Roland XC540 Cutting Pressure Problem

[JulieS]

Hi, helpful people!
We have a cutting pressure problem on our XC540. Even cutting 3 passes at extreme pressure (300) will not cut through laminated vinyl. It is definitely "cutting"...the result is a faint cut line. We've had a tech visit with recommendations to change blades, change blade holder, replace cutting strip. None of these have made any improvement. What else can go wrong with cutting? Any ideas? Is there a part that can wear out? We've been doing a LOT of contour cutting in the last 6 months or so.
Thanks!

 

[balstestrat]

I think next or maybe even previous what should have been replaced is the whole cutting carriage what actually makes the downforce. They are replaced every once in a while (not for one single cutter).

 

[woolly]

possible from past experience the main ribbon cables failing and or muck or bit of vinyl in the actuator which is the cup shape bit next to the blade holder in side are fine winding's so a lot of care required .
check for free up down movement of the actuator with the machine switched off.
just a small chance that the tool height adjustment has slipped meaning its run out of down travel not pressure.

 

[Brett Groves]

Same problem here! Was cutting fine with a brand new blade for the first year I worked with it (though it is a 13 yr old machine). Then a few months ago it just stopped cutting laminated vinyl decals. Have had to outsorce multiple jobs since due to it not working correctly. Again, same, max 300 pressure and blade almost all the way out and just barely makes a clean cut. Also now having serious registration issues. Cut will start fine after reading marks but will be off by nearly a 1/2" by the time it gets finished cutting (usually around the 3' mark). Will try the low imapct suggestions above and see if that helps. To my knowledge the cutting carriage has never been replaced. Fingers crossed!

 

[Jim Hancock]

Your technician needs to do a calibration of the cutting system. This includes tool height and tool pressure and requires feeler gauges and 2 different dial pressure gauges to be done correctly. In each setting (30 & 200), there is an adjustment to accurately set the pressure. If the pressures cannot be set to the correct values, only then would I replace the cut tool assembly.
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[JulieS]

UPDATE: Problem solved! Tech replaced Cut Carriage Board and cleaned something...the encoder strip? We're back to cutting laminated vinyl perfectly with one pass at pressure of 70. Also switched to a 60 degree "sandblast" blade since the laminate we use is pretty thick.