Me again. I think I should attach this website to my hip as I'm in here so much!
I was cutting some letters for a friend, and somehow accidentally used red reflective vinyl. I think it dulled the blade a little bit due to the metal in the reflective. The blade may have been toward the end of the job, but now I used the same blade in a normal role of vinyl and it did the same thing. It skipped and tore, or just skipped areas where it should have cut (for instance the left side of a seriff), or cut the letter a 1/4 of an inch higher, scrunching the shape of the letter.
I tried some other blades and it did the same, but those other blades were my worn ones I was storing to send in to sharpen.
A friend of mine suggested to reinstall the program, and I may do that, but what could be causing this? I have to order out of state the blades today, so it will be a cou;le days until I try a new blade. It is a 45 degree blade and I was using the same type I've used for the entire time I've had my gerber, which is since 1992.
I'll check back early evening for any responses. Thanks.
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
It's possible the carbide tip of the blade might be nicked or broken. A check with a magnifying glass might tell you. It's happened to me when something gets tangled.
I have three blade holders, one for regular cast vinyl, one for reflective, and one for sandblast mask. I put a little vinyl ring of a different color on each one to quickly identify them, bright yellow for reflective, blue for cast, and beige for sandblast mask.
All things considered, fifteen years isn't too bad a life span for that blade, however, Murphy's Law dictates that it will fail at the worst possible time.
Posted by Deb Fowler (Member # 1039) on :
David, thanks. Forgive me for saying the blade was 15 years old, but rather the type I have used is the same for that amount of time. The blade was probably dulled. I couldn't see it nicked under my magnifying glass. If it was the blade, would it do all of those things? (for instance, have the design condense as skipping the seriff?) blade ordered, will see in a day or two, appreciate your time.
Posted by Checkers (Member # 63) on :
Hiya Deb, I think Dave is on the right track. I doubt it's the software and it sounds like the blade may have seen better days If it does the same on other material or with a differen't blade, it may be something worse. If so, I would check several things. This info is based on the Sprint I used many years ago... First, is the blade holder and the carriage(?) where the blade holder sits. Is it clean and dust free? With the machine off, does the blade holder rotate and move up and down without any apparent resistance? It may need a good cleaning. I normally would use 90% isopropyl alcohol and a clean paper towel. Are the belts ok; are any teeth missing? If so, replace the belt(s). What about the drum; are there any gouges or flat spots? If so, this may hurt because I would call it a "big ticket" item and you may be better off replacing the machine.
Havin' fun,
Checkers
Posted by David Harding (Member # 108) on :
It might skip if it is nicked and caught the material and bounced a bit. Checkers brought up a point to consider--the belts. The toothed one that turns the tangential head will degrade after a decade or two (these are pretty tough machines) and may lose a tooth, causing erratic operation. I think Hyatt's used to service these machines and may have extra belts or someone here might have one. Mine died after about 15 years but I found a replacement quite easily. Of course, that was about 8 years ago.
Posted by Pete Payne (Member # 344) on :
I don't know if you have a racer (swivel) blade in your machine like i do, but if you do take out the blade holder, remove the blade and swirl the blade holder in isopropyl alcohol to get any birt out the bearings, remove the bearings to clean if you can, there is an allen screw down inside from the top, rinse, blow dry, oil with wd40 or 3 in 1 light oil, wipe up excess and re-assemble, sometimes the blade is not rotating freely, this also works for roland machines
Posted by Gene Golden (Member # 3934) on :
Deb, It very well could be the teeth in the belt. If the blade doesn't start in the correct position, it will not swivel correctly. A missing tooth will cause it to jump. When you turn off the 4B and then turn it back on, it will find its "home" position. There is a small pin inside the blade holder. When the machine is "home" that pin is at "3 O'clock" (I am not in front of the machine right now, but I'm 95% sure) If it is at any other position then it has slipped and you will need a new orange belt.
Posted by Fred Weiss (Member # 3662) on :
Other things to check:
At the feed in side of the plotter (right of the keyboard), there is a black bar that rotates and lifts the tool head. It can get pieces of vinyl stuck to it which will cause the tool head to lift when it shouldn't ... resulting in skips.
The recommended blade for most cutting in a 4-B is a 30 degree blade. 45 and 60 degree blades are intended for thicker materials and have more tendency to chip at the point.
There is an item called a theta washer which is a thin plastic ring that fits on the blade holder to reduce friction against the chrome lifting fork. If you don't have one, order one from your Gerber distributor.
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