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Cutter Servicing
I’ve just spent the last day servicing our Graphtec cutter that appears not to of been cleaned in the last 5 years.. I’ve had some tracking issues doing a couple of large cuts that i was hoping this would fix, and it did. Just wanted to check here if there’s anything I’ve missed…
bottom grit rollers. were very built-up with glue and spots of vinyl or paper or something, cleaned up to almost brand new using a small wire toothbrush..
top rollers were also glued up, cleaned using isopropyl to almost brand new.
paper sensors were almost completely covered in dust and vinyl dust. cleaned up using iso and a soft toothbrush.
it appears that the plotter uses a vacuum system to suck the vinyl down onto the cutting area, (i could be wrong) I’ve cleaned out the dust caked fan and row of small holes that are under the vinyl. (machine is about half as noisy as it used to be now with clean fans)
opened all covers and blew out the 5 years of dust and paper scraps etc with a compressor. (i should of done this outside as I spent another 30 mins cleaning up my work area after doing this)
oiled plunger shaft and blade bearing with some multi purpose machine oil.
general wipe down of the entire plotter.. which changed its colour from a black grey to the original colour again..
the white cutting strip, which i believe is Teflon or something very similar, has also seen better days.. the replacements for this are over $150 according to the one supplier I quickly called, can i simply just turn this upside down and use the other side??? I didn’t want to pull it off and see incase there’s more to it that what it appears..
the plotter is still working after all that, and now even tracks straight on the 2 meter cuts I was trying to do..
if there’s anything I’ve missed that comes to mind please let me know…. and i hope that none of you let your expensive equipment get into the state this thing was in.. After seeing the state this got to i will be checking and cleaning these every month or so from now on..
cheers!!
Ryan
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8 Replies
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$150 for the nylon cutting strip… NO CHANCE mate… only a few pounds!
i have two lying in my drawer at work.. along with 3 roland ones..cleaning your machine is a must.. i always get our guys to do it if i see them with a bit of time on their hands.. (not often)
also.. tracking.. andrew may see this post & correct me, but im sure he can track 5, maybe more metres. & thats on a 54inch wide graphtec.
i have found the wrap round bar loading system for gratptec machines second to none for friction fed tracking.i would also oil the gantry that the blade holder runs along.
give it a wipe first and you will see a thin film of dirty oil on it..
if you have wd40 spray it onto a soft cloth and wipe along this gantry to lubricate the tracking for the blade holder.also.. invest in some small screw drivers etc and tighten up any nuts and bolts you see on moving parts. its not uncommon for heavily used machines to work loose in areas.
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hmm…interesting reading. I think I may do mine tommorow if I have some spare time? where can you get the cutting strips from for roland cutters?
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im sure we just buy them direct using business card or something like that..
the nylon strip makes so much difference to weeding and sharpness of your letters. particularly the small text.
its easy changed too.. just rip old one out clean (very well) make sure all glue is out and lay in the new self adhesive strip. once in place. start from middle with something like the back side of a ruller and rub outwards firm to make sure the strips in tight and flat. raised sections of strip will cause you bother. -
I’ve been told that sewing machine oil (or something equally as light) is the thing to use on the moving parts on a plotter. As opposed to 3-in-1 which is a bit thick. Also, be very careful using compressed air: even with moisture filters on the compressor, it is possible to have moisture in the air. You don’t want to be spraying water into your plotter.
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Maybe using one of those cans of compressed air you can buy for cleaning computers might be a good idea.
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the compressed air in a can is all good as long as you dont turn the can upside down, then you will get a spray of water coming out..
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quote juddr:After seeing the state this got to i will be checking and cleaning these every month or so from now on..Ryan
Yeah. ‘Course you will. Same as I do. 😀
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ive called the 5 suppliers in the area that i live in 3 of them only sell roland cutting strips and the other two want $125 (nz$) for one.. thats just crazy $125 for a bit of plastic, im going to order one from overseas when i get a chance,.. but it looks like this can simply be turned upside down..
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