contour cuts is 165 and FlexCut is 310/180 (I had a pdf for setting up FlexCuts and it said to bump up Flex pressure 5-10% more than used for contours).

Cut pressure sounds spot on. Gotta be the blade. You switched and boom ya got problems. Hopefully the new batch works. You did buy Summa blades, right?

 

[Goatshaver]

Cut pressure sounds spot on. Gotta be the blade. You switched and boom ya got problems. Hopefully the new batch works. You did buy Summa blades, right?

I didn't =( I ordered Clean Cut Blades. I guess I have to order a 5 pack of blades if I want the 35 degree.

Also one thing I just tried. I sent a test cut file through Onyx Cut Server and it only cut half of the test file and just stopped....maybe this could have something to do with my cutting variations as well.

 

[Goatshaver]

So I've been messing around with this today and I switched blades and reset my depth and pressure. Run the Pressure Test until it peels easy and leaving a slight mark on the backer. Test the flex cut settings and the test pops out nicely. Then I run an actual job and I find the excess vinyl doesn't weed without holding down the cut pieces, this is not intricate work, like they're cut just barely through the vinyl. This should weed very easily IMO. Also the cut pressure isn't equal across the sheet. The left side of the machine doesn't cut as deep as the right side.

I mean and I going to have to change the blade every few sheets?!

I starting to feel like I made a horrible choice in getting this machine. I'm pulling my hair out just trying to get simple jobs cut. My Roland SP540V is cutting better than this thing and I haven't changed the blade in that in at least 6 months.

 

[Bob Thomasson]

From what I’ve read Summa customer service is very good. Have you tried talking to them? Of course, the first thing they will ask is are you using a Summa blade.

 

[Goatshaver]

From what I’ve read Summa customer service is very good. Have you tried talking to them? Of course, the first thing they will ask is are you using a Summa blade.

All they do is direct me to the company that sold it to me. I've been trying to work with them but haven't gotten anywhere yet.

 

[strypguy]

I have a D140 and it's worked flawlessly for several years using a summa blade. If your machine is used you may need a new cutter strip? I use cleancut blades for my other cutters and even though I love them and they are usually excellent quality I did get a batch of 5 that I basically had to throw away. Honestly. I'd only use Summa blades for this machine. Otherwise, talk to customer service and see what they say. John

 

[Goatshaver]

I have a D140 and it's worked flawlessly for several years using a summa blade. If your machine is used you may need a new cutter strip? I use cleancut blades for my other cutters and even though I love them and they are usually excellent quality I did get a batch of 5 that I basically had to throw away. Honestly. I'd only use Summa blades for this machine. Otherwise, talk to customer service and see what they say. John

My machine is only about 2 months old. I shouldn't need a new strip yet I would think. The machine came with two blades and neither of them are really good anymore. I ordered a pack of blades from Airmark to try as well.

 

[jerry369]

Just by a visual I noticed the blade I bought looks slightly different than what came with the machine. Not sure the manufacturer of the blade I bought but I got it from Grimco

did you set the right offset for that blade?
If you don't know the offset for that blade you can perform the test on the plotter to verify that it is the correct one

 

[Goatshaver]

did you set the right offset for that blade?
If you don't know the offset for that blade you can perform the test on the plotter to verify that it is the correct one

Right now my 36deg blade is set to .43 for the offset.

 

[Joseph44708]

My machine is only about 2 months old. I shouldn't need a new strip yet I would think. The machine came with two blades and neither of them are really good anymore. I ordered a pack of blades from Airmark to try as well.

If you have gone through the two blades that came with the cutter, it's time to change your cutting strip

 

[FatCat]

Can I ask a few simple questions?

1. Did you buy this machine new or used? If new, call Summa -they are great to deal with and will take care of you.

2. You are making sure the blade holder clamp is tightened all the way so that the blade holder isn't slipping up out of the clamp as the machine runs? (I've had this happen a few times on our D140 and it does a lot of weird things when it's loose.)

3. I only used Summa blades when we first got the machine, the past 6 years we've only used Clean Cut blades on ours with no problems whatsoever.

 

[Goatshaver]

Can I ask a few simple questions?

1. Did you buy this machine new or used? If new, call Summa -they are great to deal with and will take care of you.

2. You are making sure the blade holder clamp is tightened all the way so that the blade holder isn't slipping up out of the clamp as the machine runs? (I've had this happen a few times on our D140 and it does a lot of weird things when it's loose.)

3. I only used Summa blades when we first got the machine, the past 6 years we've only used Clean Cut blades on ours with no problems whatsoever.

It's brand new, about 2 months old. Summa cannot help me. I've emailed their tech support and they just tell me to contact the place I purchased it from.
Yes it's tight. I did have it lose one time but I make sure to tighten it up good. I'm waiting on new blades but I shouldn't have 3 dull blades after 2 months.

 

[Goatshaver]

If you have gone through the two blades that came with the cutter, it's time to change your cutting strip

What does a bad strip look like? I don't even know what to look for. It looks fine to me, but I don't know what a bad one looks like.