mobileguy

Zen Cut Black - Defect

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Hello,

I purchased the Zencut Black 3 weeks ago and so far have been very impressed by it's quality and speed. We have however found a defect which has caused a loss of time and alot of material. Basically, the cutter makes long diagonal 12-15" cut down the material at strange times. It's generally either A. we have more than 1 copy in the Que or B. we send the cut to Que before the cutter is ready to start. It's been VERY frustrating trying to figure this mess out.

We have tested

PC - USB - ZenCut Black

Mac- USB Keyspan adapter to Serial

Software

Greatcut

SignCut

Called and spoke to Support and have noted a USB defect and offered to send a $39 USB signal booster cable to try and fix the problem they state is with the USB and it's connection to the Motherboard. *NOTE: this also occurs with the serial is I'm thinking it's a software or hardware issue.

I hope USCUTTER can replace this or send me a comparable working model like Graphtec or Roland. I really like this cutter but it seems to have a very Major flaw.

Here is a vid I just made and you can sorta makeout the big long diagonal cut it made. I have around 20 feet of material wasted with pics if anyone wants to see or would like more vids.

http://tinypic.com/r/2ywha8y/7

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I honestly think that it is software/driver related. I have had my Zencut Black for about 6 months now and first started out using my old laptop to send jobs to the cutter. I experienced many different weird things happening and sometimes it would loose all connection to the cutter. I found that rebooting the computer would fix things temporarily. My old laptop is a 32bit Windows XP. Recently purchased a new laptop (64bit Windows 7 Home) and have had no issues since. It did take me a little bit to get it up and ruining on the new computer. Just had to change one thing with the cutter and a few things in the print driver. Now with that being said... I do not know if it is the new computer, operating system, or that its 32bit or 64bit. Your guess is as good as mine, It just seems that some combinations tend work better.

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All new computers

Win 7 with 64 bit

MacBook Pro OSX

Serial and USB

The support rep did mention this is a known defect and it doesn't effect every machine. When I asked for a exchange he said it's impossible for them to know which ones have the issue. So they sent me a $39 USB Booster Cable which of course will not fix the problem because we too are experiencing this with serial.

It's not a driver or software issue. As stated in the first post the support rep did confirm a known defect.

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I should also mention a USCUTTER rep did remote desktop into the PC and confirmed all settings were correct.

We have tired GreatCut & Signcut both on PC and Mac and in addition have used both Illustrator and Corel files both work fine on a Roland GX24.

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Received this yesterday from USCUTTER.

I really hope this USB cable extender works. I will test and report back.

We have seen this defect in some of our machines and the only fix that we have found is within the USB Extender cable. Even though you are using Serial the problem is caused by too much electric noise at the input of the data into the cutter. When ever a single bit of data is missed it will cause this exact diagnol line across the cut. If you give this a try and the cutter is still not functioning correctly we will have to look into possibly replacing the machine.

___________________________________________

Tom Lockhart - Customer Solutions Division

1.888.298.8143

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In the 3 years I have been in this site , I have read many difficulties with using a laptop . Maybe try a desktop to see if any change ?

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Got the "Cable Extender" from US CUTTER.. DID NOT WORK!

This cutter is going back this week unfortunately. The sad thing is that USCUTTER did admit a HUGE defect in the machines and said they can not determine which machines had them. Thanks USCUTTER for wasting our time and money on these defective machines. However, we're not giving up we'll try another machine in an effort to see if the said machine is just a lemon. Note* It gets worse after time.

Recommendations: We would NOT RECOMMEND Zencut Black and wish we would have had the money to purchase and or upgrade to a Roland or Graphtec.

Uscutter does have great support but didn't seem at all concerned with the defect.

Still having this problem. It seems to be getting worse. Vids Below

http://tinypic.com/r/4ufdx1/7

http://tinypic.com/r/108ac11/7

http://tinypic.com/r/14w4qwj/7

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wish we would have had the money to purchase and or upgrade to a Roland or Graphtec.

am I missing something here? The price difference between the Graphtec and The Zencut black is less than $100 for the 24" models.

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But not including the Media Catch Basket which is +$400

We didn't pay the retail for ZenCut. About $300 less.

So about $700 here..

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Seems like $700 isn't a lot considering the prices of the products you are selling. Is the catch basket really worth the $400 you saved? I got rid of mine..it took up too much room and I kept bumping into it.

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We actually like the catch basket.

It's really a catch 22 at this point. The material we cut is PVC which is very thick and thats where the 600 grams of down force helps.. We'll try another Zencut black out in hopes it will be defect free. We really want to love this machine!

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You should have asked USC to unpack and TEST it before shipping. They will do that.

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You should have asked USC to unpack and TEST it before shipping. They will do that.

I would never think to ask that. It is good advice though.

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You should have asked USC to unpack and TEST it before shipping. They will do that.

great idea

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Guest

The "defect" in the machines is USB ONLY.  This machine seems to have something else going on and I would still say the Zen Black is a great cutter.

The only issue it has is the USB communication occasionally being interrupted and the factory has a change in the design that fixes it.  They have already implemented it in the manufacturing process.  The booster cable does fix the "defect" you mention and this is why I believe the machine has some other issue.  It could be an internal problem with the cutter (I suspect it is).

I would make contact with support for an RMA or WCA to either get you a replacement component or have the machine repaired.

You can open a support ticket at https://support.uscutter.com/hc/en-us or cal 888-298-8143

USCutter Support Team.

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Thanks! Great Support.

We look forward to having a correct working machine very soon.

Dakotagrafx-

We didn't pay the retail for ZenCut. About $300 less THAN RETAIL..

Please read.

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I am just curious how thick this Pvc stuff is , that you are trying to cut?  Glad it working out for you 

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But not including the Media Catch Basket which is +$400

We didn't pay the retail for ZenCut. About $300 less.

So about $700 here.

  so you paid 1200?

Glad to hear you are getting it replaced and hopefully it will cut what you need.  if the Roland won't cut it - it scares me to think a GCC will

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I'm still waiting for someone that is not a salesman to tell me how great they are compared to other cutters.  you could be the first with a GX-24!

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there have been positive reviews of the ZenCut. Look for them. Its just as bad to put something down that you have no experience with as it is to build it up. The sun don't shine out Roland's ass,in spite of what some people think. Go to the Roland Forums sometime if you want to see complaints about the Rolands. There are plenty. Just as there are every other cutter made.

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I have nothing against the zens - just would like to see a review by someone with experience with the other high end cutters to compare them - an unbiased review!  this could be that guy when he gets a good running machine as he has had experience with both

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