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Chalyons3

PCUT and MacBook Pro

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I know a lot has already been said about this issue but I just wanted to make one last effort before I give in and spend $40 extra for a Keyspan cable.

I have a MacBook Pro running OS X (10.4.11). I am hoping to use Adobe Illustrator CS3 and SignCut-X2 with my PCUT Creation CTN630 I bought from USCUTTER. I downloaded a trail of SignCut-X2 to test it out and so that I don't needlessly spend money on something that isn't going to work. I downloaded the VCP driver 2.2.9 (Mac OS X Intel) and it restarted my computer. I went to "System Prefereces" -> "Network" -> and turned on "usbserial-0000103D". I opened SignCut-X2 and clicked on the "Cutter" button I set the Manufacturer (Creation), Cutter (CTN630E), and device (/dev/cu.usbserial-0000103D). Whew!

I turn on my PCUT and plug it into my USB drive and nothing happens. My computer doesn't recognize any new hardware and I can seem to get any response through SignCut no matter what I do.

Do I have to buy the Keyspan or is there anything I can do to make this work? I've read that this setup should work but I've also read that you HAVE to use a Keyspan cable.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated, especially from someone with the same setup.

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From what I understand, you load the Mac driver, then plug the USB cable in and the selection shows up in SignCut that reads devUSBSerial000000. I have never heard of someone having to "turn on" the usbserial, and devcu.usbserial-0000103D just sounds different.

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I'm not sure if you own a mac but if so, go to the "Network" settings in "System Preferences". In the "Show" drop down box select "Network Port Configurations". Multiple ports show up with check boxes next to them (Airport, Bluetooth, Built-in Ethernet, etc.). One of those is usbserial-0000103D. Not sure if that clears anything up.

I haven't read anything about doing this except in FTDI's Mac_OS_X_Installation_Guide for their drivers so I figured it was a good thing.

Has no one out there used a PCUT with a MacBook Pro? I figured that it would be a fairly common setup.

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I have an IMac for testing with SignCut and our cutters and once I installed the driver, I just plugged the USB cable in and opened SigNCut, and there was the selection for the Device that looks like: devcu.usbserial-A5001Ww4

I did not have to go to Network Port Configurations to turn on anything.

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I'm also using a MacBook Pro with the PCut and SignCut X2.

I've been running it for a few weeks with the USB connection without any real trouble.

I didn't install from the disks (as I still haven't actually received them) but when I first downloaded the trial version I found I had to go and download a new driver for it... I searched this site for SignCut driver and got a link to the most current one. After that, it showed up fine in the cutter window in sign cut, but it sounds like you are already seeing the device in that menu.

I've never changed anything in the Network settings under system preferences, and my computer doesn't even show the usbserial-0000103D option in there like you mention. The only place I see the driver listed is after clicking on "cutter" in Sign Cut.

One thing to check... Is your cutter in "Online" mode?? That was one thing I found tricky....if you make cutter adjustments using the keypad on the cutter, and don't turn it back to online mode, Sign Cut will not communicate at all. It won't give you an error message, but nothing happens. Once I figured that out, it's been cutting fine since. I always plug my USB cord into the left hand USB port on the MacBook Pro. Not sure if there is a main port on that machine or not, but I have had good success with that port.

I've been doing some complex cuts using this machine and the USB port with no trouble (did I just jinx myself). The key seems to be remembering to turn it back to online mode for me.

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ransomsix,

Thanks for the advice! I was worried that I wouldn't get any helpful responses from this forum. I'm going to try few things as soon as I get back to the machine. Thanks again!

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FYI,

Today I was moving some stuff in my studio around, so I did a couple tests. On the Macbook Pro you have USB ports on the left and the right of the keyboard (two total). I've always used the left port, and had no issues. I gave the right a shot today, and had no success. Also, I was able to successfully cut several times using a 10-foot USB cord extension, in addition to the stock USB cord. I did several complex cuts, using the extension, and the left hand port and the machine worked fine.

This is using the PCut 630 Machine, Macbook Pro.

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