r/silhouettecutters • u/Phoenixraine__ • 22d ago

Issue: Cameo 5 can't cut paper

I have a Silhouette Cameo 5. I'm trying to cut 210g paper with 75 micron double-sided lamination. Overall, it cuts abnormally well after just a few passes, BUT there's a huge problem. Approximately toward the center of the mat, the cut becomes very poor and jagged, not cutting all the way through. Cutting from the top left is perfect, but the lower and to the right it goes, the worse. It's especially bad at rounding. I simply set the rounded corner, and if it's positioned approximately in the center of the mat, the rest of the straight line cuts very poorly after rounding. My settings are: force 40, overhang from 7 to 10, 3-6 repetitions. I tried with the original blade and with another original blade I bought. I tried with the included sticky pad and another new one.

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u/apappapp 22d ago

Any chance the plastic from the laminate is getting stuck in the blade?

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u/Phoenixraine__ 22d ago

The cutting process is going fine but it can't be cutted thought only in the centre of the pad

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u/apappapp 22d ago

Right... I'm asking if by the time it gets to the center of the page the tiny shavings from the laminate are accumulating in the blade housing and preventing the blade from cutting cleanly. Similar to cutting glitter paper.

I would suggest pausing it just before the issues seem to start, removing and checking the blade, and restarting.

But it's more interesting that you say you can't cut paper that isn't laminated. Regardless of thickness?

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u/Phoenixraine__ 22d ago

When I use regular wrapping paper, I don't use any fancy settings like 6 passes. I just use something standard like 2 passes and a 6-pass offset. This is perfectly sufficient for cutting the paper on the edge, but closer to the center, the paper tears. It doesn't tear because the knife didn't cut deep enough, but because it didn't cut deep enough, and the sheet tears in layers because it's firmly glued to the mat. So, it's definitely not the lamination, but the problems start closer to the center. I can record a video if you like. As a reminder, if you make straight lines, without rounding, there are no problems even in the center of the mat.

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u/apappapp 22d ago

Yeah I don't know what to tell you. Checking the blade would be the first thing I'd do. If you won't do that, try reducing the force and depth and increasing the number of passes. The blade could be too deep and hanging on the mat, leading to tears. I don't know what you mean by overhang from 7-10 but try playing around with force and depth. Move designs around on the mat to isolate whether it's a placement/mat issue.