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3.1.3 Installing the Blade Holder, Test Pen, or Accessory Tools
•
The gold blade holder has a rim around the outside that will, when cutting most materials, rest on the lower
part of the blade holder seat. When inserting the blade holder, loosen the front screw and the clamp should
then move back a bit to permit the blade holder to drop down:
•
The
Blade Height
is the distance from the tip of the blade to the top of the material you are about to cut.
Thus, in the photo above, you can see that there are several millimeters of
Blade Height
which is important
for two reasons:
You do not want the blade dragging across the material when the blade holder is moving from the origin
to the first shape to cut (or between shapes).
More force is applied when there is a drop distance for the blade holder to start cutting. This is also
referred to as “punch room” and provides more consistent cutting across the width of the machine.
•
When using the test pen or an accessory tool without a rim,
you’ll need to insert the tool using a spacer on
top of the material. A stack of 35 Post-It notes or 35 sheets of regular copy paper work well.
The recommended method for loading the test pen or another accessory:
o
Place the spacer on top of the material, with the material loaded into the Skycut.
o
Loosen the screw on the blade holder seat and insert the tool so that the tip of the tool is touching
the top of the spacer:
o
Now tighten the front screw carefully making sure you are NOT pushing down on the blade holder
seat. Once tight, remove the spacer. You should feel the tool gently scratching the top of the
spacer.
o
This distance will provide the tool
some “punch room” to give extra force and more consistent
results.
3.1.4 Adjust the Speed, Force, and Number of Passes Based on the Material and Shapes
•
Using correct cut settings is equally important as the type of blade, blade length, and blade height. Refer to
Section 3.3
for details about each setting.
Pen tip just touches top
of spacer
Spacer is on top of material
which is on top of mat
The outer rim on the blade
holder is resting on the lower
part of the blade holder seat
With the front screw loose, the
black clamp can be moved back
just a bit to allow the blade holder
to drop down.
