Cameo not cutting properly, HELP!

Hi,
I'm new here, I've been desperately searching for help with my problem. I went to a Facebook forum where the people were rude, and I left the group. I emailed customer service who were NO HELP whatsoever, and I've been Googling like crazy trying to get help.

Anyway, my problem is hard to explain. It started a couple days ago when my original blade (I've had for a year) wasn't cutting properly. I took it out, looked like it had stuff in it, so I replaced it with a brand new one. Still wasn't cutting properly.

When it cuts now, it "taps" and doesn't make a smooth solid cut. It is not completing my shapes, either. As in, it cuts half of it, but doesn't complete the cut. Also is no longer cutting enough for me to weed my vinyl. I have adjusted the blade settings more times than I can count, I uninstalled and reinstalled the software, I turned off and unplugged the machine, I reset my computer, fiddled with the settings, to no avail. (I NEVER changed the settings when I changed the blade, nothing changed but the blade itself)

Customer service was ZERO help, they said there isn't anything they can do for me.

I took video of my problem, it is 3 minutes long, sorry about that. Is there ANYONE who can take a look at it for me and possibly tell me what's wrong all of a sudden? This is my livelihood, I have orders to get out and now I might have to cancel them because my machine won't work! Plus, in 1 week, I have my VERY FIRST EVENT that I am supposed to sell my items at! I have NOTHING for it! PLEASE HELP!!!

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeaTdI9YNT8

Hi and welcome. I'm sorry you've had troubles with other people being unhelpful, that's so frustrating.

I had something similar with my first generation Silhouette, and do you know what it turned out to be? The USB cable. I never would have expected that. I changed it out for a better quality one, not the one they supplied, and have never had that trouble since.

Mine would do that funny tapping thing, and sometimes shift the cut so that it cut half the image half an inch down the page. It didn't appear to be catching on anything. It just made a kind of graunchy noise and then repositioned itself halfway through the cut.

Another weird thing it did was to stop and take a coffee break partway through the cut. I'd think it had finished, but when I looked, the blue light was still flashing, the software said "busy" and it was just sitting there doing nothing. Then after anything from half a minute to 5 minutes, it would suddenly start back up again, and finish the cut. This would happen only with more complicated cuts. This seemed to stop after a software upgrade, but it did it again the other day for the first time in a year. I unplugged the "new" USB cable, powered off/on and it's been fine since.

Have you got another USB cable you can swap out with that one? Try that first. Also have you tried properly cleaning the old blade and trying that again? If that stops the tapping, it points to the new blade being the problem. If it doesn't, and the USB cable doesn't help, there's a bigger problem.

Let me know how you get on?

Oh, I just had another thought. You know the "fin" on the top of the blade? When you put it in, which direction is it facing?

Hi,

Thank you so much for your help.

I forgot to mention, I DID switch back to the ORIGINAL blade, and it still did this. So I am sure it is not the blades I'm using, and I did tell customer service that as well.

The fin on the blade, it faces me I think? Right? It's hard to see it in the video. Is that right?

I am not sure I can afford to the replace the USB, but I might have to try.

Sorry, I wasn't being very clear. Not the fin on the blue blade locking mechanism, the fin on the blade itself. On mine it is black plastic and is right on the top of the blade. The fin needs to be facing in the 3 o'clock position. It's hard to describe.

A USB cable only costs a few bucks. In the UK here I am, they cost £1.25. I believe they are called Type B USB 2.0. You might find that you already have another knocking around the house, on your printer for example. It's worth checking, and swapping it out temporarily if you find one.

Well, I switched out the USB, I had another, didn't make a difference. It did, however, cut my full shape, but still did the tapping, and didn't cut all the way through the vinyl.

I have the blade itself turned up to setting 5, and my software it was automatic, and set to a 2.

Any ideas on how I can mess with the settings to get it to cut properly??? I am so desperate! I have 10 orders waiting that I might have to cancel

I knew you weren't referring to the blue thing; but the fin on the blade itself, at least mine, isn't just on the top of it?

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean. I Googled videos on inserting the blade, and it didn't help me. I feel really stupid.

If you can't find another USB cable, just try switching the Cameo off, unplugging the USB cable at both ends, plugging it back in again and switching it back on.

I found a USB from my printer, it didn't change.

I think maybe my blade is not inserted properly. I feel like this is really an operator error on my part!

I'm attaching a pic, showing what I think the "fin" is you are referring to. Is that correct?

Thank you so much for your help and patience. [image]http://flickr.com/gp/bullypawsonetsy/A1 A2zc[/image]

OK, so the USB is making a difference but not fixing the problem. Let's go back to getting the blade put in correctly (which you probably are but if you're not, it will mess things up). Try Googling Silhouette Cameo replacement blades then clicking Images. When I did this, some of the pictures showed the blade and the black fin thing on the top of it. It's just a bit of black plastic sticking out, but with the blade down, this fin needs to be pointing to the 3 o'clock position. My old Silhouette actually has a little diagram stuck on a sticker inside the lid. It's possible the new Cameo isn't the same, I don't know. I've been Googling pictures for you!

I see the picture, and I think I see the thing I'm calling a fin - that little piece of black plastic closest to the camera, right on the top. That's the thing that needs to be pointing to the right when you put the blade in the housing. I think!

I'm so sorry Liz, I'm going to have to go to bed. It's 00:40 where I live now and I have church in the morning.

Please let me know how you get on? I really, really hope for your sake that it is as simple as putting the blade in correctly. I'll keep everything crossed for you, and I'll check back in the morning to see how you got on.

Good night, and good luck!

Can anyone help?

I really don't know where to place the blade apparently. I Googled pics of it, and I'm seeing different results. I've looked up videos, and I can't really SEE what they're doing.

HELP!!!

The fin should be pointing upwards (12 o'clock) if you're cutting without a mat, and to the right (3 o'clock) if you're using a mat. And possibly different again if you're cutting fabric but I have no idea about that. You have a mat, so it should be pointing to the right as you stand above it and look down. Make sense?

And now I really am going to bed!

Liz, send a PM to tanyaham. She's really good on the cameo also. She must not be on here, but a PM may go to her cell. Mine does. Just tell her you need help really fast and she can get on and look at what you need help with.

Sorry I can't help you, I have a cricut e and gypsy.

• Liz Senteney Said:

When you have the blade in your hand, there is a piece of the black plastic that sticks out...the "fin"....
That piece should be at the 3:00 position when you are looking straight on to your machine and slip the blade into the housing....
The blade should fall all the way down so that the "rim" of the blade is touching the housing.
Then flip the blue switch back to the right to lock it into position....
Does that help?

How do I contact that person?

I tried the fin to the right at 3 o'clock, it KIND OF helped, but it's still tapping when it cuts, not making a solid, smooth cut, and didn't quite cut all the way through.

I'm still not even sure I've got the fin in the 3 o'clock position.

Hang on a second, Liz. I'll holler for Tanya.

Thanks! I can't figure out how to do that. This forum thing is new to me.

No worries. I'm as technochallenged as a person can be, so I won't even offer my help~ trust me, you're substantially better off that way! But there are several people here who can help.

It really sounds as if you don't have the blade in properly....hence the tapping sound...
Is the "rim" of the blade solidly against the housing before you turn the blue/turquoise lever to the right to lock it in?

I have no idea what that means! If you mean where the "fin" ends, yes it's all the way as far as it'll go...I'll try to take a pic.

http://flickr.com/gp/bullypawsonetsy/9h57F9

Is that how it should look?

it looks fine to me--
I am so sorry you are having such trouble--

In your video, the fin looks to be at the bottom, not the 3 o'clock position. If that makes any difference.

Yes, I do know that now. I changed it, and it worked A LITTLE better, but didn't fix my problem

However, BEFORE all these problems happened. it was ALWAYS in the 12 o'clock position, so I don't understand what the issue is.

This is so upsetting.

Hi, it's me, the one they suggested you contact and I am just BAFFLED at how to solve this!?! I don't know why it would just tap unless the cut settings were set that way, but that wouldn't make sense in this situation. I can't believe Customer Service was no help - usually they are really good at figuring out exactly what the problem is. Like Terri said, it looks fine to me ... I'm so sorry that I'm not anymore help. But, I'm VERY curious to what is going on. PLEASE keep us all informed here ....

I did see one thing a while back that doesn't seem like it would be ANY help here, but since we are all at a loss, I figure it wouldn't hurt to try it.

In your software, go to File --> Preferences --> Advanced (at the bottom). Over where it says "Packet size", what is yours set at? Try setting it at 500. I don't know if that will help at all but it's worth a shot.

Well, thanks anyway.

The tapping is something I could get used to, if it was correctly cutting my image. It's not cutting all the way through enough for me to weed it out. (As you see at the end of the video)

Maybe I can get help with these questions:

What should the BLADE setting be for cutting vinyl?

What should the BLADE SETTING be in the Silhouette software?

Are there any other settings in the Sil software I should be changing/making???

Thank you everyone for your help! I appreciate you taking the time to at least help me along

What's a packet??

I'm going to ask a stupid question. I don't have the Silhouette (mine's supposed to arrive this week, yay!) so I don't even know how it's supposed to cut. However, when I watched your video, it looked like the blade holder thingy (the thing that had the blue switch on it) was hitting the bar across the middle. Did your housing by any chance get knocked down when you changed the blade and it's not allowing the blade to go all the way down?

I did have someone else ask me that on another forum. I got up in there when I took the video, so I could show that wasn't the case. I know it sounds/looks like it, but I've checked carefully, and it's not. Comparing it to pics of other Sil's, I don't think it's in the incorrect position???

It's the amount of information being sent to the machine at one time. Sometimes if it tries to send too much at once, it can trip up the machine.

I use the standard settings in the software for vinyl. Blade at 2, speed 8, thickness 9. My cutting mat box is marked, since I use that most often, especially with small pieces. Make sure the machine is also set with or without mat.

Yeah, all my settings are set to that. Ahhh!!!

Thanks again!!

Rewatched the video again since I was a bit busy before.... The only thing I can think of is to make sure all the settings match. Select vinyl, mine gives me the standard settings I show above. I make sure the cutting mat box is checked. Then I go over to my machine and change my blade to 2, and lock it into place. I also make sure when I load my mat, that I leave it on "load mat" not just "load media" ...

Next guess would be your blade being dull, which you've changed and changed back and cleaned too, so that's not it.

I used to have the same trouble with my original Silhouette having long pauses too, but haven't had the trouble with my Cameo. If you tried changing out the USB and/or the packet size like Vae said, I just have no other suggestions.

I'm so sorry you're having these troubles! I know how frustrating it can be!!! I'm really hoping you find a solution ... please let us know, so that we can all take this knowledge with us in case something happens later on.

If you ever have any other questions or problems, I can usually figure it out. Feel free to send me a private message and I'll help any way I can!!

BTW, your pup is beautiful!!! And I loved the vinyl on your machine ... did you design the shapes? I've had to use a Labrador shape for my American Bulldog - it was the same basic silhouette ... your shapes look closer to what he looks like though!

I saw your advice on another forum!

"They told me to do the following. Thought it might help others. I have a Mac and they said they can't help the blade tapping. But if I plugged it into a PC it might still work. I guess Cameo is on my shopping list.

1. Open the Silhouette Studio software
2. Go to the File menu (PC) or Silhouette Studio menu (Mac)
3. Select Preferences
4. Select Advanced
5. Under "Packet Size" select "500 bytes"
6. Click "OK"

For the problem with the blade tapping repeatedly, this typically indicates that there is another USB device, such as a printer, that is trying to communicate with the Silhouette. Please do the following:

1. Go to your computer's Control Panel
2. Go to the Printers section
3. Look for any printer drivers that are grayed out or printers which you no longer actually have hooked up to the computer
4. Right-click on any of these printer drivers and go to the "Printer Properties" option
5. In the window that comes up, go to the "Ports" tab
6. Locate the port type "File" and check this box
7. Click on "Apply""

http://www.studiocalico.com/community/die-cutting/topics/55602-original-silhouette-in-critical-condition-not-cutting-straight-and-getting-stuck

I've changed mine to 500, I'll see if it works. This person seems to have the same problem as I do. I wanted to reply to that thread, but their website will not let me sign up

Thanks! I draw all of my own silhouettes. My Etsy shop is doing pretty well, I have orders stacked up. (Which is why I'm so upset!!!!)

I do have an American Bulldog silhouette

Thank you so much! I'm going to try using the 500 pack thing, and I am using a NEW USB cable from my printer.

In another forum, Customer Service told someone with a similar problem to mine that the tapping could be due to a printer trying to communicate with your computer, but my printer is on WIFI and not connected physically. Plus, it's ALWAYS been like that since I've had my cameo and I've never had this problem!

I'll keep you posted. Thanks so much!

Yes, please keep us informed!! I will have to look in your Etsy store!! I'll look to see if you have it listed on your profile here, and if not, I'll send you a PM for how to find it!
Thanks!

If changing the settings doesn't help, maybe someone else in Customer Service could help. I'd keep trying. I've only had a couple of issues over 5-6 years now, and they've always been wonderful.

Good luck, Liz!!

OK I changed the package thing to 500, blade fin turned to the "3 o'clock" position. Still not completing the cuts, not a smooth solid cut, but small quick "lines" almost, thus the tapping.

Ugh. I've done all I could with customer service, they were really not helpful, and not even available until Tuesday.

I wonder if it's my "Cut Style" that's a problem? My image is a dog silhouette, with either a heart cut OUT of the dog, or a mustache cut out of the dog. Should my Setting me "Cut," "Cut edge," or "No cut?" It's NOT on perforate; Many people in another group kept saying "Seems like it's on perforate" with the tapping, but it's NOT and NEVER WAS.

I haven't tried cutting vinyl, so that part I don't know, but a couple of weeks ago I was trying to cut cardstock and it kept tapping and not making a good cut. I had played with the image I was trying to cut and while erasing, had left little tiny "chunks" behind and the machine was cutting all of those...or trying to. I couldn't even see them until I turned the magnification way up and then could see little squares all over my design area, plus some of my lines weren't totally connected, so it seemed like it was cutting the whole thing, but I had spaces in my line. I guess I made my own perforated line, but I didn't know it until I magnified it. Since it's your design, I didn't know if you had sliced/erased or something like that.~Judy

I do not have a Silhouette. But basic computer stuff....

If you've tried a new USB cable, and changing the packets changed *any* of the behavior....turn everything off. Disconnect. When you power up and reconnect try a different USB port, if you have one. If you're going thru a hub, go straight to the machine. If you have USB's on the front and back, try going to the back - I have a couple of things that don't work properly with the front ports, or are intermittent.

USB ports can go bad or flaky, especially if you've had a power surge or brownout.

Try cutting something you've cut before that went smoothly, a heart or something easy or something from the store. Then you'll know if it's our design.

I am curious to see if any of these suggestions work. Lots of good ideas here. I had a similar problem with the machine I had before my cameo so I am very interested to see if anything fixes the problem.

Liz-
I am not trying to be a smart alec but have you watched the video that is on the cd?

Hi,

I'm not sure what you mean by "front USB ports." I'm using a laptop, so I have two outlets, both work for other things, but I can't remember if I've switched with the Cameo or not, I will try that!

Also, everything I've tried cutting since this problem occurred are things that worked perfectly before, I have ruled out my designs as the problem. (And I sent my files to customer service, they also ruled that out)

I can't find my CD

I'm going to do everything someone suggested. (I can't remember who, sorry!) I try to respond to specific questions people have, but when I reply, their post disappears so I don't remember what I need to answer! So bear with me please!

If you click Quote (top right of the post), you will include their question in your answer. Also if you click Reply (to any of the posts in the thread) instead of just typing in the Quick Reply space, you will see at the bottom "Click to Review other posts in this topic". If you click that, you can see all the other replies. I'm all out of suggestions on the Cameo, but I can help with how to use this site LOL! Hope this helps!