Anyone know?
Adjust graphic for over cut in a vinyl cutter
I cut stuff out of vinyl for tshirts and window decals.
My cutter doesn't have an over cut feature. The over cut feature has the blade cut a little past it's starting point to make sure it is all the way cut out.
So, when doing fine text, it's a pain as the small letters are still attached a little bit to the vinyl that you weed away.
I've read of some talking about manually adding nodes to the graphic to where the cutter will cut past it's starting point.
Does anyone know of an article that shows how you do this? I'm not sure if this would be done in a program like Corel Draw, or if you have to do it in the vinyl cutters software.
My cutter doesn't have an over cut feature. The over cut feature has the blade cut a little past it's starting point to make sure it is all the way cut out.
So, when doing fine text, it's a pain as the small letters are still attached a little bit to the vinyl that you weed away.
I've read of some talking about manually adding nodes to the graphic to where the cutter will cut past it's starting point.
Does anyone know of an article that shows how you do this? I'm not sure if this would be done in a program like Corel Draw, or if you have to do it in the vinyl cutters software.
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
Have you tried adjusting your offset first?
I had that problem when I was cutting tiny letters that were like .25" tall. I want to say I lowered my offset quite a bit and it fixed it and the letters weeded perfectly.
I had that problem when I was cutting tiny letters that were like .25" tall. I want to say I lowered my offset quite a bit and it fixed it and the letters weeded perfectly.
No. I use a 45 degree blade. So, I set the offset to .25 that they tell you to set it to.Have you tried adjusting your offset first?
I had that problem when I was cutting tiny letters that were like .25" tall. I want to say I lowered my offset quite a bit and it fixed it and the letters weeded perfectly.
What blade did you use, and what did you set the offset to?
I think the problem is the vinyl stretches some when it is cutting, so the vinyl stretches and it sometimes doesn't cut the last little bit of vinyl. Which makes it a pain to weed and do small detail.
I had thought about extending the blade some to see what that does. As that would make the blade a little wider.
Though I did read somewhere of someone talking about manually adjusting the nodes that told the cutter where to cut, where they put nodes where it would cut a little past the starting point. I know Greatcut has a feature that shows you the path it cuts in greatcut.
I hope GCC adds an overcut feature to the software. I know their higher up models have the overcut feature on the machine.
Ah... Maybe that's the issue. I use a 60* blade. Perhaps you should get one of those. The sharper tip might help to cut the finer detail.
What did you set the offset to?Ah... Maybe that's the issue. I use a 60* blade. Perhaps you should get one of those. The sharper tip might help to cut the finer detail.
Ugh.. I'm trying to remember! I think .25 but I was using a .50 offset blade.
I was using my Puma III which has more control over the offset than the VLCD. I'm a GCC distributor so I called the national sales manager to get him to walk me through it. And now that I'm thinking about it, he had me take the setting off of Fine detail in the LCD panel. I don't think you have that option in the VLCD.
But that was ultimately what did the trick. You still might have better luck with a 60* blade. The letters I was cutting were SUPER tiny.
I was using my Puma III which has more control over the offset than the VLCD. I'm a GCC distributor so I called the national sales manager to get him to walk me through it. And now that I'm thinking about it, he had me take the setting off of Fine detail in the LCD panel. I don't think you have that option in the VLCD.
But that was ultimately what did the trick. You still might have better luck with a 60* blade. The letters I was cutting were SUPER tiny.
They do have the fine detail setting in the VLCD. Though if you turn the fine detail off, it cuts like crap.
I know the vinyl I use says to use a 45 degree blade. But I might could try a 60 degree blade and see what that does. But I think the problem will still be there. I was thinking about trying some flock anyways, which they say to use a 60 degree blade.
I think I'm going to try adjusting my design where the nodes are at to see what that does.
i.e. if I have it cut out a square. It always starts/stops at the corner. So, I could try putting the nodes or an extra node or something on the flat area to see if I can get it to start/stop cutting on a flat area instead of at a corner.
I know the vinyl I use says to use a 45 degree blade. But I might could try a 60 degree blade and see what that does. But I think the problem will still be there. I was thinking about trying some flock anyways, which they say to use a 60 degree blade.
I think I'm going to try adjusting my design where the nodes are at to see what that does.
i.e. if I have it cut out a square. It always starts/stops at the corner. So, I could try putting the nodes or an extra node or something on the flat area to see if I can get it to start/stop cutting on a flat area instead of at a corner.
This could also have to do with the brand of vinyl you're using. Cheap crap from eBay generally weeds badly, I think the adhesive is so gooey and runny that even though the vinyl is cut through, the adhesive just squeezes back together before you can get it out of the cutter.
This is not just a cheap vinyl issue though, I've seen dozens of posts where people switch from one major brand to another and find the other one is easier to weed. I prefer Oracal, other people have said they find it harder to weed than whatever they were using.
This is not just a cheap vinyl issue though, I've seen dozens of posts where people switch from one major brand to another and find the other one is easier to weed. I prefer Oracal, other people have said they find it harder to weed than whatever they were using.
It isn't cheap vinyl. And it does it on heat applied vinyl and sign vinyl. So, heat applied vinyl doesn't have any adhesive to squeeze out.This could also have to do with the brand of vinyl you're using. Cheap crap from eBay generally weeds badly, I think the adhesive is so gooey and runny that even though the vinyl is cut through, the adhesive just squeezes back together before you can get it out of the cutter.
This is not just a cheap vinyl issue though, I've seen dozens of posts where people switch from one major brand to another and find the other one is easier to weed. I prefer Oracal, other people have said they find it harder to weed than whatever they were using.
It's just that it doesn't cut the vinyl 100% at times at the start/stopping point. That's why alot of cutters have an overcut feature. The overcut feature lets it cut a little past its starting point. It's just that my cutter doesn't have the overcut feature. Maybe they will add it to the software one day.
Yeah, overcut would be nice for the little craft cutter I practice with. Looking to get an LX 24 eventually myself. I see in some software/cutters "overcut" means "keep going in a straight line at the endpoint" and you have to adjust the overcut percentage or you'll ruin the design or give it weird corners. To me, overcut should mean "keep following the vector curve exactly the same way so it doesn't matter if your overcut is 10% or 500%"
I'm going to order some clean cut blades. They are supposed to be sharper than OEM blades. Which they say are from China. So, I say they would cut better as what can happen is the blade can stretch the vinyl while it cuts to where it doesn't cut that last little bit. But the best option is the overcut feature.
are you cutting rolls of vinyl or sheets. In some rare cases, some cutters leave bits uncut because the roll is too heavy and the motor just can't pull the vinyl fast enough or accurately. As a result the initial cut area and the final cut area is not the same.
Try cutting sheets and see if that helps.
Try cutting sheets and see if that helps.
I've done both.are you cutting rolls of vinyl or sheets. In some rare cases, some cutters leave bits uncut because the roll is too heavy and the motor just can't pull the vinyl fast enough or accurately. As a result the initial cut area and the final cut area is not the same.
Try cutting sheets and see if that helps.
I'm going to try some clean cut blades to see what that does. As those blades should cut better and stretch the vinyl less than OEM blades.
Though the best option is getting the overcut function.
Jason,
Did you ever figure out how to do an overcut? I'm using a GCC Puma III with GreatCut and having the same issue.
Thanks,
Jim
Did you ever figure out how to do an overcut? I'm using a GCC Puma III with GreatCut and having the same issue.
Thanks,
Jim
I just found the overcut setting on the Puma, and it worked great. I set the overcut to 0.5mm, and no more snags!
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