The vinyl cutter requires relatively little maintenance and setup compared to some of our other makerspace hardware. However, its blade can get dull, misaligned or simply covered in sticker fragments, all of which can seriously impact its ability to cut vinyl. For that reason it is important to know how to remove, clean, and replace the vinyl cutter’s blade.

**Remember!**
	The machine needs to be turned off before you can perform this function!

drawer where the extra pieces are held.

Locate the extra blades. The vinyl cutter’s blade is kept inside a small metal cylinder, which is in turn held in place by a plastic rig. A long, gold colored dial fastens the rig around the cylinder.

An image of the vinyl cutter's blade holder and assembly

At the machine, twist the dial and push it away from you. The rig should swing away and leave the cylinder exposed. The cylinder can easily fall when it’s not held in place, so be sure not to let it fall.

An image of the vinyl cutter's blade holder unlocked

Remove the cylinder from the cutter and take a look at it. You should be able to see the very small, blade sticking out the bottom of it. Only a tiny portion of it should actually extend beyond the lip of the cylinder. This is by design, but can be adjusted.

A close up image of the vinyl cutter blade holder with an arrow pointing to the tip of the blade.

At the top of the cylinder notice the other two knobs, a silver one and a thinner gold one. The silver knob manipulates how far extended the blade is, while the gold knob can be used to lock it into place.
The blade is reinstalled in reverse order to how it’s removed; put the cylinder back into the rig, close the rig, and use the knob to lock it in place.
Before calling it done, test the blade out on a scratch piece of vinyl with the TEST function. If the blade in placed further up or down the cylinder, the optimal pressure settings will change.

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