THANKS, you're the man!!!!!you do a fair amount of cutting, you really should check out cleancut blades (made in the usa)
if you phone the order and tell them you're a member here you get a further discount
I went to their website again earlier today, thanks! The only thing is we've been pretty super happy with the $1 dollar blades from eBay...I was VERY surprised, and had low expectations. But they are disposable, and although they might last a few percent shorter...they're literally a dollar when purchased in bulk. The only thing we miss is that internal spring that allowed the pressure to be just-right and give a great rebound to the cutter for fine details!
integral spring in molded plastic for $105???
that is planned obsolescence with a definite greed factor
HAHAHA......I was trying to say it nicely. Yeah, $105+ for a plastic cylinder with a spring from a pair of eye-glasses inside. Boooo!
try these
For blades use cleancut, they are superior to OEM and much cheaper.Hey all! After our OEM factory-included blade wore out on our new Graphtec CE6000-60, we began using easily (and cheaply) available blades from Amazon and eBay with awesome luck just like many of you (thanks for the suggestions!). They were $2-3 a piece, not $70 from Graphtec...
After a few months passed, blade-pressure weakened and cutting accuracy became inconsistent at best...we're weren't sure what was going on so we emailed Graphtec asking how to swap the spring in the factory blade holder...they informed us we'd have to buy a new one. No big deal, until we went to buy one and they were MORE than $100!! A plastic part smaller than a thumb - YIKES. We understand Graphtec + every company (including ours) must make a profit...but WOWZERS. Wish they could have either made it so the spring could be changed, or at least produced a blade-holder that lasted longer than a few months.
We've been through several of the "springless" blade-holders from eBay and Amazon, and while they've all been nearly-as-good as the "factory" Graphtec blade and holder at $5-10 a piece, we'd like to go back to using the spring-loaded holder [PHP33-CB09N-HS for CB09] listed HERE
***Can someone please help with links/suppliers that have the spring-loaded Graphtec blade holder available for less, like the generic 45-degree blades?
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your help!!
We cut a lot of materials on our plotters like reflective vinyl (like on emergency vehicles) as well as very thick laminated graphics. Besides the standard cast and calendared vinyl that we use daily for signage. Which is WAY more wear then is put on the blade holder when cutting typical heat transfer films. So our mileage is going to be much shorter then the OP, we also mainly use the FC series plotters (which probably makes no difference as far as wear on the blade holder goes). I expect to replace it twice a year, but that is what I figure for consumables for the equipment. In reality I think we get about a year give or take a few months.Amw, you know graphtec's well
is there a reason why something like this would not work for Flex?
i must be missing something, because i look at every other manufacturers' blade holders and they are all sub $50,
except for a few of the rolands, but their top-of-the-line comes in at $70,
and looks like its made of premium alloy metal
as i recall Flex has not been cutting for too long (he can correct me here),
so it seems odd that such an expensive piece of the cutter failed
i bookmark/sticky note things in my brain for later use
'upgrade = graphtec ce-6000' was one,
but this has caused me to re-assign that bookmark to 'graphtec = avoid'
not that they aren't great cutters, but this type of shenanigans leaves a bitter taste
Thanks a lot AMW! We're really surprised China, eBay, Amazon, Alibaba etc. hasn't offered a spring-loaded replacement for the $5-10 it should cost....for the blade holder, I highly recommend the OEM one. Yes it cost about $100, but it is the best one to use. We have tried cheap ones in the past and they dont hold up as well.
I understand and appreciate what you're saying...but when we can simply buy the all-aluminum blade holders on eBay literally for a couple bucks, why on earth would be pay OVER 1,000% more for...a spring? If it doesn't affect our customers' satisfaction, while only weakening our ROI and operating costs (and further encourages Graphtec to produce hilariously over-inflated priced parts) we just can't do it without any positives and only negatives.
BTW...they used to have changeable springs in the blade holder (we still have a few) but they switched to a holder that that is identical but has the spring built in. From what I have been told by our dealer the main reason for this is to improve the cut. The blade holder would be worn and people would just replace the blade and spring and still be having issues...
This is super silly and an obvious corporate wink-wink nudge-nudge to enhance market control of over priced original manufacturer pieces. Their reasoning for alienating and overcharging ALL of these current and future customers worldwide was because a few customers swapped the springs out? They saw a cash cow and milked it, then offered flimsy reasoning. User error being the reason for a huge manufacturing shift that pigeon-holes customers is like someone not replacing their brake pads, and then when they crash, the car company only sells you a new caliper, rotor, pads, and brake lines (when you just needs pads) lol. C'mon Graphtec
Just don't like being knee-capped by the company we're loyal too, because they're parts wear out too fast then they overcharge you. Insult + injury unfortunatelyAmw, you know graphtec's well
is there a reason why something like this would not work for Flex?
That's the one (except we pay $10 WITH blades on eBay, not $30 for just the holder) we've been using for about 6-9 months now. Works fine. It comes with springs which is weird because they're unnecessary in this model. The blade is fixed up against a hard stop.
i must be missing something, because i look at every other manufacturers' blade holders and they are all sub $50,
except for a few of the rolands, but their top-of-the-line comes in at $70, and looks like its made of premium alloy metal
You're not missing anything, Graphtec just has a choke-hold on that specific product so they charge outrageous amounts.
as i recall Flex has not been cutting for too long (he can correct me here), so it seems odd that such an expensive piece of the cutter failed
The Graphtec rep emailed us encouraging us to buy a new blade holder after about 2-3 months of cutting. We cut about 3-4 days a week for a few hours at a time. $105-115 per blade holder, and $70 (LOL!!) for their "Super Steel" blades...just robbery
i bookmark/sticky note things in my brain for later use
'upgrade = graphtec ce-6000' was one, but this has caused me to re-assign that bookmark to 'graphtec = avoid' not that they aren't great cutters, but this type of shenanigans leaves a bitter taste
Exactly...if you have a good product, treat your customers fairly and provide replaceable parts to them at a fair price without the goofy dishonest excuses for changing the system. Everyone does it, Sony made proprietary batteries you have to buy from them for example,
it's normal...but their batteries are lithium ion, not a piece of plastic,
and they're $29, not $105!
