We have been cutting foam core on our Colex for years and never had any issues. A few months back we had a small job and it started tearing the face and/or the foam. Now it happens every time we cut foam core. We tried single and double edge blades, same result. Tried brand new blades, same result. We have always used the same setting but also tried other settings, same result. Tried speeding it up and slowing it down, same result. Let's say we have 5 images across the sheet, it will cut 3 sides of one piece fine then rip the last side, next piece, same thing but a different side will rip, next piece, 3 sides will rip. There is zero consistency. I thought maybe the material we had was bad so we bought more, same result. What are we missing or doing wrong here? Would be curious to know what settings others are using for foam core.
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Issues Cutting Foam Core
- Thread starter Glavin_ID
- Start date
petepaz
New Member
just throwing stuff at the wall to see if it sticks but...
could something be out of alignment with the cutter.
maybe the bed or the cutter unit. something off level or not running on the track properly.
based on all the trouble shooting you have done already might want to have a tech come in and look at it
could something be out of alignment with the cutter.
maybe the bed or the cutter unit. something off level or not running on the track properly.
based on all the trouble shooting you have done already might want to have a tech come in and look at it
chester215
Just call me Chester.
Did you switch suppliers, maybe it is a different brand that is not as rigid.
Geneva Olson
Expert Storyteller
just a comment. I hate working with foamboard.
I agree with Petepaz. Something out of alignment. My guess is the blade is not straight. It if it even slightly off your not cutting with the sharp part of the blade, you are dragging it across the material. Check blade alignment and the blade holder to make sure all the screws are tight.
Superior_Adam
New Member
Switch to UltraMount and your problems might go away. yes its a lot more money but charge accordingly. Over the years I have printed and cut down hundreds of cases and never had an issue with it. I have a Zund but knife cutting is pretty straight forward.
White Haus
Not a Newbie
Can you try cutting multi-pass and see if just cutting the surface first helps at all? (Assuming you can do multi-pass on a Colex)
These are direct printed or have vinyl applied to them?
These are direct printed or have vinyl applied to them?
I run foam (Gilman INSITE REVEAL) all day on my colex with no issues. It sounds like an alignment issue, check alignment
victor bogdanov
Active Member
I cut it with oscillating knife, never had a problem. I don't think I've ever tried with single or double edge knife
Geneva Olson
Expert Storyteller
everything sticks to foamboard.
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MGB_LE
New Member
We had a drive pulley with bearings that were shot. Our machine is a 2015 model and was becoming inaccurate on some more intricate cuts. So check slack/play/give in the gantry on both sides to see if something's loose. At first I wanted to blame vacuum, then the camera, but I checked that everything was tight, and it wasn't! We have a new part arriving today. Thankfully for anything squarish, it's cutting accurately.
Interesting, we have some similar issues and ours is an older machine too. Did you buy the part from Colex? We took the covers off and the belt seems tight, gonna run in a bit with the covers off and see if it looks like the bearings are having any issues.
MGB_LE
New Member
Yes, the part in the photo, which is the large pulley and bearing, plus a fresh belt, is due to arrive today for install. Both are coming direct from Colex.