Problem cutting 3mm ACM with Keencut SteelTrak

[McLeod Graphics]

Suddenly my wall cutter wants to ruin every piece of ACM I cut on it. Something is out of whack and I don't know what. I have tried with two cutting heads, one of them the C2 cutting head which is only about a year old. The blades seem to want to lift the ACM before cutting it, causing this terrible problem along the cut edge, plus it wants to tear it right at the very bottom instead of cutting through. Something is clearly misaligned, but I have checked everything that I know to check, no screws seem to be loose or anything.

Anyone have experience with this issue? Any suggestions would be so appreciated.

Edit: I added the last two photos to show how the cutting blades seem to be too far back, causing the blade to lift the panel before cutting. Everything seems to be nice and tight, though, so it is as if the entire thing has somehow been pulled away from the cutting plane about 1/8" or so. I'm at a loss.

 

[Humble PM]

I've not seen this in over a decade of using a SteelTrak, and yes, something looks out of alignment. How is the depth on the regular cutting head looking? If this is also standing too far forward, then ISTR there are bolts top and bottom of the main body that may not be snug.

Might be worth checking the guide wheel adjustment. https://www.keencut.com/wp-content/uploads/SteelTrak-250-Instruction-Manual.pdf section 7.13
If you can wait for the morning, Keencut's customer service are very responsive (UK time based...)

 

[McLeod Graphics]

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I'd already checked the bolts that secure the rail - all snug - and I tried your other suggestion. Nothing works.

I've had two jobs recently that had me cutting materials that I don't do a lot of - acrylic and coroplast. Not sure why that would throw things out, but it's the only thing I can think of that I've done differently. It's just strange that it is behaving this way all of a sudden.

3mm ACM is my bread and butter and this cutter makes it so much easier... when it's working. I've had plenty of frustrations with this thing (getting it square, uneven clamping pressure, incorrect ruler measurements, etc.). I bought it used and I'm wondering if it's time to get a new one.

Your reply is appreciated and any more suggestions are of course welcome. I'll probably try calling UK tomorrow if I can.

 

[Humble PM]

Mine brings the ACM forward by less than 1mm - the C2 cutter actually rotates very slightly clockwise (viewed from left) when starting to cut, and I think it always has done.

Have you checked the bump stop at the bottom of the carriage is all the way down - I could see how it being slightly unscrewed might lead to tearing at the base.

Acrylic is scoring, and coroplast is just the knife going through, so shouldn't have put a particularly high torque on the machine.

If you've managed to deal with the squaring and clamping issues, and you've been able to cut fine in the past, then I'd think that the main body isn't out of true.

Final thought - is this regular ACM or the fire retardant version?