SouthShoreDecal

static issues when its raining

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The other day I was cutting some larger (for me) decals; 12" x 50" and i had some issues with static build up. The cutter (MH721) would sometimes just stop mid cut and other times it would reset or the display would go blank. The cutter is attached to a UPS and grounded to the stand but on a wall to wall rug. It was a fairly humid day and raining pretty heavily. I did some searches and many have not had their plotters grounded (mine is). some had usb issues. could this be a usb issue as it is the connection to the computer and static build up is some how corrupting it? I am thinking no since all of the issues seemed to be only with the plotter as evidenced by the display and head resets. But in anycase would a serial to usb adapter help this? What do others do? not on a carpet? an anti static mat under the plotter? not cut on rainy days? just curious as to what options I have here.

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I had a similar issue with mine for a bit.... mine would cut half way thgrough a graphic and randomly at several diffrent vectors drag a cut to the origin or just stop altogether and reset. Try this if you have a large piece of paper.... like a brown paper bag or something and your pen tool. Load up the paper and the tool, then hit the online button.... press the mode button until you find test- then press online. It should write a bunch of well placed circles and squares with lines and some text that says test mode or something of that nature....

Try this. If it works- its something to do with the communication on your machine. I found out that I had a bad serial to usb adapter that I got on amazon just a month prior. Went to Radioshack, bought a new one and was cutting again in an hour!

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A lot of us have dealt with the static issue. This is an ongoing issue with the US Cutter brand. In speaking with owners of other machines, I get the strangest looks when I tell them about the problem. I bought a Keyspan, another brand of usb/serial adapter, serial card installed in my PC... none of those will solve this problem, as this is NOT a comms problem. I contacted several manufacturers regarding anti-static brushes (i.e. the brushes inside a laser printer) and other static dispersal systems as well as ionic fans. The solution for me has been to keep a dryer sheet (yep I said dryer sheet like Bounty) near the machine at all times. I keep the machine OFF until I have the material loaded, then sweep the areas contacted by the vinyl or vellum including the top of the cutter and the roll of vinyl itself. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.

Good luck

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Get you an anti-static mat. I also have mine grounded 3 times now, using metal angle iron 2 foot long and ground from the cutter.

Along with the plug I have wired into the ground hole of my outlet.

Haven't had any static problems at all since the mat has been placed under the cutter.

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This actually doesn't sound like a static issue. OP said his is grounded and if it was a fairly humid and/or rainy day- static discharge should be at its least. I would wager a fair bet the weather and the issue are purely coincedental and that a problem out of nowhere screams a comms issue.

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For those with static issues after grounding the cutter itself, you could also try attaching a few link chains to the back of the cutter and let them lay on the vinyl, this should eliminate any static buildup in the vinyl

Another thing to note, even if you ground your cutter to the outlet box it may not be grounded, one trick in the electrical field to 'update' older homes is to replace the outlets with grounded outlets but take the 2rd wire and attach to the ground plug. This doesn't work as a proper ground - you need to run new 3-wire cable to fix it properly

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For those with static issues after grounding the cutter itself, you could also try attaching a few link chains to the back of the cutter and let them lay on the vinyl, this should eliminate any static buildup in the vinyl

Another thing to note, even if you ground your cutter to the outlet box it may not be grounded, one trick in the electrical field to 'update' older homes is to replace the outlets with grounded outlets but take the 2rd wire and attach to the ground plug. This doesn't work as a proper ground - you need to run new 3-wire cable to fix it properly

Yup I agree that all ome should be checked. You never know what they left unplugged when they wired it!

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I have been on mission lately to debug a problem I had with parts of my file not being cut.

In summary, it wasn't static or memory but more likely Signcut Pro.

I have a US Cutter Refine MH 721. I running XP and CorelDraw X4. I was using Signcut Pro but was having difficulties on larger file size cuts. It would skip over large portions. Sometimes it would just misbehave. So I grounded everything, didn't fix it. I bought the larger memory, didn't fix it. I installed Signblazer 6.05, fixed. Not exactly sure what the root cause is but has to do with how data is being transfered to the plotter.

Signblazer 6.05 does not have the Refine drivers but I'm using RedSail RS720C which is working very well (note: The DMPL driver worked by the scaling was slightly larger than actual size (1"x1" was more like (1.01" x 1.01")).

After all this research, I decided to make it more simple for newbies. If you want the latest and best version of Signblazer Elements with a crack that gets rid of trial mode, visit www.mystat.com and scroll down to the bottom.

We added a helpful user guide for MH series cutters that addresses memory upgrading, grounding issues, loud printing, rip software and others:

http://www.mystat.com/user-guide-tips-fixes-uscutter-mh.pdf

cheers.

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so far an anti static mat has fixed my problem.

so far = permanently man hehehehehe :thumbsup:

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i'm hopping soo!

Don't be hopping, that will make the cutter jump off the anti-static pad wwwhahahahah :D

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The other day I was cutting some larger (for me) decals; 12" x 50" and i had some issues with static build up. The cutter (MH721) would sometimes just stop mid cut...

Hey SouthShoreDecal, just curious as to what rip software you were using at the time.

Here is an interesting note on STATIC :blink:

Does the weather affect static electricity?

Static charge build-up is enhanced when the air is dry. So, static problems and effects are often noticed in dry air conditions. The air outside can be very dry when the weather is cold and dry. Indoors, central heating or air conditioning can give very dry conditions which promote static electricity. Heating warms the air and reduces its humidity.

Static shocks are often noticed in cold dry weather, especially when in a centrally heated environment, and may disappear when the weather gets more humid. Static shocks may also be encouraged under air conditioning in hot weather.

You'll often find shocks are worst in the winter when the air outside is cold and dry. They may disappear in warmer damper weather.

Reference

So a "humid day and raining pretty heavily" may not warrant additional static.

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