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Blade depth & Offsets
Blades come in a variety of angles depending on the cutter model and what you are cutting. ie. 30, 45 and 60 degree blades are common. The default standard blade angle for cutting regular vinyl will differ between manufacturers – some use 45 degree and others 30 degree etc. What is common is that you will usually have to use different blade angles for thicker materials (sand blast or reflective) – these should be listed in the plotter manual, or try one of the many 3rd party blade suppliers who should be able to tell you.
More to follow…
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7 Replies
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The cutting edge of the blade is offset from the axis of rotation. This allows drag knife blades to swivel like a caster with the friction of the blade as it cuts through the vinyl. The offset value can be different between differing angles of blade – the cutting face of a 30% blade can enter the vinyl fractionally further offset tfrom the axis of rotation than a 60% degree blade. Similarly a blunt blade gives the same effect.
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The enlargement better shows the offset
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Note that usually only the very tip of the blade will be showing from the blade holder – ie. you can’t really judge the offset by eye.
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Thanks for the pics,
a picture speaks a thousand words, thats what I tried to say!
Peter -
Finally the depth of cut is (a) related to the offset and (b) is important for how well the vinyl will weed and whether or not the backing paper will delaminate when you try to apply the vinyl.
The tip of the blade should just score the face of the backing paper ever to lightly – in fact if you have a brand new blade then adjust it to it looks more like teh slightest indentation into the backing paper.
To deep and the blade will wear excessively and the paper will be prone to delaminating. To shallow and it won’t weed correctly.
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Nice one Macky, thanks for the explanation.
Dave
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thanks Macky for taking the time to explain.
Andy 😎
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