darcshadow

Just wondering how easy should it be to slide the rollers left and right? The used unit I just picked up they don't move as easily as the rollers on the MH did. But I don't know if that is normal or if I need to get in and clean/oil the slide rails.

Actually I wonder if it's Windows 11 that is the problem. Neither the program or the firmware mentioned being for Win 11.

Thanks. Tried all that and it never came up. The firmware updater doesn't seem to work either, says it can't find the cutter. Graphtec Studio works just fine though so I will do like you and just control everything through it. It's odd that I can't get the utility or firmware update to work. Probably something simple I'm overlooking but I'm pretty sure I checked all the simple stuff. I do love this thing, it's so much easier to use than the MH was. Wish I had upgraded years ago. ha!

I came across a Roland 24" Camm-1 and a Graphtec CE6000-60 Plus both being advertised for $1000. Which is the better deal?

Ok, did some test cuts, came out great but what just blew me away was cutting some glitter. I hated working with glitter, the Graphtec just laughed at me and cut it amazingly. Wish I got this thing sooner. I spent several hours last week weeding glitter. Had I only known. ha!

I'm not the proud owner of a Graphtec CE6000 Time to find the owners manual and read up on how to use this monster.

ha!

If she has software she knows how to use and likes, see if it has an export option for the design. If she can export it as an EPS she can then use VinylMaster to import the image and just to do the cutting and maybe over time learn a bit more on using VM to do the design work.

Accidently re-found this thread and figured I'd post an update. The MH can cut rhinestone flock. Wife decided she wanted to try making some rhinestone stuff. So I got some flock then learned she wanted to put stuff on randomly by hand. I had the flock already though so figured I'd play around with it and see what I could do. I created templates using Inkscape and had pretty good success with cutting the flock. The I set the blade depth as Mz Skeeter preaches and blade sticks out a freighting amount, but the flock is that thick, and I barely cut into the backing. I'm cutting templates for 2.2mm stones but had to size the hold to 3mm in order for the cutter to cut something resembling a circle that the stone could fall into. Weeding was a bit of a pain because the tiny circle cuts weren't closing. If I add some more overcut I might be able to fix that problem. Overall though I'm pretty pleased with how it all came out.

If the answer is no, you might look into Inkscape,

If it works on a second computer, does that computer have the same OS?

Kind of sounds like it could be a motherboard issue. Once you've exhausted all other ideas, might try reloading the firmware on it.

How often to you recut old designs? If the cutter you get doesn't work with SB, just convert the designs as you need them.

That's really weird and I have no idea what could cause it to be outside of the text box like that. What happens if you mirror what you have?

I'd start by setting the blade depth correctly. If the blade is set correctly it is impossible to cut through the backing.

I know you already said VM Cut doesn't do paragraphs, just makes it one long line, but can't you hit return and add lines your self. That's how people had to do it back in the day with typewritters. A touch annoying I agree, but if it's what you have to do to get it to work till someone can find a fix, so be it.

If you can import and old file just fine but a new one you can not, that would indicate the problem is not VM but the file itself. AI is doing something different. My guess is there was some minor update. One of the many reasons i hate auto updates.

Did anything change? That's interesting that it's actually plotting the code. It's as if the part of the code that tells the cutter to follow the instructions is missing and it's essentially "printing" the instructions.

I think what you have there is a poltergeist.

What about if you plug any other USB device in, does that cause the keyboard/mouse to die? Have you tried plugging the Keyboard/Mouse receiver into a different port? Or the cutter into a different port? Sounds to me like you have a computer issue, not a cutter issue.

I'm assuming poll size tells the machine to measure the paper? You still have to remember there is going to be unusable space at the end of the paper that the rollers hold onto and the machine is not going to account for this because in the vinyl world you don't worry about how much vinyl is at the end, you are just going to cut it off and continue to use the roll. You are trying to use the machine as a plotter, which is not what it was designed for and thereby missing some of the abilities a true plotter would have. You seem to be getting pretty close to your goal, but as you've discovered it's just going to be a matter of trial and error to find the settings and conditions that work for you.

I have not used your cutter, but most cutting software cuts as close to the origin as possible. IE if you put a small circle in the middle of your drawing, when you cut it, it will cut at the origin point you set on the cutter. If you want it to cut in the center you need to set your software to WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

They make a mac version of Graphtech Studio so if you wanted to cut out the Windows 7 system from your work flow that should be possible.

+1 Forget about trying to use the USB on the plotter. Go with the serial connection and it'll make your life much easier.

These cutters are not designed to cut through material, they need something on the back side to support the material being cut, ie vinyl. They make cutting mats that you can stick your material to so that the cutter can cut all they way through yet still have a "backing" that holds everything in place. Why are you cutting through the vinyl and backing?