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Silhouette CAMEO 4 Blade Not Cutting? How to Clean It

If your Silhouette CAMEO 4 Autoblade is not cutting there could be several reasons why.

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If there is something stuck on the blade or debris in or under the cap, it can cause the CAMEO 4 blade not to cut. This is one of the most common CAMEO 4 auto blade problems. This tutorial will walk you through how to use the Autoblade tool to remove the cap and clean it out.

Why Is My CAMEO 4 Blade Not Cutting? 

If your Silhouette CAMEO auto blade is not adjusting or is cutting too deep it could be because there are tiny scraps under the blade cap preventing it from tapping correctly.  To fix this, you need to clean out that area.

cameo 3, cameo 4, portrait 2, autoblade, 15" silhouette cameo plus

How to Clean the Silhouette CAMEO Autoblade

The Silhouette CAMEO 3 and CAMEO 4 machines both come with a small white tool used to remove the cap around the respective blade. The tool - nor the Autoblades - are interchangeable as there are slight differences in the blades and tools that don't allow them to be swapped.  The process to use the tool to remove the autoblade cap to clean it, however, is the same.

cameo 3, cameo 4, portrait 2, autoblade, 15" silhouette cameo 4 plus

The tool has two holes and an end with two extended teeth. The hole on the side without the teeth is the one for opening the Silhouette CAMEO Autoblade.  The hole on the CAMEO 4 specific tool has two tiny teeth that are not present on the CAMEO 3 Autoblade version.

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I find it easiest to place the CAMEO 4 blade upside down on a flat surface holding it with one hand. Take the cap remover tool in the other hand and place the hole it on top lining up the grooves.  Hold it there firmly but gently while twisting.  I prefer to apply downward pressuring from the tool (holding it still) while twisting the Autoblade.

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This will unscrew the small white cap around the blade.

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Once you've removed the cap clean out anything that might be stuck in that blade cavity or stuck too the blade.  If any small scraps have collected in there it can prevent the Silhouette CAMEO 4 blade from cutting or cause it to cut too deep.

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Once the areas is cleaned out, screw the cap back on making the final twist with the blade cap tool to ensure it's snug, but not overly tight.

Other Common CAMEO 4 Autoblade Problems 

Cleaning around the cap is just one way to troubleshoot CAMEO 4 autoblade problems.  If after you've cleaned the blade you're still having cutting issues, check out these five ways to troubleshoot CAMEO 4 blade problems.

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Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!


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5 comments

  1. Hello,

    The last 5 newsletters came all with the same title (😎 21 Free Valentines Designs for Silhouette (Free SVG Files Too))
    Still the content is different.

    Greetings,

    Filip

    ReplyDelete
  2. What is the proper way to clean and maintain my Silhouette Cameo machine? I've never seen an article on this. Thanks Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello all, when i traced around an image then cut it it left bits of white background. What i did then was to create an internal offset to stop this happening. The only trouble is when it gets sent to cut its cuts the original outline and then the internal offset line. This then tends to rip whatever i am cutting. Any advice would be welcome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You could try inverting the color of the image! https://www.silhouetteschoolblog.com/2016/10/silhouette-studio-tracing-tutorial-image.html

      Delete
  4. EXTREMELY helpful. Thank you so much! I was loosing faith in my new Cameo 4 before this. Faith restored!

    ReplyDelete

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