[Papermouse]

Hi All,

So, finally got the cutter installed, running and responding properly. Gee, it was a challenge.... (and I've been installing hardware for, oh, 15 years or so?)

So now for the quality I need you guys opinion.
Attached is a scan of a cut test for the purpose of this post.

the settings:
VLCD3:
Media Weight: Light
Vecter Quality: Fine (I assumed that's supposed to be vectOr ?
Vecter Smooth: Enable
In GreatCut2:
speed: 30
accuracy: very high

In the image there are 6 cuts, 1, 2 and 3, a and b in to make sure we don't see an accidental mistake in that setting. For convenience I made the "n" 1 inch in height.
Under each cut you'll see the:
VLCD3 Blade Offset, GC2 Blade Force and VLCD3 Blade Force

The material is "Flex Premium Plus", described as "thin, stretchable foil ... soft material .. matt surface ..", no micron was known by the supplier.

Question 1:
If I change the blade force in VLCD3, then update, then press "read material" in GC2/output I noticed the Pressure doesn't change. Does that mean the GC2 pressure value is the one taken and VLCD3 is ignored?

Question 2:
My real worry: you'll notice that the curves are not perfect. From the tuts on YouTube I've learned that this could be the offset.
You'll see on the scan that;
on 0.000 the curves are the best, /but/ the corners are not perfect,
on 0.250 the curves are the worst, /but/ the corners are the best. didn't go any higher because of this result.

Hmm. What to do? Do I need to change the blade (cutter is 2nd hand, I know card stock has been cut with it, the ad said "not too much used", machine is probably 1 to 2 years old)
do I do something wrong in the settings?
And; am I being too much of a perfectionist or am I right in saying this is not supposed to look like this and is not ready for production yet?

I hope you guys can give some assistance with your experience. I really don't want to call the distributor for help, after getting charged $67 administration costs for a new voucher code for GreatCut 2..... (but maybe that's just me)

Any help is appreciated!
Thanks a lot!

Alexander

 

[BrianHahn]

Blade offset and curve quality should be independent of one another. If .25 seems to be the correct blade offset then I would keep it there and update other settings if needed to improve curve quality. The jittery cuts along the curves could be caused by the cutter precision or it could be due to some loose components in the carriage. I think if you did a bunch more tests at the .25 blade offset with more letters you would find varying degrees of curve quality.

 

[Papermouse]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the help! (and wow you're fast )
I need to ask though: "cutter precision" means "this is what the expert 24 produces, be satisfied with it" ?
I'll get back to the second thing tomorrow, need to get some sleep

Alexander

 

[BrianHahn]

Cutter precision is generally determined by the number of steps in the stepper motor (and associated gear ratios to the movement of the vinyl or the carriage) or the number of pulses in the encoder disk in a servo motor (although servo motors are more complicated as they incorporate timing to apply a brake to the shaft for the stopping location and they have a closed loop feedback system). So after you have the overall precision from the motors, you then need to consider backlash in the system, flexibility in belts, rigidity of parts, etc. In a general sense, most servo and stepper motor cutters are going to be as accurate as you need them to be. Stepper motors are usually around 200 steps per revolution and with gear ratios it becomes very easy mechanically to resolve very small movements in the vinyl or the carriage movement.

 

[plan b]

First of all you need a new blade, second of all the material you are cutting is difficult to cut and would require fine tuning the settings.. Slow the machine down when cutting foil but I think if you get a new blade and install it correctly it will solve most of your problems especially knowing that they cut card stock with it prior to you owning it.

 

[Blue92]

Along with Plan B's recommendations I'd check the blade protection strip that lays under the blade.

If you see or feel any cut lines in it means it should be replaced. If bad enough they can keep the blade from easily rotating when the vinyl feeds back and forth. That will distort whatever is being cut.

Premium Plus almost requires a new blade since it tends to stretch a bit and distort when the blade starts to get dull.

 

[Papermouse]

Well, at least temporarily the golden tip was by Roger (Thanks for that!) the speed: from 30 to 15 the quality improved, down to 5 the curves are nice and smooth

I will change the blade and strip (I thought I checked, but just rechecked and well, I can see and feel some cut lines...) and get back on this later on.

Will be continued..

Alexander

 

[plan b]

Right On !!