Vinyl cutter offset finder

thingiverse

This is a test file designed to help find the optimal tool offset for a drag knife on a vinyl cutter without having to make multiple test cuts with various settings. The .svg file can be directly imported from Inkscape into my Seiki cutter. If no tool offset is applied, one half of the pattern will replicate a tooth-like design with different tool offsets ranging from 0.25 at the pointy end on the left to 0.5 at the blunt end on the right. The mirrored image will be nonsense, but it's included because your cut may run in the opposite direction from mine. A partially weeded cut is shown in the attached jpg. To find the correct setting, look for the external apex of the triangle that just cuts the outer border rather than falling short of it. Note that the resulting trapezium has flat sides. The second triangle from the right is set to a 0.45mm offset. My best setting falls between this triangle and the one to its left, so I use 0.42mm as my tool offset (halfway between 0.45 and 0.4mm). Keep in mind that the optimal offset will vary with the blade and depth of cut/pressure.