Sign Blazers Elements - Cutting a large image in to multiple sections

[Pebbles1488 6]

I have a design that needs to cut in 2 tiles.  The first tile cuts fine, the second tile starts to cut, then starts cutting a straight line down the roll of the vinyl, just feeding and feeding.  How do I fix this?

 

[darcshadow 1,626]

Most likely either a memory or a static issue, I would guess static.

[Pebbles1488 6]

Any other ideas?  Because the static issue got handled.  It works fine EXCEPT on a multiple tile cut.

[darcshadow 1,626]

Could be a software problem I guess, never tired cutting tiles with SB. You could always manually break up the image and make it so that it will fit on your vinyl.

[Jburns 239]

Tell us the cutter that you are using, and method of connection ( USB or RS-232)?  Are you cutting tiles due to large file size?

[Pebbles1488 6]

I have 12" vinyl, my image needs to be larger than the vinyl.  My cutter is the Refine MH721.  It's connected via USB

[signyouup 178]

Do the tiling in the design software so you can break it into 2 separate jobs.

[mb20music 760]

Maybe try doing something like this....

http://screencast.com/t/shXCnJRES1

[Pebbles1488 6]

I am trying to cut this.  It cuts the 1st tile fine!  Gets to the second tile, starts to cut fine, then starts cutting a single line for miles down the roll of vinyl until I press reset.  It won't finish cutting the second tile properly.

[Pebbles1488 6]

I am having this problem with EVERY multiple tile cut I do.  The first tile cuts PERFECTLY.  The second tile starts to cut perfect then all of a sudden starts cutting a straight line across the roll of vinyl while it just keeps feeding away.  It's not a static issue, but I don't know what to do!  I have to get this 4' x 8' sign done this week and I'm so frustrated!!

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

identical to the post you made on this same issue - did you ever try saving the sections as separate jobs and cutting them seperatly like was suggested?  Your cutter has the least memory of any of the cutters offered (part of the value cutters trade offs to be lower in price) - so if you save as 3 different jobs and turn your cutter off between segments it will clear the memory and probably cut fine

[Pebbles1488 6]

Can you tell me how to save as separate sections?  I tried the video that was posted, but because the image is not identical, it was not working. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

not positive in Signblazer - in flexi I can actually click on the different segments and just cut one at a time - and if I was using a value cutter would do that for each segment - turning the cutter off before moving to the next segment and clicking on the next on - again I don't use signblazer day to day and haven't for years so will have to l wait for someone that does to  come on and respond

it has been probably 7 years since I used signblazer

[Pebbles1488 6]

Ok, let me try the turning on and off option.  I am just SO beyond frustrated with this and just need to make this darn sign!  LOL

 

[Pebbles1488 6]

Ok, turning it on and off didn't help.  Shoot. 

[Pebbles1488 6]

I have been having issues with tiles not cutting properly, so I need to figure out how to cut an image that is too large for my 11" vinyl, in to sections that will cut seperately so that I may piece them together once they are cut. 

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

All 3 post on this same subject have been merged together so all info is in one place - so it this thread looks a little different it is because the same issue was posted 3 times and all info is now in one place

[Wildgoose 4,200]

Deanna. You are going to have to get creative. When a job gets tiles it generally needs a certain amount of overlap. I use 1/4" minimum but you can use more. So on your design you will want to cut the design at the spot that will leave give you the correct width for the tile and then extend cut edge on one part by 1/4" to 1/2" to allow for the two halves to overlap during your build. Save each one off as a separate cutting file and cut it like two jobs.

As mentioned earlier, you have the very cheapest of all the cutters available. Expecting commercial results from the lowball cutter and the free (ancient) cutting software is unreasonable. It CAN be done but it will take some ingenuity on your part to get it there. Look on the bright side, when you finally get this figured out you will be that much farther along in your skill set than you would otherwise be. Many of us on the forum started out with budget models and I KNOW I and most of the forum could come by your place and whip that out in 10 minutes so it's within the realm of possibility. Using 12" vinyl for a large sign is your first mistake. Obviously. Next time you buy vinyl you will better understand the potential work involved with trying to tile a larger job and probably make a better choice to go with wider material. You can usually save the extra width if you are doing smaller stuff the rest of the time. I rarely buy even 15" vinyl because it's such a pain to tile jobs compared to just cutting the whole thing. Good luck with it. If you continue to struggle with it post the working file and I'll chop it up for you this time. Just make sure it is in a format that can be opened like an SVG or EPS because I don't use SB. 

[darcshadow 1,626]

In SB you will want to draw a box over the area you don't want to cut and then use the punch command. This will delete all but the portion of the drawing you want to keep, you'll need to delete the box I believe also. Do this 3 times with a bit of overlap on each one and cut the image as 3 separate cuts. I would also suggest making the boxes cross the design at the small points like in the drawing I'm posting. Also, I would suggest adding alignment marks, I like diamonds, to help line everything up when you piece it together.

[skarekrow 1,842]

Here a couple of past threads that may be helpful. They're not SignBlazer specific but, the basic procedures are the same;

 

[Pebbles1488 6]

All of you are awesome!  Thank you so much for the help!  It worked!!