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VG-540I Help

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blufftonsignguy

New Member
I am in need of some assistance. I have a Roland VG-540I that is having problems with cutting. My latest is pressure. It is like it changes itself every cut. I have put a new 60 degree blade in, and adjusted the height accordingly. I set it to 70 grams of force to cut through laminate and vinyl. I send it to cut and the lines are pretty accurate but with the force it barley scores the laminate. The last run I had I adjusted the blade length out a little and added a little more force. On one cut line (multiple cuts in one run), it cut through the backing paper and everything at the top of the sign and down the side it got to the point of scoring the laminate again.

This has been really frustrating because it was fixed under warranty last year because of this problem (which was never truly fixed) and now I am having the exact same problem again. Anyone have any ideas?

TIA
 
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Joe House

Sign Equipment Technician
I always start with the basics - new blade, cutting strip and blade holder. And I prefer the XR cutting strip in there over the TrueVis cutting strips, but that's probably not it. Then I would look at the cut carriage cable, it could be wearing down.
You state that it was fixed last year but not truly fixed? Why didn't you call the tech back while it was still under warranty? For 9 months or more, it sounds like it was fixed (not sure what the fix was back then) and now something has worn again.
 
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blufftonsignguy

New Member
Joe,

It was not fixed. I don't normally run the machine myself. My designer usually handles it. It all started back in March of last year and after replacing almost everything in the machine (i think everything), a tech from Bell and Howell finally said 2 of the pinch rollers were cracked which was causing the problem. I was also having problems with the contour cuts as well. Well they fixed it and rushed out to say it was fixed and reported it to Roland who then immediately closed out the ticket (I even called immediately once I received notice of this). I went back to work and didn't think much about it and nothing was said to me about it (other than the contour cut was off sometimes). Now all of a sudden this snake rears its head again and it is cutting irregular, scoring the vinyl, cutting through the backing etc. Now it seems I cant even get a hold of anyone to speak to me about it (current or previous problems). I had a number for a guy named Jim in within the head of the tech organization with Roland who gave me his direct line but he won't return calls.

Now I go to do a manual clean on the machine and the carriage will not go all the way to the left so I can clean the heads. I mean WTF is next?
 
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Joe House

Sign Equipment Technician
The upgraded firmware changes the cleaning routine. Once the head stops moving, you open the left maintenance door and remove the cut rail, then pull the carriage over by hand, clean the heads, push it back over the platen, replace the cut rail, close the left door, open the right door, clean the caps and wiper, close the right door and press enter to tell it you're done. (It takes a bit to explain, but it is quicker in real life than the old routine).

As for the repair being done or not, if you don't follow up right away, then you're not likely to get any consideration for work done previously. Have you checked the basics as I outlined above?

Good Luck
 
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blufftonsignguy

New Member
Joe,

Thank you for your assistance. You are most probably correct on the follow up. Dealing with Roland and this machine makes me never want another one! I think from what I have found is that it is the blade holder and the cutting strip. The cutting strip has a gouge all the way down it which would explain some of the problem. The blade holder seemed to be ok but then after messing with the pressures and slowing down the test cut, it points to the blade holder also. Now off to find both. I have tried Denco/Tubelite and it seem they do not want to sell anything so I will be finding the parts I need elsewhere.
 
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Ambyr Hickman

New Member
blufftonsignguy said:
Joe,

Thank you for your assistance. You are most probably correct on the follow up. Dealing with Roland and this machine makes me never want another one! I think from what I have found is that it is the blade holder and the cutting strip. The cutting strip has a gouge all the way down it which would explain some of the problem. The blade holder seemed to be ok but then after messing with the pressures and slowing down the test cut, it points to the blade holder also. Now off to find both. I have tried Denco/Tubelite and it seem they do not want to sell anything so I will be finding the parts I need elsewhere.
Click to expand...
I had an SP-300v with a cut strip that had been worn before I was self trained on the machine. The gouge caused some of the things you've described according to the tech we bought our new printer from, (specifically the inconsistent cutting depths) so I'd start with replacing that before jumping to other things.

That being said, my experience with vinyl cutting is pretty limited in comparison to others, so certainly take it with a grain of salt. :)
 
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