Have you ever send a cut job to your machine, watched it work and away, then removed the material and realized it didn’t cut the material at all or cut it all the way through? Yes, I see every hand going up! We’ve all had this happen at one time or another. That’s what we’re discussing at today’s appointment with the Cut Doctor.We’ll also go over some less common ailments — when starting and ending points don’t meet up, when the size of the cut design doesn’t match the size in the software, and why the left and right tool holders on a Cameo 3 or Curio might not cut in the same spot. (To begin with Lesson 1 in this series, go here.)

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Symptom: Machine goes through all motions of cutting, but no cut lines visible on material

Diagnosis #1: Heat transfer vinyl in use

Cut lines can be extremely hard to see on heat transfer vinyl, particularly white. The very first time I cut HTV, I absolutely SWORE it wasn’t cutting anything. I sent it to the machine 3 times before I finally texted a friend for advice. The cut was there — I just didn’t realize how tricky it is to see the cut lines on HTV.

Prescription: Bend the HTV where the cut is supposed to be and it’s easier to see cut lines. On dark colors of HTV, you can rub chalk, baby powder or a similar material on the back to help. With light colors, you can use a sketch pen (or a pen in the pen holder) to draw the lines prior to cutting. Just be sure you don’t unload in between. Weed in good lighting. Use a light box to light the material from underneath.

Diagnosis #2: Blade is clogged with debris and not moving freely

If your blade has too much gunk in it, it’s possible it’s not even coming into contact with the material.

Prescription: Clean blade.

Diagnosis #3: Blade not loaded correctly

This is pretty common, particularly on the newer models of machines. If the collar of the blade isn’t resting all the way down on the blade holder, the blade isn’t reaching the material. With the AutoBlade, make sure the fin is in the channel or you won’t be able to push it down fully.

Prescription: Ensure that fin is facing forward (ratchet blade) or in the slot (AutoBlade). Ensure that blade collar is resting fully down on the blade holder.

Diagnosis #4: Blade not locked in correctly

If the blade lock isn’t fully engaged, the blade will pop up in the blade holder due to the movement of the motor box, particularly as it goes over the rollers in the middle of the bar. That means it isn’t coming into contact with the material so you won’t see cut lines.

The Cameo 1 and 2, Portrait 1, SD and Original machines have a twisting lock lever. It’s not at all uncommon for that lever to fall off the machine. That’s because when the blade is out, the opening can easily be squeezed together more and therefore not hold the lever on. It’s not a big deal, because it’s pretty easy to put it back on. BUT — if you put it on upside down it is a big deal.

The twisting lock lever has a fatter part and a skinnier part. The skinny part is the one that faces down. If the thicker part is facing down instead, the blade mechanism isn’t dropping as far down as it should and you might not have any cut lines on your material.

For the machines with the sliding lock lever, make sure it’s pushed in all the way.

Prescription: Twisting lock lever — it should be pointing to 2 and 8 on a clock. Make sure it’s not on upside down. Sliding lock lever — make sure you can see the blue dot through the hole. 

Diagnosis #5: Blade cap not on right

I’ve been using Silhouette machines long enough to remember the very first blades. You changed out plungers on the end for different materials. Since there were only 3, you only had 3 possible depths. Then Silhouette America came out with the ratchet blade. You can adjust those from 1-10, so you’ve got quite a bit more flexibility. The problem then became that fibers could get caught up inside and bind the blade. The only way to clean it out was to poke something into the hole in the tip of the blade and try to drag it out. Not a great solution. So then Silhouette added a removable cap on the end of the blade. You can unscrew the cap, clean out around the blade and then put the cap back on.

Here’s the trick — if it’s not on straight, it means the cutting tip might not come into contact with the material. Have you ever accidentally screwed a cap onto a jar and it’s off-kilter? It can then be hard to get it back off. The same holds true here. Sometimes you just have to keep working at it.

Prescription: Ensure that the blade cap is on, is on straight, and is on tightly.

Diagnosis #6: Blade not lowering/lifting

We talked about this one in Lesson 19. Again, if the blade isn’t coming into contact with the material it can’t cut it. That can be caused by issues with the USB cord, packing tape still on the machine, or the mechanism sticking. It may even be caused by cutting via Bluetooth.

Prescription: Use the USB cord supplied with your machine. Connect the USB cord directly from the machine to the computer. Remove all packing tape, looking particularly on the motor box and at the sides of the machine. See Lesson 19 if the mechanism is getting stuck.

Symptom: Cut is visible, but material not fully cut through (same throughout)

We’re going to talk in another lesson about why the blade may cut differently in different areas on the same piece of material. That’s not what we’re discussing right now. We’re going over why you may be able to see cut lines, but for some reason the blade didn’t cut all the way through the material in the same way throughout the entire piece.

Diagnosis #1: Incorrect blade settings

This is by far the biggest reason. But don’t automatically crank the blade up. It’s better to adjust the force up instead, particularly if it’s ALMOST going through. Think of the blade number as a big adjustment, the force as more of a fine-tuning. The cut settings for most Silhouette brand materials are pretty accurate in the software. Those have been tested. Start with the recommended settings and adjust the force to make small changes.

But for something like cardstock, there’s an almost infinite number of types. That means you may need to do more testing and tweaking. Remember: your main goal is to have the blade number and force set at a number to where they will just cut through the material to the point that you can easily separate the design and background.

Here’s the back side of a piece of cardstock after a cut. I can see the design, but the cut isn’t all the way through the material. That means I need to make a settings adjustment.

Prescription: Reduce the speed to automatically eliminate that as an issue. A slower speed also results in a bit more downward force. Increase the force and/or blade number, realizing that you may need to decrease the other in conjunction.

Diagnosis #2: Material is too thick or dense

In our lesson on noises, we talked about how a material that’s too thick can cause a grinding or chattering noise because it impedes the normal movement of the machine. Sometimes it doesn’t do that — it just doesn’t cut all the way through. That makes sense. The regular blade extends to 1mm when you set it on 10, and if your material is thicker than that it’s not going to cut through.

But just because the material will glide under the rollers easily doesn’t mean your Silhouette can cut through it. That’s because density also matters. Density means how tightly packed are the fibers or components of the material. A plastic stencil material may be thinner than a cardstock but still have greater density. I’ve cut leather on my Cameo 3 and Curio, but it doesn’t cut all the way through on most of it (I finish the cut by hand).

It’s the combination of thickness and density of the material that determines whether or not your Silhouette will cut through it and what settings you need to use to do it.

Prescription: Only use material that is the correct thickness for your machine. If the material is dense, increase the force and/or passes.

Diagnosis #3: Blade is not loaded correctly

We talked above about how if your blade isn’t sitting all the way down in the holder, it may not cut at all. If it’s ALMOST all the way down, it may cut the material partially but not all the way through.

Prescription: See above. 

Diagnosis #4: Blade is not locked in correctly

Same song, second verse. If the blade isn’t locked it, it’s not getting the right amount of force on it to push it through the material.

Prescription: See above.

Diagnosis #5: Blade is clogged with debris

When there’s junk around the blade, it can keep the blade from going down into the material all the way. The result is that it cuts the material, but not all the way.

Prescription: See above.

Diagnosis #6: Blade cap is not on right

Have you ever filled a lidded cup, screwed on the cap and then had it spill on you? Or have you ever put a lid on a soda cup at a restaurant and been in such a hurry you didn’t notice that part of it was still sticking up? Yep — you probably then had drips of the beverage on your nice, clean shirt. The lid didn’t do it’s job because it wasn’t on right.

In the same way, if the cap to the blade isn’t on right it’s going to prevent the blade from doing its job. Imagine that it’s skewed a bit. The blade won’t come into full contact with the material, so won’t cut it all the way through.

Prescription: See above.

Diagnosis #7: Blade is old

Did you notice this is at the end of the list? That’s by design, because it’s the last thing to consider. Just like when you have some nausea and go to the doctor, the first thing he’s going to think of isn’t some obscure disease that affects only .001% of the population. He’s more likely going to look at what you ate recently or ask if you’ve been around anyone with a stomach bug.

In the same way, you want to try everything else before determining that your blade is too old to cut all the way through your material. Too often Silhouette users jump right to this as the cause of cutting issues, but it’s most likely something else.

The types of materials you cut will also determine how likely it is that an old blade is causing it. If you’re always cutting a thin, not-so-dense material like vinyl or smooth HTV, your blade will last much longer than someone’s who is always cutting leather or textured cardstock or glitter HTV.

Prescription: Replace the blade.

Symptom: Cut is misaligned (starting and ending points don’t meet up or designs are cut on top of one another)

Diagnosis #1: Settings too high

We talked in our lesson on noises about how if your blade is set to too high a number or you’re using too much force, the blade gets caught in the mat and makes a stuttering sound. When it does that, the motor box stops moving temporarily but the roller bar doesn’t. Once the blade gets free and continues cutting, the roller bar has already moved on. They machine is cutting the right design but now it’s in the wrong spot. When the roller bar gets finished moving, the motor box isn’t back at the starting point. In other words, your starting and ending points don’t meet up.

In this photo, my settings were too high for the rhinestone template material. Not only do the starting and ending points not meet up, the overall shape is distorted. On the right, you can see the difference when I adjusted the settings. (If you haven’t guessed yet, I save all my mess ups to use as teaching tools).

Prescription: Lower your settings — blade number, force, speed (in that order).

Diagnosis #2: Material shifting during cutting due to non-sticky mat

This is another REALLY common issue. If your mat isn’t sticky enough to hold your material adequately, the motion of the blade pulls it off. We’ve already talked about how that can mean that the pieces come loose after they’ve been cut. But it can also mean that the material itself can shift. Then the starting and ending points don’t meet up because the blade ends up cutting in the wrong place.

Here’s a photo of a piece of chipboard I was cutting using 2 passes.

See how the second one isn’t aligned with the first? That’s because my mat wasn’t holding the material well enough and it shifted on the second pass.

Prescription: Clean, resticky or replace the mat.

Diagnosis #3: Curio base snaps not closed

In Lesson 20, we talked about how if the base snaps on a Curio aren’t fully closed, they can catch on the mechanisms and make a racket. And we learned in that lesson that when you hear a noise, it’s usually because on of the parts of the machine isn’t able to move freely. When that happens, it’s the same as with Diagnosis #1: one part continues moving while another cannot. Therefore, your cut is off and your starting and ending points don’t meet up.

Prescription: Ensure snaps are all locked before loading the platform. When snaps no longer close fully, replace them (find those here).

Diagnosis #4: Side edges of older mat curling up and catching motor box 

This is pretty rare since your mat will lose its stickiness long before this happens. But since it’s a possibility I’ll mention it.

The rollers that pull the mat in and out put a good deal of pressure on it. You can see that when you look at a mat you’ve used for awhile — the margins get more white instead of clear. After a while, that can also cause the edges to curl up and catch the motor box as it goes by. The rollers keep moving while the motor box does not. Therefore, you end up with starting and ending points that don’t match.

This is more of a problem if you have moved the right white roller on a Cameo when cutting without the mat and didn’t reset it. Since the roller isn’t then gripping the outside of the mat as it should, that right side is more likely to curl upward and catch the motor box.

Prescription: Replace the mat. Always cut with your rollers in the correct location.

Diagnosis #5: Not enough clearance behind machine while cutting

You’ll usually hear a noise if this happens, and you know that anytime you hear something bad the cut isn’t going well. But if you’re cutting without the mat you’re less likely to notice (it’s also less likely to cause the issue, so that’s good). The mat isn’t moving in and out correctly but the motor box keeps moving. Yep — if one moves without the other your cuts won’t line up.

Prescription: Provide adequate clearance behind the machine.

Diagnosis #6: Longer cutting mat/material and/or heavy material being used

For some reason, with this diagnosis and the last one my mind is going to Dr. Doolittle and the Push Me/Pull You. LOL! But I digress…

Sometimes you’re using a long, heavy roll of vinyl without the mat, or have a really thick material like leather on your cutting mat. The weight of that can make it difficult for the machine to keep hold of it adequately. And if you’re using a mat that isn’t sticky enough or an older roll of vinyl where the adhesive is degrading, it’s even worse.

When you’re cutting a really long piece of vinyl, it can happen even if the vinyl stays under the rollers. There’s sometimes just enough of a break in the cutting for the rollers to not keep the material in place as the motor box moves to a new location.

Prescription: Ensure that the mat or material is resting fully on the table in front of the machine. On Cameo 3 or Curio, ensure the stabilizers are extended.

Diagnosis #7: Material is coming out from under the rollers when bypassing mat

I’ve been working on project lately where I’m cutting REALLY long pieces of vinyl without the mat (yes, I’ll be sharing that later). I have to be quite vigilant to make sure my vinyl stays under the rollers for the entire cut. If it doesn’t, the vinyl skews and then the blade is cutting in the wrong place.

Another reason this can happen is if you don’t realize that you need margin at the bottom when cutting without the mat. Again, the material comes out from under the rollers so the starting and ending points don’t match. Here’s a piece of vinyl I was cutting where that happened. (My blade and force were also too high, so it’s a combination of issues).

Prescription: When cutting long pieces without the mat, draw a small square just below the bottom of the last image. Take the blade out and “cut” just that square. That will tell you if the material is going to stay under the rollers throughout the entire cut because it’s going all the way to the bottom of the cut. If it does, delete square, replace blade, do NOT unload and send the project to cut. Always use Show Cut Border in the Page Setup panel and keep designs within the border. When possible, keep vinyl or HTV on the roll as you cut rather than cutting off the amount you need. If you do have to cut it off, give yourself an extra 1/2″ of  length just to make sure. Check out my series Cutting Without the Mat Without Losing Your Mind for more info and tips.

Diagnosis #8: Material is catching in crosscutter groove in back when bypassing mat

Vinyl and HTV are the materials you cut most often without a mat. And they typically come in rolls, which means they curl. If the curl is downward, its very easy for it to get caught in the crosscutter groove in the back of the machine (Cameo 2 and 3 only). When it does, the material starts bunching up, so it’s not feeding through correctly. You’ll see that the designs are cut on top of one another.

Prescription: Cover the crosscutter groove with painter’s tape.

Symptom: Cut size of design doesn’t match size in software

Diagnosis #1: Misunderstanding of Text sizing

This is a big question for beginners. You type a word, resize the text box to 1″ tall and then cut the word. But your letters look too small. You get out your ruler and measure and the letters are barely 1/2″ tall. What in the world?????

Fonts are made so that they take into account things like letters that are taller (like capital vs. lowercase), letters that dip below the line, superscript, spacing between lines, etc. So, a text box itself will have blank space around the letters to leave room for these. What that means is that if you make your box 1” tall, your letters are shorter than that so that there’s room in there for writing something like X². If you type “a,” there’s room in the box for “A” or “h.” You don’t see that when you use a word processor because you aren’t looking at the box surrounding the letters as part of the text size.

Prescription: Don’t assume that text box size = cut letter size. Use something else for reference:

—Grid, guidelines or reveal cutting mat

–Draw a rectangle the size you want your letters to be and adjust the text box size to fill it

—Ungroup your letters or use Convert to Path for precise sizing (but know that makes it uneditable)

     — See this post for more tips.

Diagnosis #2: Settings too high

Look back up at the photo of my rhinestone template material in Diagnosis #1 of the previous symptom. Because my blade got caught in the material as it was cutting, the size is all off. That’s because the motor box and rollers couldn’t move together correctly.

Prescription: Lower settings — speed, blade number, force.

Diagnosis #3: Curio base snaps not closed

Once again, if any mechanism is impeded in it’s movement, the cut is off. So even if the starting and ending points do miraculously meet up, the overall cut piece may be squashed or elongated.

Prescription: Ensure snaps are all locked before loading the platform. When snaps no longer close fully, replace them (find those here).

Diagnosis #4: Distance Adjustment needed

This is a REALLY rare disease. Like 1 in 10 million rare, while the previous 2 diagnoses are as common as a cold. But folks who need very precise sizing may need a cure. If you make a square that’s exactly 1″ x 1″ and it cuts a bit smaller or larger, you may need to do a Distance Adjustment for your machine.

Distance Adjustment testing

Go to the Send area of the software. Right click on the icon of your machine in the lower edge and choose Distance Adjustment.

That opens a new file with the test page (it’s the same as the Calibration page for Print and Cut).

Print the page on your home printer, making sure you aren’t doing “Print Borderless” on your printer. Put the page onto your mat and load it. You can use either a pen or blade, but a blade is more precise (we’ll see why in the our next symptom). Click Distance Adjustment at the top of the Send area.

The machine cuts 2 lines where you see 1 and 2 on the printed page. Use a ruler to measure as precisely as possible the distance between the 2 lines. If it’s off, you’ll use the slider on the ruler to adjust the distance. You can see that it goes in really small increments so you can be pretty precise.

After you adjust the distance, print a new page and test again. Then try cutting the square again and checking the size. Continue testing until you get it right where you need it.

Distance Adjustment is something that only needs to be done 1 time. So if you perform the test, adjust the distance settings, and it pops up again as an issue, something else is wrong.

This is also NOT related to a Print and Cut where the cut size is off. That’s almost always a result of the machine not reading the registration marks correctly, because they were either made too small/too close to the edge of the page or there’s printing in the “no-print zone” that confuses the machine.

Prescription: Perform Distance Adjustment test and adjust as needed.

Diagnosis #5: Registration mark reading error

We discussed this one in Lesson 19. If your machine doesn’t read your Registration Marks correctly on a Print and Cut project, it may cut distorted shapes. This can also happen on a PixScan project that’s got the wrong camera calibration.

Prescription: Check the list in Lesson 19 when doing a Print and Cut project. Check your camera calibration on a PixScan project.

Symptom: Left and right tool holders not cutting/sketching in same spot

Diagnosis #1: Pen in use

Pens are not as accurate as a blade. If you’re using a pen holder, it’s pretty much impossible to get the pen into the pen holder in exactly the same way every time. The Silhouette brand sketch pens are better than pens in the pen holder, but there’s still wiggle room. You just need to accept that as a reality.

Prescription: Test with a blade instead of a pen to see if that’s the issue.

Diagnosis #2: Tool separation off

The Cameo 3 and 4 and Curio machines have 2 tool holders. That means if you put a tool in the left one there’s a slight chance that a tool in the right one won’t cut in precisely the same spot. Now, we’re talking TINY bits here, not a full 1″. If the latter is happening, you need to review Lesson 19. If it is just a tiny bit, use the Tool Separation test and adjustment. We talked about that in Lesson 16.

Prescription: Perform Tool Separation test and adjust as needed.

Up Next

If there’s one appointment you MUST NOT MISS with the Cut Doctor, it’s the next one. As we conclude our lesson on bad cuts, we’re going to talk about a cut disease that EVERYONE gets from time to time, just like everyone gets a cold occasionally. It’s when your machine rips and tears your material instead of cutting it. I know, right? You’ve wondered about that a ton! So stay tuned!