BIG ISSUES with Vinyl Cutter-Plotter! [Graphtec CE6000-60]

12918 Views 31 Replies 8 Participants Last post by SteveJobby, Jul 14, 2021

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · Jan 13, 2018

4

This is a HUGE problem in cutting-quality and precision that has been going on to a mild or sometimes SEVERE degree since day-one...

Today while designing/producing an order fulfillment the cut quality accuracy issues reached a boiling point. We actually stopped production entirely, because we're out of ideas/solutions for how to fix the problem that has persisted for so long. PLEASE READ BELOW AND HELP

Cut accuracy (straight lines, corners, turns, even simply items like letters)
Contour cutting (leaves little "picks" one every shape/letter where the blade lifted after completing the cut, this can sometiumes peel the letters up)
Wavy lines (PLEASE SEE ATTACHED PICTURES to show many of these issues in detail)

Equipment:
- Graphtech CE6000-60
- Brand new 45-degree blade (swapped it out seconds ago, and problems didn't improve)
- ALL SETTINGS are exactly to specification from Graphtech for Siser Easy-Week Stretch material [Speed: 30, Pressure: 9] Although we have tried increased, decreasing both of these values, and extending and shortening the blade with no luck

NOTE: The only thing we can think of is trying Tangential Cutting, but we've tried that in the past, and with all the lifting of the blade-holder, we end up getting peeling issues because the blade doesn't complete drag along the contours to cut the shapes...but honestly we're getting these issues on letter, we're not even cutting sophisticated detailed shapes!

See less See more

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

into the T

· #2 · Jan 13, 2018 (Edited)

cutting strip?

blade not rotating freely?

edit: check this thread

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 13, 2018

4

into the T said:
cutting strip?
The Teflon strip underneath the blade that the materials gets pulled/pushed across has seen better days, but it is BY NO MEANS in horrible condition. It has a couple cuts on it, but we haven't damaged it any further in recent weeks and the problems have been escalating more and more. We might replace that part anyway to be safe, but knowing Graphtec it'll be a $5,000 part LOL!

blade not rotating freely?
We also changed out the blade holder, it's VERY smooth, we actually thought the reason for the low-quality and wavy lines was rotating TOO FREELY, haha. We tested it and the blade was very easily rotated.

edit: check this thread

NOTE: We just swapped out our Siser Easy-Weed Stretch for Siser Easy-Weed standard, and the problems were 50% improved. The Siser Easy-Weed Stretch is glossier on the back and has a HUGE tendency to lift while the blade lifts, and to "stutter" while the blade is dragging in straight lines.

This is a new role of Siser Easy-Weed Stretch, 25 yards, and we've had issues with Siser over time having to send back faulty materials. But we think it could be a mix of the material and the blade sharpness (but the confusing part is we're using the same blades from a bulk lot of 30 blades we bought and they've all been good)

*PICTURES ATTACHED showing more issues from today:
1) Siser Easy Weed Stretch lifting so badly on the cutter it wrinkles and stops the machine
2) Siser Easy Weed Stretch not being cut completely causing BAD lifting on every letter while weeding (we've thrown away a LOT of material today alone)

See less See more

into the T

· #4 · Jan 13, 2018

is your blade holder too low?
i think the general consensus is 3 credit cards from the material being cut

(i did just read those cheap blades have a 2-4 week lifespan,
whereas the cleancut is 10-12 months)

Reactions: 1

Amw

· #5 · Jan 13, 2018

FLEXYOURFAITH said:
NOTE: We just swapped out our Siser Easy-Weed Stretch for Siser Easy-Weed standard, and the problems were 50% improved. The Siser Easy-Weed Stretch is glossier on the back and has a HUGE tendency to lift while the blade lifts, and to "stutter" while the blade is dragging in straight lines.

This is a new role of Siser Easy-Weed Stretch, 25 yards, and we've had issues with Siser over time having to send back faulty materials. But we think it could be a mix of the material and the blade sharpness (but the confusing part is we're using the same blades from a bulk lot of 30 blades we bought and they've all been good)

*PICTURES ATTACHED showing more issues from today:
1) Siser Easy Weed Stretch lifting so badly on the cutter it wrinkles and stops the machine
2) Siser Easy Weed Stretch not being cut completely causing BAD lifting on every letter while weeding (we've thrown away a LOT of material today alone)

From my experience this is going to be either (or a combination) of:
1) Cutting strip (they are about $35 for a 2 pack for the CE seires)
2) Blade holder is not tight in the carriage
3) Bad blade holder (the blade is wiggling in the holder causing the wavy lines)
4) Blades that have something wrong with them (like slight bends, etc)
5) Blade not adjusted correctly
6) Debris stuck on or in the tip of the blade holder.

Have you tried cutting as far to your left (while standing in front of the plotter) to see if you still have the issue with the wavy cuts?

Do you have any OEM or cleancut blades that you can test with...even if it is a little dull? The bulk ebay ones you might get 20 good ones and 5 bad ones. They dont tend to have the same quality control as cleancut or OEM.

When you make a few of the same design are the problem areas always in the same spot or do they "move" to other parts of the design?

See less See more

Reactions: 1

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 13, 2018

into the T said:
is your blade holder too low?
i think the general consensus is 3 credit cards from the material being cut
Please see attached picture with 3 credit cards stacked under our blade holder

(i did just read those cheap blades have a 2-4 week lifespan,
whereas the cleancut is 10-12 months)
We've been able to get between 1-2 months from the generic $1 blades, but the ones we've been using this morning have only had between 1 week and most recently 5 minutes haha! We'll be getting some Clean Cut blades for sure, we're really good at taking advice - just don't know how it could be the blade when once we swapped material from Siser Easy Weed Stretch to normal Siser Easy Weed the problems went away (without changing ANY other settings)

We switched back to the OEM blade holder from Graphtec (the $105 one, lol) Nothing seems to help with the stretch material - even though we've been using it for nearly a year now, not sure why today everything seemed to go wrong.

See less See more

mfatty500

· #7 · Jan 13, 2018

Slow that machine down, you don't really need to cut that fast. It looks like from that photo that you have waayy to much pressure, and the last one you have way to much blade exposed. Did you try to re-set to factory defaults? I never cut faster than speed of 20.Just because it goes that fast doesn't mean you have to. I don't use the 6000 series but the 5000 series.

Reactions: 1

mfatty500

· #8 · Jan 13, 2018

Here's how much blade I have exposed for my Graphtec, let the pressure of the machine do the work, not the blade, you may have broken the tip off by now.

See less See more

Reactions: 1

mfatty500

· #9 · Jan 13, 2018

Try this also:
To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and firmly cut across a piece of scrap vinyl, you will be cutting. You should only be cutting the vinyl and barely a mark on wax paper backing, Adjust blade to get there, Then put the blade holder back in machine, and use the force of the machine to get there, same results, only cutting the vinyl and barely a mark in wax paper backing.

Reactions: 1

Biverson

· #10 · Jan 13, 2018

FLEXYOURFAITH said:
We switched back to the OEM blade holder from Graphtec (the $105 one, lol) Nothing seems to help with the stretch material - even though we've been using it for nearly a year now, not sure why today everything seemed to go wrong.

I'd say your blade is way too far out. I have the same cutter and cut Stahls Premium plus 90% of the time. I'm also cutting at a speed of 30 and acceleration of 2 and have never had quality issues. I'm assuming the premium plus is similar to the siser you'rereferring to.

Start with your blade and adjust into the carriage so no blade is showing. Just barely so that when you turn to extend it the blade just peeks out. Look in the manual and it will state how far the blade will go down each 1/4 turn. Then, check the depth of your vinyl and adjust accordingly so your blade is down and matches the vinyls thickness. This will help prevent too much force and length to cut through the carrier.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reactions: 1

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 14, 2018

mfatty500 said:
It looks like from that photo that you have waayy to much pressure, and the last one you have way to much blade exposed
THANK YOU, roger that - we'll back the pressure off to the minimum [9] and suck some more of the blade in!

Did you try to re-set to factory defaults? I never cut faster than speed of 20.Just because it goes that fast doesn't mean you have to
This is a good point, maybe the speed and pressure is making the blade wave and wiggle under force. Wonder why the issues were only prevalent on the Siser Easy Weed Stretch? Maybe the more stretchy material causes some issues and exaggerates the pressure and speed more

Thanks so much for your help!!

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jan 14, 2018

mfatty500 said:
Try this also:
To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and firmly cut across a piece of scrap vinyl, you will be cutting. You should only be cutting the vinyl and barely a mark on wax paper backing, Adjust blade to get there, Then put the blade holder back in machine, and use the force of the machine to get there, same results, only cutting the vinyl and barely a mark in wax paper backing.

THIS IS GENIUS! Never thought of taking the blade holder out and cutting across the vinyl by hand...now that we're thinking about it we've had it extended way too far, we only need to have it extended enough to cut through the material itself. Thank you

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 14, 2018

Biverson said:
so your blade is down and matches the vinyls thickness. This will help prevent too much force and length to cut through the carrier

Thanks Biverson, we were able to get our order fulfilled today thankfully, but had to switch materials. We're going to adjust our blade setting in tomorrow!

1) Adjust blade back into the blade holder
2) Slow speed down from 30 to 20

Q: Should I adjust tangential cutting setting at all?

mfatty500

· #14 · Jan 14, 2018

Did you re-set to factory defaults to get a start fresh?

SiserNA

· #15 · Jan 15, 2018

FLEXYOURFAITH said:
Thanks Biverson, we were able to get our order fulfilled today thankfully, but had to switch materials. We're going to adjust our blade setting in tomorrow!

1) Adjust blade back into the blade holder
2) Slow speed down from 30 to 20

Q: Should I adjust tangential cutting setting at all?

Hey Flex,
If you send a n email to [email protected] and include your photos, they can help you solve your issues. We're always here to help!

Reactions: 1

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jan 16, 2018 (Edited)

SiserNA said:
Hey Flex,
If you send a n email to [email protected] and include your photos, they can help you solve your issues. We're always here to help!

Hey Siser, thanks so much for joining the forums! Thought you had joined because our email came through last week with a link to this thread. We'll re-send the email without images (we attached pictures originally so maybe it was over the limit for Siser's inbox to receive)

*Since you're from Siser and on the forum now, and read the post(s) above and saw the pictures...do you have any ideas rather than sending the email again? If not it's ok, we went ahead and sent the email. Thanks and welcome to T-shirt forums!!!

SiserNA

· #17 · Jan 16, 2018

For one, the blade is cutting way too deep. I can see in one of the images that it has cut clear through the material. I'm not familiar with the Graphtec but for Rolands, the blade should stick out about a credit card thickness. This is what we recommend for the Graphtec cutters as far as cutting specs:
Blade: 45°
Gram Force: 9-10
Tool: CB09U+0
Speed: 30 cm/s

Reactions: 1

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jan 16, 2018

SiserNA said:
For one, the blade is cutting way too deep

Right on! That's the consensus after we uploaded a close-up of the blade holder. We made the adjustment and have a lot of orders to make up today after the weekend out of town, so we'll report back.

Any thoughts on why the curvy lines, lifting, and incomplete contour cutting only happened on Easy-Weed Stretch and not our other colors of standard Easy-Week? Wonder if the stretchiness affects the cutting process

mfatty500

· #19 · Jan 16, 2018

You may have broken the tip of the blade, that would be another reason for inaccurate cuts. Have you looked at the file in wireframe to make sure there are no stray nodes in it? The credit length of the blade is NOT the proper setting for the blade.

Reactions: 1

FLEXYOURFAITH

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jan 17, 2018

mfatty500 said:
You may have broken the tip of the blade, that would be another reason for inaccurate cuts. Have you looked at the file in wireframe to make sure there are no stray nodes in it? The credit length of the blade is NOT the proper setting for the blade.

Hey there! Thanks for the post. We swapped out blades just to be sure before making this new thread on the forums, so that wasn't it - but it was a great idea and thanks for taking the time to post.

As far as your last sentence, are you saying the advice from others for credit card exposure of the blade isn't correct, or are you saying I need to make the adjustment so less of the blade is showing?

Good news is things are improving (see post below) THANKS AGAIN!!

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.