I am running an explicit procedure dividing in 4 steps. To expedite the run, I've used mass scaling, and steps 1, and 2 ran good without any issues and errors, I've used a "Scale by factor=100" that I know increase my time increment by 10 times.

However in step 3, the "Stable time increment" dropped suddenly to 1e-14 (as shown in the pic). 

Problem: I have a deformable 3D part in as a steel rod (round section)  with a long length. I've defined Johnson-cook for damage and material properties from literature. Since I am aiming to cut it in step 3 with a rigid blade. 

I've used Sweep-Hex element method and Linear Reduced Integration element for meshing.

I've toggled the  Element Deletion: yes for the part. After defining the loads, I ran the job.

I've tried step 3 (where a meshed rod will be cut) without any mass scaling, and with mass factor=100, and in both cases, it disrupted with a same error as shown here. 

Time periods for each steps are: Step 1= 0.003479, step 2=0.013916, step3= 0.002, and step4= 0.011916. (Units are mm, N, S, ...)

I used the Verify Mesh to see the Stable time increment and it seems it is stable less than 1E-07.

Can somebody please enlighten me with a hint or solution.

p.s. I've read the Mass Scaling in the document at help.3ds.com. But still I am confuse, and need more explanations!