darcshadow

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Posts posted by darcshadow


  1. If the design is exactly 24" wide, and you are using 24" wide vinyl, your design is probably bigger than the cutter will allow. When you load the vinyl does the cutter detect the edges of the vinyl? If so, it should also report to the software, or maybe on the cutter screen what the width is. My guess the width being detected by the cutter is closer to 23.5.

    Are you allowed to install any software on the computer? There are other Window emulators that could be used to run different cutting software. There is also no reason the computer connected to the cutter needs to be on the university network so there's nothing stopping you from buying a cheap laptop and using it to control the cutter. Or just tell the department that the hardware is not compatible with apple and you are required to run windows to operate the cutter.


  2. The other option would be to analyze the design and figure out a way to break it into smaller pieces. Add in some registration marks to get it all lined back up and you're good to go.

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  3. DXF files are not really cutter friendly. They look like a constant line, but they are actually several line segments and are typically not joined. VM can't do a contour, because it doesn't see a shape to contour cut around. You will need to join all the segments in order to create a shape. I might be as simple as joining the 3 areas circled below or you might need to join every single little line segment. Some software has the ability to automatically join line segments that are close enough, although this can give some funky results some times. I believe Inkscape has this ability.

    If you can get the file as an eps, ai, or svg rather than a dxf that would be the easiest way to go.

     image.png.ced78c8e61feb57304c7e48a814653d6.png.518423248f3fab17c5472541aec4ceb5.png

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  4. This is one of those cases where working for a large company can be so frustrating. You can almost reach out and touch the part yet you can't get it purchased.

    Can you convince your company to buy you a 3D printer? It's a simple design and would be easy to print. I bet with some of the flex able filaments it would work quite well.

    Or just put some tape over the hole and make your own hole that is the same size as the original.


  5. If that's the case I'd try changing the hole size. Some duct tape with a hole punched in it would probably do the trick. The hole might get larger over time but it'd be an easy fix. Or a small circular piece of polycarbonate (Lexan) with a hole drilled in it and then taped in place. You can get 1/16" thick sheets from amazon for about $7. Could probably even cut a circle out of a plastic party cup.

    Another option, and it's bit more extreme, drill small holes in the suction cup part so that it doesn't make an air tight seal. If the suction is strong enough it should still pick up paper.

    • Like 1

  6. I just did a google search for Graphtec F-Mark 1 suckers. First link takes me to a UK web page, https://graphtecgb.co.uk/product/graphtec-f-mark-vacuum-suction-cups/.

    Seems the red/Orange ones you have are for the F-Mark 2. The F-Mark 1 has green suction cups now.

    Looks like the big difference is the size of the hole. You might experiment with making the hold smaller on the orange cups you already have.


  7. Might try running the program using the "As Admin" option. If that works you could then try to figure out exactly where the program is writing and change folder permissions to allow full access to said program. Or just continue using the As Admin option.


  8. With the old laptop, where you using the serial port? And the new laptop you're using USB? If installing the cutters drivers don't fix the problem I'd suggest trying a usb to serial adapter, a good one. The recommended one from users here is the Tripp-lite KeySpan adapter. It's a bit pricy but it is known to work. You might be able to get away with a cheaper one, but I'd stick with Tripp-lite. I've used their cheaper adapters for years one various projects at work and home.