Slowly, jerkily, wrong: why your Silhouette cuts oddly

Yes, I believe you! Sometimes it seems that your Silhouette machine is possessed. It starts great, then for some unknown reason seems to go completely crazy. It starts fine but then cuts in the wrong place, goes way too slowly, the blade doesn’t go up and down as it should. But here’s the thing: it’s not really an unknown reason — it’s just unknown to you. Let’s learn why you might run into those issues and prescribe a cure. (To start with Lesson 1 in the Cut Doctor series, go here.)

Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click the link and purchase something, I may receive a small commission. You pay the same price. This helps me to be able to keep my business going and provide more tutorials.

Symptom: Cut starts correctly, then cuts oddly or in wrong area of mat or material

Diagnosis #1: Bluetooth issue (Cameo 3, Portrait 2)

The newest machines — the Cameo 3 and 4 and the Portrait 2 — have the ability to cut without being connected to your computer via a USB cord. They can use a Bluetooth connection instead (this is completely optional). As I said, this is a fairly new thing, so there are still some bugs at times.

For information on setting up Bluetooth properly, check the Silhouette America website here.

If you are having an issue with the machine not cutting in the right place and you have gone through all the other reasons here, try connecting the machine to your computer with a USB cord. That will tell you if Bluetooth communication is the issue.

Prescription: Test using the USB cord.

Diagnosis #2: Firmware update needed (Cameo 2 or 3, Curio)

See the discussion of firmware in our previous lesson.

There’s another reason we’ll talk about later that could cause your cuts to start out right and then go wonky. But it’s an issue of incorrect settings instead of a communication issue.

Diagnosis #3: Registration Mark Reading issue

Registration Marks are used for Print and Cut projects. You design a project and add the marks to the page, then print the page on your printer. Along with your design, you’ll see those marks printed. The machine then reads the marks and knows right where to cut the shapes.

If there’s a problem with the registration marks, you’ll get 1 of 3 problems:

The machine can’t read the marks

If the machine can’t find one the marks for some reason, it won’t start cutting at all. This is called registration mark reading failure and can be caused by a variety of things:

You have the marks on your Design area but not on your material. This happens if you accidentally turn them on. Since they aren’t printed on the page, your machine can’t find them and lets you know that.
You have the wrong marks chosen for your machine. In the Page Setup, make sure you choose the correct machine type.
You’ve made the marks too small or pulled them to close to the edge of the page.
You printed in borderless mode.
The page size is set up incorrectly so the machine is looking in the wrong place.
Your software isn’t up to date. Some versions of the software have the registration marks at the wrong size or location.
There are portions of the design outside the red cut border or in the gray hash marked area.
Dark, colored (particularly blue or green), patterned, shiny or textured material.
Your printer page set up is incorrect so printed in the wrong orientation (landscape vs. portrait).
Your printer is low on ink and the marks aren’t dark enough.
The mat you’re using isn’t a Silhouette on. Other brands have different margins.
Your material isn’t in the right place or in the right orientation on the mat.
You loaded your mat too far left or right on the machine.
Your mat selection is wrong or you chose the wrong loading method so the machine is looking in the wrong place.
A stray piece of material such as vinyl is covering the optical eye.
The lighting is poor in your room or the machine lid is down. Notice I put this last on the list. Although you will often hear other folks tell you to check this first, it’s WAY more often one of the other issues. Bright light on shiny material can also create a glare.

You can help the machine find the marks. To do that, click on Retry Manually. Use the arrows on the screen of your machine to move the blade over the upper left mark. Then click Retry Manually.

Your machine appears to read the marks, but the cut is off by a large amount

While it seems that your machine read the marks right, it didn’t. Here are the possible causes for that:

You’ve got the wrong type of marks selected for your machine.
The marks or too small or too close to the edge of the page.
You printed borderless.
The marks printed in the wrong place (too high or low on page). This happens if the printer does not pull the paper in correctly.
The marks printed crooked. If the cut gets worse as you go toward the lower right, this is a likely culprit.
You have portions of your design in the gray hash marked area, which confuses the machine. It thinks the printing is the mark.
The machine is mistaking the grid marks on the mat for the registration marks. When you put your material on the mat, slightly cover the lines at the top and left edges.
Portions of your design are the red cut border or you have any images off the mat area on your file.
You’ve used patterned, shiny, dark or colored material.
You cut without the mat. Print and Cut works best when you use a cutting mat.

The cut is off by the same tiny amount on every image

Your machine needs calibrating. This will ONLY help if the cut is off by the same small amount (like a millimeter or 2) on the same side of every single image. It will NOT affect regular cuts or the reading of registration marks. It only needs to be done once. If your cuts are off by large or varying amounts, or you’ve already performed a calibration on this machine, or it’s not a Print and Cut, it’s a different issue.

Prescription: Always keep the registration marks at their default size and location. Check this list when you do a Print and Cut project. Perform a calibration only if you’ve gone through the entire list.

Symptom: Cutting goes very slowly or pauses for long periods

Diagnosis #1: Image size or complexity

Sometimes you have a really intricate file and there’s a good deal for the software to process. You might notice the machine pause because the software is trying to keep up. Or you may see at the beginning of the job or during it the message Generating Cut Job. All of these are indications that the image is complex and you may need to help the machine by simplifying it.

Prescription: Cut the design in portions, leaving mat/material loaded between cut jobs. Decrease complexity of the image. Use compound paths whenever possible. Be patient 🙂

Diagnosis #2: Lots of text

This is one that seems to come and go, but I’ll mention it just in case. When you have lots of typed words in your file, it can take a long time to process depending on the font. Words are really just groupings of letters, so a long word like “silhouette” is really 10 pieces not 1. You may notice that the machine stops and starts a good deal, like it’s thinking too hard. It is, particularly, for some odd reason, if you stay in the Send area.

Prescription: Go back to the Design area during the cut rather than remaining in the Send area.

Diagnosis #3: Too many files open

If you have lots of different files open or have lots of raster fills (photos, fill patterns, etc.), those take more processing time. When your software does an AutoSave, it increases the time it takes to do that. Sometimes it can’t think in too many directions at the same time, so the cutting pauses. It’s not really your machine that’s going slowly — it’s your software.

Prescription: Keep the number of open files to a minimum, especially with photos or filled shapes.

Diagnosis #4: Excess images outside cut area

Sometimes my Design area is like my craft room — stuff EVERYWHERE. Even if images are outside the cut area, the software still sees them as part of the design so that plays into the processing time (and AutoSave time).

Prescription: Remove excess designs or copy to a new file only the pieces you’re cutting on a single pass through the machine.

Diagnosis #5: Cut settings in use

If you are cutting everything on a really fast speed, the software may be shoving information to the machine faster than it can handle it. That means the machine may have to pause every once in a while to keep up.

Prescription: Use a slower cutting speed and/or lower your Packet Size to reduce speed of the data stream to the machine.

Symptom: Blade does not lift or lower during cutting process

Diagnosis #1: Original USB cord not in use

Although all USB cords look alike, they may have slight differences. If you get a cheap one, have one that isn’t the right specs (see above), or has gone bad, it’s not going to run your machine correctly. Sometimes the result is that your machine cuts oddly, as I described above. Another thing that can happen is that your blade does not lift and lower as it should.

Prescription: Use the USB cord supplied with your machine.

Diagnosis #2: USB cord not connected directly

Another reason your blade may not lift and lower is if you’re using a USB hub or USB extender cord, or if you’re connecting through a monitor or keyboard port rather than into your computer directly. All of these can cause a breakdown in the communication.

Prescription: Connect the USB cord directly from the machine to computer.

Diagnosis #3: Packing tape not removed

This is pretty rare anymore, but I still see it every once in a while. When the manufacturer packages a Silhouette machine, they put tape in some spots to keep them from moving during shipment. If you don’t remove it, the mechanisms aren’t going to move when they are supposed to. These days, the tape is bright green on white so that it’s easier to see. But it was previously a translucent blue or green on black, so was easy to miss. I’ve talked with folks who’ve had their machine for years and never noticed it. If you have a Cameo 1, Portrait 1, SD or Original, check for this around your motor box particularly on the left side of it.

I’m NOT talking about the white ribbon in the back if you have one (you won’t see it on newer models). That’s the data ribbon, which provides communication between the digital components on the inside of the machine and the motor box. I’m also not talking about the black, serrated band in the back. That’s what moves the motor box.

Prescription: Remove all packing tape, looking particularly on the motor box and at the sides of the machine.

Diagnosis #4: Mechanism getting stuck

There are several reasons the mechanism itself might stick, and it may be a combination of factors.

On an older model, the top portion of the motor box may shift…

…or lift.

On a Cameo 3 it may shift forward. Compare the left and right here.

That impedes the up and down motion because that box comes into contact with the blade holder.

Prescription: Make sure the top of the motor box top is on fully and aligned.

The fin on a ratchet blade isn’t facing forward. This is most common with the Cameo 2 I find. The fin catches on the back part of the motor box.

Prescription: Load a ratchet blade with the fin facing forward.

The mechanism needs oiling. This is rare and I only recommend this in EXTREME cases where you’ve tried everything else and the mechanism simply will not lift or lower. Before doing it, remove the blade, pretend to load a mat and send a job to “cut.” You can then watch the blade and see if it’s going up and down or not. By removing the blade and mat from the equation, you see if the mechanism is the issue.

Prescription:

Turn the machine off and remove the blade. Put something like a paper towel below the motor box. Push down on the blade holder, as if the blade were in the process of cutting. That’s going to expose the upper part of the mechanism. On an older machine, the ridges on the blade holder are what may need lubricating so that they glide smoothly in the channels. The mechanisms on newer models use a different type of action so look different and have the problem much more rarely.

Spray a SMALL amount of silicone spray (such as WD40) or graphite spray onto the upper part of the exposed area and behind it if possible. Press it up and down a few times to distribute the lubricant.

If you can safely and easily remove the top of the motor box, do that but VERY GENTLY.

Squirt a small bit of lubricant on the spring and press the blade holder up and down a few times.

Up Next

At our next appointment, we’ll go over odd noises you might hear while the machine is cutting and what could cause them. Hurry back in to the Cut Doctor!