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graphikta

complete newbie, need help (lots)

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ok, so i just bought the creation pcut ct630.

i am running windows vista home premium (32bit), hp desktop.

i have to use the usb connection since there is no serial port.

i am using the trial of SignCut-X2 right now, but purchased the 3yr subscription i am waiting on.

ok, so this is my first cutter and i have no clue how to do anything. the instructions aren't crystal clear either.

i can't tell if anything is set up right. so i am kinda looking for a complete step by step set up guide.

so far, the thing turns on, i can move the head back and forth, up and down. the blade doesn't respond to the up/dn buttons at all. and that's about it. the signcutx2 does nothing. i can't figure this out at all.

i know i sound pathetic, but honestly, i have had no experience what so ever with anything like this. i have always made something in illustrator, then just cut the vinyl by hand with an xacto knife.

thanks in advance for anyone willing to help me out. if you want to direct me to other links, or email me, or call me, i don't care, i would just appreciate anything!

thanks

charles

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Open SignCut, go to Settings, then Cutter, and let me know what you have for the top 3 selections....

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here are all the settings, incase any of them are wrong.

manufacturer: creation

cutter: PCut CT630

device: usb serial port (COM8)

baud: 9600

parity:non

databits: 8

stopbits: 1

handshake: software (XON/XOFF)

blade offset: 0.30

RTS: checked

CTS: checked

DTR: checked

DSR: unchecked

*no info listed in information box*

use spooler: unchecked

rotate: 90 deg

forward feeding after cutting: 150.00

rewind after forward feed: 120.00

also, i got the blade to drop. the screw was in too tight and holding the blade against the head.

it cuts the "square" when i hit pause twice. but it looks like this:

______________

|                    |

|_______      _| except the corners are connected.

any help from here?

in singcut, is the signcut logo always there when you open the progam? i just hit "testfeed" on the cut out menu of that signcut logo and it swung all the way to the right and hit the red button and stopped. then it said "waiting" then just the device name. i didn't know what to do, so i shut it down. i think the driver is installed correctly now at least.

so with that info, can anyone help me with the next step(s)? thanks a lot!

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thanks for the help so far ken.

ok, so if i try to cut something, the computer is obvioulsy communicating with the plotter because it will roll the vinyl back and send the head all the way to the right and hit the red button, where i just shut it down.

so with that in mind, could i have some more basic set up info please... (sorry to sound so clueless)

1 - where should i position the vinyl (15" roll for testing)?

2 - where should i position the head?

to put it simply, i have no idea how to set this up to even get started cutting vinyl. i feel like someone handed me a car engine and just said "put this together, screwdriver will tighten the screws, good luck".

if anyone could walk me through a simple cut job, start to finish (like setting up the vinyl to after the image has been cut and stops). i really value all the help i can get. thanks in advance!

charles

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i think alot of your questions could be answered & get you up to speed by watching some videos on YouTube ( search vinyl cutter , Creation P cut etc ) . I have a Copam & don't know the differences  .

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hmm, i just set the vinly up all the way to (my) right and put the head right on the edge to the right as well. then hit "online" and it just started cutting. it cut a bunch of lines, a big circle, some boxes, a circle with lines through it, then the word "creation" but nothing is closed, not even close. i dunno.

thanks for the suggestion on the youtube vids. i have been looking through them from the start, haven't found anything to helpful yet.

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Your Welcome , if the section for your cutter isn't answering enough , I guess wait until more experienced members come along .

Good job on your patience  :angel:

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Guest

You want to hop onto our Live Chat so I can walk you through this stuff? That will probably be much easier than doing things this way.

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i was able to live chat a few days ago with levi i think. we got everything working, but in signblazer. signcut wont work here.

soooo, here's my new problem haha.

when i cut something, on some points it will drag the knife maybe 2 or 3 mm into the design. like if it was cutting an odd shape out of the middle of another shape - it will cut a little into the shape that shouldn't be cut into. i tried messing with the offset from 0-30 and it didn't change at all. is there something else i should be toying with to try and correct that?

also, not sure if it's related, but sometimes it will close an object just a hair over from the original line... so when you weed it, there's about a mm of sloppiness. if that is the same thing or if that is something different, i'd like to correct that as well.

thanks for all the help everyone!

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Probably too much blade sticking out fromt he blade holder and not enough pressure on the cutter itself.

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ok, i tried retracting the blade and adding pressure and it made it worse.

here's how it was before i did that (set back to when i first asked).

DSC_0099.jpg

DSC_0100.jpg

DSC_0103.jpg

the last pic shows where it drags too much, into the actual vinyl to keep.

the first two pics just shows how awful the thing cuts letters and also how it doesn't close things right?

any help other suggestions???

thanks

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Woah...

Looks like something is loose on the carriage arm, or the carriage itself, or the blade holder has an issue.

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haha, well any suggestions?

i think i was told i had a different head than what should be on there. i have the one for the lasercut or something.

i can't screw the bladeholder screw in far enough with the casing on it, so the casing is off it.

any idea on how to fix this?

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Can you snap a few photos of how you have the blade holder put in the carriage arm, and how far out the blade is sticking from the blade holder?

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the ARIAL letters are a half inch tall.

here's the pics you requested ken. hopefully you can help.

like i said, the screw doesn't go in if the case is on, so i have to leave it off. kind of stupid if you ask me.

DSC_0103-1.jpg

DSC_0111.jpg

IMG_0075.jpg

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I would still retract more blade and raise the pressure on the cutter. Tough to tell by the photos, but can you tell if there is any side to side play in the carriage arm? It should go up and down of course, but not side to side at all.

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Maybe some loose feed rollers. They should tighten with an alan wrench. Could be a loose feed roller belt or sprocket as well. These you can get to by removing the left side casing I believe.

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