cutter isn't lifting back after sheet cut

[mikeinpdx]

I have a soljet pro III. After a sheet cut, the cut mechanism doesnt seem to be lifting up correctly. The next time I do a setup, the cut wheel slams into the sponge holder and I get a motor error. There's a metal tab above and left of the wheel that I need to pull out to get the wheel/cutter to lift enough. I'm not sure how much pressure it should take to pull that tab, but it feels a little "stiff".

Any ideas on what sort of maintenance is needed?

 

[ImpactSignCo]

I would start with a cleaning of that mechanism. You can take some 3-in-1 oil to that metal part to loosen it up a bit if it feels a little stiff after the sheet cut. We used to have an XC-540 and that always seemed to work when the sheet cut function wasn't working correctly, along with performing a limit-position & cut-down position afterward to "reset the system" for sheet cutting.

 

[CS-SignSupply]

There is small spring in the mechanism that may have popped of...

 

[mikeinpdx]

Thanks for the help! Actually both answers were correct. I put a few drops of oil in there, and wokred it back and forth by hand a bit, then saw a wad of fibers and ink that was gumming the mechanism up. I gently pulled that out with tweezers. So that's gone, but now I can see the end of the spring dangling. I don't particularly like the idea of unscrewing parts there to get to it, but it seems like it would be a pretty expensive service call to do that simple fix.

Any thing to be especially cautious of if I try to take it apart?

 

[mikeinpdx]

Got it fixed. Just needed to remove screws s7 and s9, and the whole assembly comes off. Definitely a lot of dried ink and fibers on the spring, I'm not surprised it catches a lot of debris.