Designjet T630-36 in cutter not working

[Rgo22]

Hi Guys, 

We are having issues with our HP Designjet t630. The reseller that sold to us is clueless about the issue and nothing on the internet seems to be able to resolve. 

Since 1 or 2 weeks ago the plotters cutter stopped working. We haven't changed anything to the settings other than connecting it to a wired network instead of WiFi. 

things i've tried: 

- cutter is set ON on the display menu

- cutter is set ON on print settings from devices

- cutter set to OFF, no cutting  (obviously)

- manual cutting ( form feed + form feed cut) tried, does not cut both in cutter ON and cutter OFF

- settings for drying ink to optimized and to none

- rebooting, multiple times

- looking at cutter rail for waste paper and/or objects that would obstruct, nothing and looks clean. 

- looking for printer updates; up-to-date

- driver settings etc etc. 

- Autocad settings correct (mind you we haven't changed anything here and cutter used to work)

- read manual and tried every fix

HP support is useless, reseller is clueless. We need this device for work as we work with autocad drawings alot. 

Hope somebody here will be able to help find the problem, before I have to send it back for warranty. 

[Repairatrooper]

What driver are you using? Does the system go through the motions but not physically cut or does it not even try? Typically at the end of print the carriage moves all the way to the left which engages the cutter and then cuts the page. Possibly either the cutter or the engagement mechanism is broken.

[co2tap]

It's possible the encoder strip is dirty and the cutter can't engage due to not being exactly where it needs to be. The encoder is the metal strip that runs across the print path above the chrome bar. (carriage rod) It has a shaded look at the top of it that has lines printed on it. Take a lint free towel, or an old T-shirt and put simple green on it. LIGHLY wipe the strip down. Be careful, it can cut you. After you no longer get any ink on the towel, run a printhead alignment and try to cut a page. 

[Repairatrooper · Accepted solution]

In regards to @co2tap 's suggestion. HP engineering recommends cleaning the encoder strip with a soft cloth after applying a couple drops of isopropyl alcohol and dampening the cloth with water to dilute the alcohol to prevent damage to the strip. Avoid any abrasive or strong cleaners as they can remove the printed grid from the strip.