Cameo - inconsistent cut and tearing - is it me?

I'm fairly happy so far with the Cameo (had it a few weeks) when it comes to simple shapes and letters, but I have tried about 7 or 8 times to cut three squiggly frames from a design that I downloaded from the store and am getting frustrated. The first few times I didn't have the blade deep enough, but the last 2 or 3 tries (on a thinner paper and on heavier cardstock) the blade cut through no problem on half but then was not deep enough on the other half. More concerning, it was tearing parts of the design up as it worked. I tried to put it on both a stickier section and a less sticky section but had the same issue. Any ideas? Thanks in advance....

I don't have the Cameo but I do have the original Silhouette and the only time I've had that problem is when my mat is losing its stickiness or when my blade is not properly installed. I would check those things, turn off your machine and computer, reboot everything and try it again. If it's still doing it, then I would contact Silhouette America.

How's your speed? I rarely cut faster than a 2 or 3, sometimes up to a 5 if it's super simple. I'd just rather wait than have to recut because the blade tore the paper because it was going too fast. If it's not the speed then maybe it's your mat...or you managed to wear out your blade already?

Thanks for the thoughts. Honestly, I just let the speed set itself... perhaps I will give that a nudge in the slower direction since I agree with you that patience is preferred. I certainly hope I haven't worn down the blade already given I haven't really cut much of anything.

Will let folks know how it comes out!

There were some bad blades sent out. You may want to try calling customer service, it maybe that!

Also, check to see if any little paper particals are lodged in the blade housing.
I am a new Cameo owner, my first few cuts did the same thing, cut fine in parts of the design and barely made a line on the rest.
I took a paper piercer ( or a needle would do) and picked ever so slightly at the hole where the blade comes out. I did not see any debris fall out, but I never had that issue again.
Good luck. I love this machine!! I just bought a new printer (basically, I needed ink, but this printer cost what new ink would of cost me, so I went with the new machine) so I just learned the print and cut and wow!, it is fun!!

Thanks, all. Silhouette wrote back (right away, I might add) with mostly the same suggestions as above, along with another to check the blade balance. I haven't been home long enough to play with it again - am hoping to later this week and will let everyone know how it came out.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! I (finally!) had a few minutes to play, and got perfect results. I think the change of speed was a huge help as well as clearing the blade. Below is Silhouette's email back to me in case it's helpful to others, too, since they had different suggestions depending on how the cut was inconsistent. Cheers!

From Silhouette:
If the Silhouette is going through the cutting process and delivering a clean cut in some areas of your image but not other parts of the cut line, this would most likely indicate that the blade is obstructed. During the cutting process, some materials that are fibrous in nature (such as paper and cardstock) may collect fiber strands or pulp as the blade cut through them. You may find over time that this may build up within the blade chamber. Such may cause concerns where further cutting efforts may appear to give a clean cut in some areas but not others.

To correct this, you may expose the blade to a level of "10" and then use a fine tipped brush (such as a soft paint brush with bristles that have fine tips) or other fine tipped tool to attempt to dislodge the material. You may then blow into the aperture to remove this material.

If the issue is specific to one side of the image and not the other where the Silhouette is going through the entire cutting process, but only one side of your image has cut all the way through and the other half is either not cut well or at all (rather than just random or intermittent lines being cut while others are not) your issue is likely with the blade not swiveling properly. Please take your blade out of the Silhouette and carefully unscrew the blade cap (if using an older model cap blade) or extend the blade to a level of 10 (if using a ratchet blade). As the blade is sharp, we would then direct you to carefully place the tip on your finger nail and make sure the blade swivels or rotates freely. You may even want to carefully take the blade and press it lightly onto a firm surface and rotate the blade a full 360 degrees so that you can make sure the blade is able to swivel all the way around. It is possible that due to a paper jam, the blade has since been getting stuck as it is attempting to swivel. Swiveling the blade around manually should get your blade unstuck and back into working condition.