Summa S2 Tseries 140 - Blades go dull rather fast?

[gabagoo]

I have only had this cutter for a few months, so I am on a learning curve. I generally only use this plotter for printed items that need cutting. I know with this blade you really should only have it out enough to cut through the vinyl and then use pressure to give it more cutting power. When the blade was new, to cut through a 3ml with a 3ml laminate I only used a pressure of about 90 - 110. A month or so later I now am at about 190 and sometimes that does not seem to be enough. Just curious from others what sort of cutting pressure are you using so I get a gauge of where I should be. With my other cutters I generally do not see such a drastic swing in pressure changes over such a short period of time.

Also on a side note I am curious as to the test cut the Summa does. What am I actually supposed to learn from the little square within the square. I generally just test the outside square to see how it weeds but not sure what the inner cuts are for?

 

[balstestrat]

Inner shows you how deep the blade is scoring. You should barely be touching the backer so it leaves a slight impression but not more.
If you can't see anything in the inner you need more pressure.

 

[Saturn]

If you're just cutting vinyl (and none of the backing paper) an OEM Summa blade should last many months if not close to a year. I always recommend picking up a cheap ($14) LED microscope to check the blade tip anytime you remove it, install it, or are worried about it. It can get dull and work, but if the tip chips it's toast. Trying to dial in a chipped blade is not a great way to spend your time.

I've found my Summa to require a little dance in adjustment between both the extension and the pressure. 190 does seem high for just the material you describe, although since it's a tangential with the side bearing wheels, at some point the pressure stops having an effect and a tiny, tiny turn out of the blade will be needed.

For the test cut, it's covered in the manual. They do help setting the longitude and latitude of the blade. Origin is a little fussier and can require dialing in while running real jobs. **I'm thinking the blade calibration test cut I guess, probably not the main one you two are describing**