If the blade carriage gets stuck during the cutting process, it can cause loud grinding or tapping noises. It can also throw off the cutting alignment. 

Getting Blade Carriage Unstuck


  1. Turn off the Silhouette machine. 
    IMPORTANT: It is critical that the power is off in order to safely move the blade carriage manually. The blade carriage should never be moved by hand when the power is on.
  2. Once the power is off, grip the blade carriage and manually push it to the right side of the machine
  3. Push the blade carriage all the way back to the left
  4. Repeat this back and forth action a couple more times to ensure the carriage is moving smoothly

If you feel resistance while moving the carriage, you can put a small bit of oil (such as WD40) or a graphite lubricant on the metal bar that holds the carriage. 


⚠ WARNING: Do not apply lubricants directly to the material roller bar (the bar with the white rollers attached) or spray directly into the machine itself. Instead, we recommend spraying some onto a paper towel and wiping it onto the bar.

Checking the Crash Stopper (Older Cutting Models Only)


The machine's Crash Stopper makes sure that the blade carriage is aligned properly. When the machine is powered on, the carriage continues to move to the side until the Crash Stopper button is pushed. This is how the machine knows where to start. If the Crash Stopper is damaged, the machine may continue to try and move the carriage when it should not.


On newer models, this part is covered or inaccessible. On older cutting machine models (Cameo 1 - 2, Portrait 1), this part is exposed and visible as highlighted below:



To check the Crash Stopper, turn off the machine power and manually push the carriage all the way to the right-hand side of the machine. Once it is exposed, gently push the tiny white button. 


If the white button appears to be broken, please take a photo and contact support@silhouetteamerica.com.


Once finished checking this, return the carriage to the left side of the machine.

Checking the Blade Carriage Cover


With the carriage back in the "home" or starting position, press down and back on the blade carriage itself. In some cases, you may hear it click back into place if it was misaligned. 


This action will make sure that the blade carriage cover is secured properly.

Checking the Blade Setting


If the blade is extended too far and overexposed beyond the material thickness, the blade tip can catch on the material during the cutting process. Similarly, increased Force settings in the software can cause the blade tip to catch as well.


To check this:


  1. Remove the blade from the machine
  2. Re-send the job to have the Silhouette go through all of the cutting motions without actually cutting

If the issue does not occur during the test, the blade and/or cut settings are confirmed as the cause. In this case, you will need to lower your Blade and/or Force settings.