DSPIAE MT-C Stepless Adjustment Circular Cutter

[AlexBB]

Hiya Guys,
Well I have just got hold of one of the above, it arrived today.

OK its a little expensive but the quality of the cutter is top of the drawer..

Though I have to say I do have a couple of little niggles.......

1 - Once assembled it wont all go back in the box! It may be possible to modify the foam inserts to provide for voids for the installed bits on the cutter to fit through or into, but I need to have a look at that later.
Or I may have to take off the little handle and the cutter holder when its packed away. TBH for how often I am going to be using it and that it only will take a minute to fit them on, this may be what I will do!

2 - The instructions leave a little to be desired (well like most Chinese items, the Chinese to English doesn't always translate perhaps!) and I needed to revert to the DSPIAE Website to check what the little magnet was for and where it went!
From a design point of view I'm not sure why they used the magnet! (It goes in the recess on the top of the adjustment setting screw) I would have thought that using a very slightly longer bolt and the addition of a small nylon slip washer would have been better... but hey ho!

3 - The unit comes with 3 cutter heads, these have coloured identification sleeves (Red 30 Deg, Yellow 45 Deg & Blue 60 Deg) and the instructions states these are designed for different thickness of materials...BUT it does not say which one you use for thicker or thinner material!! If anyone has worked this out I would be very grateful of your knowledge??

4 - I have not yet worked out a way of being able to place the cutter so I know where the circle will actually be cut... Not an issue if I just want to cut some random circles out of masking tape, but will need to work this out if for when I need to cut rings or to place a semi circle where I need it...
I will need to run some reference cuts using a datum and see!

Not had much time this eve to check it out fully, but I have assembled it and run a few test cuts in a piece of paper, (used the Red cutter) and have to say I am really impressed with the quality of the cuts.

Having used various craft circle cutters in the past all with a compass point, this blows they away BIG TIME...

If anyone else has got hold of one and can add anything, please do?

[Twokidsnosleep]

It sounds like you hate it....send it to me
No instructions on the cutter heads??!! Preposterous!....send it to me
Yep if you can't get it back in the box it is totally useless...send it to me
Plus you are too busy to use it...send it to me and the burdens shall be released from your mind and before you cut your eye out

I would love to help you with all these problems, but alas I have no super cool circle cutter

[Tay99]

He is a review might help.

http://www.hyperscale.com/2017/reviews/ ... ewjh_1.htm

[digger303]

the cutters are either finer for thinner materials or are sharpened at different cutting angles for different materials I would guess.

[AlexBB]

It sounds like you hate it....send it to me
No instructions on the cutter heads??!! Preposterous!....send it to me
Yep if you can't get it back in the box it is totally useless...send it to me
Plus you are too busy to use it...send it to me and the burdens shall be released from your mind and before you cut your eye out

I would love to help you with all these problems, but alas I have no super cool circle cutter

I never said I hate it LOL.....

Its really really nice as a tool, superb quality..... just niggles... and a few

Way way better than the Olfa one I have used in the past....always trial and error and a little hole in the middle to cover, and very fiddly with masking film (Frisket)...

[AlexBB]

the cutters are either finer for thinner materials or are sharpened at different cutting angles for different materials I would guess.

Yeah i thought that...just not sure of their intentions in the range of each cutter!!

The Blue tip is 60 Deg so for the thinnest paper, yellow 45 & red 60...

The range of cut is up to 0.4mm

So maybe.....Blue tip to 0.13mm, Yellow to 0.26mm & Red to 0.4mm

3M tapes are 0.15mm thick, Tamiya 18 wide is 0.15mm and the 6 wide is 0.09mm

I don't have any of the Tamiya 40mm wide at the minute, but guessing will be about 0.15/0.18mm

I will test out the cutters at the weekend if I get time and see how they perform.

I am only really ever going to be using it on tape or Frisket and certainly nothing near 0.4mm thick.. I am guessing that the cutters for thicker material will work the other way, but not vice versa...
As the tips are only available (at present) in a set of 3 as they wear and need replacing I reckon I need a plan!!
So will start out with the Blue then yellow then red!!

[AlexBB]

He is a review might help.

http://www.hyperscale.com/2017/reviews/ ... ewjh_1.htm

Thanks, I had seen that review before I ordered it. It also says about the instructions not showing the magnet and he mentions the washer left over!!

Well the washer is supposed to go on the screw under the Red turning handle... Managed to work that out from the Pics on the DSPIAE website.



The Magnet takes a little more sleuthing and zooming in!! Its shown by the yellow arrow I added on the website instructions..



Hope this may save someone else having to

[Twokidsnosleep]

It sounds like you hate it....send it to me
No instructions on the cutter heads??!! Preposterous!....send it to me
Yep if you can't get it back in the box it is totally useless...send it to me
Plus you are too busy to use it...send it to me and the burdens shall be released from your mind and before you cut your eye out

I would love to help you with all these problems, but alas I have no super cool circle cutter

I never said I hate it LOL.....

Its really really nice as a tool, superb quality..... just niggles... and a few

Way way better than the Olfa one I have used in the past....always trial and error and a little hole in the middle to cover, and very fiddly with masking film (Frisket)...

I was just being a goof, seriously jealous of that cutter . Gotta get one soon

[AlexBB]

I was just being a goof, seriously jealous of that cutter . Gotta get one soon

Yeah I know LOL..... Goooooooo Oooooooooooooonnnnnnnn you know you want to!!

[Tay99]

I was just being a goof, seriously jealous of that cutter . Gotta get one soon

Yeah I know LOL..... Goooooooo Oooooooooooooonnnnnnnn you know you want to!!

Sod the cutter get the tool rack it's a work of art.

[OneSmallStep1966]

He is a review might help.

http://www.hyperscale.com/2017/reviews/ ... ewjh_1.htm

Thanks, I had seen that review before I ordered it. It also says about the instructions not showing the magnet and he mentions the washer left over!!

Well the washer is supposed to go on the screw under the Red turning handle... Managed to work that out from the Pics on the DSPIAE website.



The Magnet takes a little more sleuthing and zooming in!! Its shown by the yellow arrow I added on the website instructions..



Hope this may save someone else having to

Mine arrived today but I haven’t had a chance to play with it, but thanks for this

[AlexBB]

Mine arrived today but I haven’t had a chance to play with it, but thanks for this

Just a little pointer, take care when fitting the two cap head screws that hold the red body part together. One of mine was a little over diameter on the sides of the head where it had little ribs and scuffed the anodising as it screwed in.

If I had noticed before I would have filed a little off the diameter.

[OneSmallStep1966]

I've now had a chance to set mine up and initial impressions are EXCELLENT

As stated above, the assembly instruction could be better (there's no mention of placing the magnet on top of the cutter holder), but you can't fault the build quality, its superb.

My first test was to cut some circle in 80g copier paper and it produced excellent clean-cut circles.
I then tried cutting on 5mm plastic card with the yellow tip cutter and that wasn't a problem either.

I can highly recommend this to anyone who needs the ability to cut accurate, clean circular masks or shapes.

Copier Paper.jpg

Plastic Card.jpg

[OneSmallStep1966]

I have not yet worked out a way of being able to place the cutter so I know where the circle will actually be cut... Not an issue if I just want to cut some random circles out of masking tape, but will need to work this out if for when I need to cut rings or to place a semi circle where I need it...

One way to cut rings is to use the grid on the cutting mat (or buy some Tamiya Masking Sheet) to align the outer casing against. I had a go with some paper and this method does work.

Ring.jpg

As the tips are only available (at present) in a set of 3 as they wear and need replacing I reckon I need a plan!!
So will start out with the Blue then yellow then red!!

The cutters supplied with the MT-C look like they are Mimaki cutters.

[digger303]

I'm convinced

[AlexBB]

The cutters supplied with the MT-C look a dead-ringer for cricut cutters that are readily available. Amazon have them HERE or if you want cheeper ones HERE

Thanks for the info...I never realised these used the same cutters as graphic film cutters...

I did order these ....

But they are NOT right... so sending back to Amazon... I made the mistake of picking the 'others also bought' link below and not checking the 3rd picture and the tech details as I thought well I don't need the holder, it seems they are for a Cricut and are 2mm dia...
The correct ones are 1.5mm (measure 1.48mm) and about 20mm long (mine measure between 21.3 & 21.6 long)...

Having done a bit of searching they 'maybe' are the ones for a Mimaki Cutter...

The first link you posted is wrong for the Bridge Cutters having checked their website as Cricut ones are 2mm with an insert on the end, but the second one is ok... I have done a bit of searching and checked pics and details... There seem to be lots on Evilbay... and some really cheap from China... BUT from reading up they need to be the Tungsten ones not standard steel, which some may be...

What I did come across whilst looking was this, and it seems for what I will be using (masking tape) that the Red cutter at 45 deg will be the most used...



I think I may create a special cutting mat for using this with a guide fixed to the mat, that way I can use the cutter along the guide and keep it at a fixed centre line and just have to check the distance I move it each time to cuts rings... Maybe get a 20cm ruler which has some depth and fix it to the mat

[Twokidsnosleep]

I want one something fierce

[OneSmallStep1966]

I think I may create a special cutting mat for using this with a guide fixed to the mat, that way I can use the cutter along the guide and keep it at a fixed centre line and just have to check the distance I move it each time to cuts rings... Maybe get a 20cm ruler which has some depth and fix it to the mat

I was thinking exactly the same thing, something like a drawing board shown HERE

[OneSmallStep1966]

Having done a bit of searching they 'maybe' are the ones for a Mimaki Cutter...

Thanks for finding that out, I’ll edit my other post to remove link to cricut cutters.

I’ve found this 15-Piece Mimaki Tungsten Blade Cutter Set on Amazon for just £2.73. I’ll buy one next time I’m ordering from them and report back here what they’re like (and if they fit )

[OneSmallStep1966]

I want one something fierce

You just can’t help yourself can you

My need excuses is...ummm...errr...well alright, I don’t have one (but it’s something I will use )

[Twokidsnosleep]

I want one something fierce

You just can’t help yourself can you

My need excuses is...ummm...errr...well alright, I don’t have one (but it’s something I will use )

How about..."but honey, all the cool guys have one"
Ya that wont work. Too much cash flow out at the moment

[OneSmallStep1966]

How about..."but honey, all the cool guys have one"
Ya that wont work. Too much cash flow out at the moment

I have to confess that this cutter is the tip of the iceberg of what I have incoming in order to break my year-long loss of modelling mojo. I too hope I don’t get found out by my better half (I’ve a nasty feeling that two kits are being held in customs in which case there’s a chance she will intercept the import duties demand letter - I hope not )

[JonMW]

I've been using this type of cutter for a few months now and found it really useful for a lot of things from masking wheels to scratch building the radar on an F15. I thought the price was a bit high for this and the other one that Shadow Hobbies make so I made my own. The build quality might not be as good but it does it's job fine.

What I've been doing if I need to cut something specific, like cutting out a decal to get rid of the excess carrier film, I've drawn the outline of the cutter on a regular piece of paper and cut a circle the same size as the decal. And then lining up the hole in the paper with the decal and placing the cutter using the drawn outline and away you go. It's pretty quick and simple but it wastes a bit of paper and you have to redo it for all different sizes.

[DrSprue]

I want one something fierce

You just can’t help yourself can you

My need excuses is...ummm...errr...well alright, I don’t have one (but it’s something I will use )

How about..."but honey, all the cool guys have one"
Ya that wont work. Too much cash flow out at the moment

Yea I totally agree Scott, but dang... When I was heavy into building flying model rockets about 25 years ago, I mean everything from B, C-series Estes engines all the way to dynamite F size monsters, I would have bitten someones head off to get one of those.. All the tubes, engine and body matching we used to do on some custom stuff. Man that would have been great.

[digger303]

I want one something fierce

You just can’t help yourself can you

My need excuses is...ummm...errr...well alright, I don’t have one (but it’s something I will use )

best to buy them as a set, the circle cutter and the sprue nippers....SO they don't get lonely or look out of place

[AlexBB]

Hiya Guys,
Well for those who have the MT-C cutter DSPIAE have (at some time!!! Finding hard to work out when from the Chinese webs sites!!) released a centre locator for use with it... Its similar to a design from a US supplier but looks to be built in the normal high DSPIAE Quality..

Not sure of an EU supplier yet, have looked but no one seems to list it yet... I ordered mine from an eBay seller... cost was just under a tenner plus postage..