why is the knife on my Summa D60 not working properly?

[Robert Lambie]

quick result.. is the slide barcket oiled?
daft question maybe for a new machine. but….
try cleaning it, squirt a little WD40 on the barcket & with the machine turned OFF. move the head up and down the barcket. then…. tunr it back on, it may just be caught/blocked.

we are talking the entire tool head here yeh?
the part that holds the blade?

[FreddieFunk]

Cheers Rob, I don’t think I explained properly
the carriage is moving about OK, but i’ve just tried a plot with a pen and it seems that the ‘arm’ that holds the knife/pen isnt moving up and down ie the pen is not reaching the paper. Hope that makes sense

[Robert Lambie]

no probs mate…
i think i understand you better now..
the arm that holds the bade actualy bops up and down of on a slide barcket sorta setup. (in i know yours is new but) try cleaning this incase it is caught/clogged so it frees itself up and down. or
try taking out the blade holder all together.. make sure the blade is sunk to the base. insert back into bracket and this time make sure the blade holder is sunk to base of bracket before tightening up its grip. i have heard of folk slipping into place and tightening only 1mm away from base but enough to stop the blade hitting the vinyl.
just offering thses options before getting back to manufacturers mate.
ill have a think again and see what else i can come up with. 😉

thank you for using the boards to request info, your requests helps others too. 😉

[FreddieFunk]

Thanks for the quick reply, I’ve tried all you suggested and changed from pen to knife several times, they’re deffinately seated correctly. It actually stopped cutting part way along a row of text, first part cut pefect then nothing. It seems to me that the ‘bopping’ up and down has stopped?
I don’t want to make an arse of myself by contacting the manufacturers over a soppy mistake I’ve made.
All help appreciated

[Robert Lambie]

from what i have heard mate, summa cutters are good cutters. i wouldnt expect something like this to happen so early on in the day. thats why i put it down to maybe the obvious, if, like you say its not bopping up and down, and there is no obvious reasons ide get onto them. just explain all the things you have tried so far. it probably will be something silly or a loose connection even, but your time is money and you have to get it back up and running 😉
when you get it sorted please reply here and let us know what it was. always good to hear the solutions to problems as it helps the next guy with the same. 😉

[Kevin Flowers]

Hi
its possible that you have altered the settings in the software, load the software into the computer instead of using the summa key pad. it allows you to see what settings you have.

Kev

[buffnutt]

We have a Summa D60, works fine. Try adjusting the blade depth, ours is set between 80-140 as the blade wears if its higher than this its probably cutting to deep. There is also a screw o the blade holder, take out the holder turn it upside down, press on the blade while turning the screw until there is about 3-5 mm of blade showing, now put it back in the machine and set the cutting pressure to 60 and test cut,keep adding pressure and testing till it cuts just through the vinyl.
to get to the pressure setting press MENU twice then V. To get back press twice. Hope this helps
Astalavista baby

[buffnutt]

Me again.
Another thing to check with the D60 is the file your trying to cut, make sure the text is converted to curves cos it dont like cutting as text.
Export as EPS / Format TIFF / Type 8 Bit Colour / RES 72 dpi / Export Text as Curves
Have fun!

[FreddieFunk]

Thanks for the replies chaps,
the knife is definitely set correctly, The tip of the knife is not contacting the media by about 6-8mm it seems to me the tool-holder is not moving up and down as before.
I am in contact with Summa at the moment and will post back any results
Thanks for your help

[FreddieFunk]

It appears to be a problem with the machine that could be as simple as a loose ribbon cable or as serious as a faulty motherboard. Will post the end result when I know

[Kevin Flowers]

Hi
Buffnut said

quote :

Another thing to check with the D60 is the file your trying to cut, make sure the text is converted to curves cos it dont like cutting as text.

i cut text all the time without converting to curves etc to max size of machine to as small as 5mm with no probs

Kev

[FreddieFunk]

Back again,
Just to finish this post, machine is now back with a complete new cutter head assembly, it was evidently a production fault, working like a dream now

[Robert Lambie]

glad to hear you back up and running mate. thanks for keeping us posted 😉