Gypo

SignCut Pro pre cut feed

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I'm new to vinyl cutting, bought my first cutter a week ago and trying things out to see what I'm capable of.

The cutter is a Red Sail RS720C, not an expensive cutter but seems to work fine and will do me while I learn what is what.

The problem is when I tell SignCut to cut a design it feeds about 400mm of vinyl before it starts the cut.  

I have looked at the various SignCut settings but I cant see anything that looks like it will stop it. 

I tried a few things but none have worked, sorry I cant remember which I tried as I tried so many a few days ago.  I have also watched numerous videos on YouTube in the hope someone will in them would help but no luck.

I have wasted a lot of the vinyl I have bought trying settings that wont stop the pre cut feed.

Can anyone please help?

Fingers crossed.

Regards Gypo

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Are you pushing the ORIGIN button on the cutter before you send the cut?  You must, that is where the cutter starts measuring from.  Most cutting software will go to the point of where the design was created first, then come back to finish the order.  I use Flexi software and make large designs,  20" x 96"L.  The cutter may travel 3 ft and start cutting, then come back to the front to finish the rest of the design. 

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I agree with Skeeter. Your software things the zero is 400mm in there. Set origin first and it should say 0 on both the X and Y axis. I don't know much about the Redsail cutter as to whether you control the zero on the machine or in the software. Some are manual some are only by the computer. Both cutters I have owned had could go either way and I choose manual. 

Are you using SignCut Pro 1 or Pro 2? I use Pro 1 and in Pro 1 you can click the scissors button and the page that pops up has a check box to "Use Software Force and Speed Parameters" this is the manual or not spot. If your cutter does not have a way to manually control force , speed etc then this may not even be an option for you anyway. 

The next thing to check is if you then push "preview" before you cut it will show you what your job looks like and the orientation and stacking if it's multiple copies etc. There is been a little video it will play showing the way the cut will go. Sort of fun. On the lower left part of that screen it will give you information about the size of your job and the size of our vinyl (manually entered earlier on the home screen most likely in your case) and at the very bottom it will show you the current position of your cutter which should be 0,0 

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Thanks for the replies.

I am using SignCut Pro 1,  the cutter has the ability to set the force and speed from it's control panel, I set those up when I cut the demo square.

So with your suggestions I know where to look now and what to do when I get there.  The cutter doesn't have a zero button but I'll look in the manual to see if it can be zeroed from the cutter.  Still if the software has it then it doesn't matter if the cutter has it too...

Thanks again, I'll go play again this afternoon and see what I can achieve.

Regards

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It WILL matter a little because if you turn on the software control you'll have to be sure the speed and force are correct. If you have those on the control panel I guarantee you have a way to zero out. It may be named differently but it's there. My budget computer I think I had to put in in offline mode to get to the right options. You should also be able to pre-feed your vinyl back and forth and move your cutter head over if you need to. When done getting it all set right you would zero out. Good luck and it would be great if you took the time to report back. You'd be surprised how often people don't and future searches just find a thread with questions and no final solution. 

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Hi

Not had time yet to get back in the garage to the cutter but I have had a look at Signcut (it's on my laptop) and can't find anywhere where I can set zero (origin).

I'm hoping that when I get it connected again to the cutter it'll appear somewhere in the software.  There is the option to set the speed and force in both the software and the cutter.  The software has a tick box to enable/disable it but from my previous tries with the cutter I don't think the cutter force and speed has the same function.  I guess I'll have to try using both to see what happens..

Thanks again

I'll keep you posted on developments..

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According to the Redsail user manual. When you click OK on the Control Panel of the vinyl cutter, that is your ORIGIN. 

ORIGIN.JPG

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I believe, and I could be wrong, the redsail and the MH cutters have basically the same guts. If that is the case, the force, speed, and origin have to be set on the cutter, they are not software controllable.

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Hi

I have been able to have a play for a while today and it been interesting but not very successful.

Thanks again for all of your help, found the bit in the manual as Skeeter has posted (thanks) and am now doing that.

It looks like you guys are right (and the cutters manual), when offline and after positioning then pressing OK it goes online.

Now when I tell it to cut, it feeds about an inch then the cutting head moves to the far left (looking at the front of the cutter) and stays hard against that side with the blade down.  It doesn't do anything else, SignCut keeps increasing the time left to cut and the progress bar doesn't move.  The only thing to do is to click cancel in SignCut and power cycle the cutter.

I can't think why it's doing that.  In desperation I tried making the image to cut small (200mm x 150mm ish) and set the cutter size to 400mm x 400mm (plus many other combinations)..  But it still does the same, after cancelling in SignCut and power cycling the cutter each time to get control back SignCut keeps resetting the sizes.  Even if I tell it the tile size is locked it changes it back each time.

If I do a preview one copy it all looks OK.

I know this might sound dumb but do I need a driver for the cutter?  I am connecting it to a USB2 port on the laptop and when I do the test cut (square in a square) it does it perfectly, that makes me think I don't need one...

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Can you test cut the SignCut opening graphic? When you start it up there is usually a graphic there before you load in your own. Pick a color and try one of those. If it works then you have something going on with your file. If that doesn't work then you have something set wrong in SignCut or possibly there is need of a driver. I thought SC had the drivers within it though. Dumb question but have you checked the "Cutter" button and made sure the correct cutter is selected and the correct baud rate etc...? 

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Hi Wildgoose

I have not tried cutting the start up graphic.  In fact to start with I didn't want to waste vinyl by doing so but so far that's all I'm managing to do so I'm going to try your suggestion  later on.

With regards to the baud rate etc, I'm using the software with the 'use windows serial settings' selected but have the right settings the cutter needs set too.  I will try using the programs settings too and see what happens.

What confuses me is if I cut the SignCut test shape (a box in a box) it cuts perfectly and so I'm thinking it is likely the file I'm trying to cut.  The file is one I created myself in a CAD program, exported to a PDF and then I used Adobe to convert to an eps file.  If only I had a better way to create a graphic and export directly to an eps file........

So.....

For my next try, as well as trying to cut the startup graphic and alter the serial options is try another graphic from the net (unless someone has one that is known to be a good SighCut file that I could try).

Many thanks Guys

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Could be too many conversions.  Why not design in a vinyl cutter program?  And export  or save as an .eps.     Free Inkscape.org and Free Signblazer can be designed in, and saved or exported as an .eps.   That REDSAIL can even be ran in Signblazer for FREE  as design and cutting software. 

http://www.uscuttersupport.com/downloads/Software/SignBlazer/

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Is signcut a purely cutting program or can you create simple shapes/text with it? If you can, give that a try. Make something simple in signcut and see what you get.

If not I'd suggest Inkscape to design in. It's extremely powerful and best of all free.

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Back again

Just tried to cut the startup graphic and it appears to work fine.  I lifted the cutter in its holder so it didn't actually cut but it looked like it was doing what it should.

After the cutter finished doing the start up graphic I tried to reduce the size of it in the graphic size boxes (top left of the screen) as it's quite big.  back to square one, when I told it to cut the cutter head hit the left side and stayed there, again!

To answer your questions the version of SignCut I have (V1) and it is a cut (or plot) only program you cant construct any sort of drawing / graphic with it. 

When I go to the SignBlazer link SKEETER posted Norton (internet security) blocks access to the site saying the site can't be trusted. 

Does anyone have an eps file I can try to cut? Please....... around 20mm x 10mm?

In the mean time I'll take a look at Inkscape.

Thanks again guys

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Just turn off your antivirus and download it.  It is abandonware.  The owner passed away several years back.  You don't have to activate it anymore. It is unlimited now.   Many many people still use it on here. 

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14 hours ago, Gypo said:

Back again

Just tried to cut the startup graphic and it appears to work fine.  I lifted the cutter in its holder so it didn't actually cut but it looked like it was doing what it should.

After the cutter finished doing the start up graphic I tried to reduce the size of it in the graphic size boxes (top left of the screen) as it's quite big.  back to square one, when I told it to cut the cutter head hit the left side and stayed there, again!

To answer your questions the version of SignCut I have (V1) and it is a cut (or plot) only program you cant construct any sort of drawing / graphic with it. 

When I go to the SignBlazer link SKEETER posted Norton (internet security) blocks access to the site saying the site can't be trusted. 

Does anyone have an eps file I can try to cut? Please....... around 20mm x 10mm?

In the mean time I'll take a look at Inkscape.

Thanks again guys

Any way you can screen shot a view of the computer screen it might help. I use Pro 1 myself so I'm pretty knowledgeable in SignCut.  I am attaching a small left chest logo that should load and cut without issues. It's in Adobe v8 which is SIgnCut's favorite format and it's going to be reversed because its for HTV but for what you are doing that won't matter. It should be exactly 4 inches or 101.6 mm wide. If it's not then you need to calibrate your SignCut program.

A note about workflow, it's best to design the work in the size you want it rather than resize them on the fly. Over the long haul you will find yourself needing to do additional work and trying to remember the specifics of what size you made things months or even days earlier becomes impossible. I save my files off with specific names that help me know which ones to choose without having to open them and check. I this case it's a stacked LC file meaning it's multiple color for a Left Chest and that also tells me it's reversed for HTV. If it was a 4 inch decal I would have called it 4in rather than LC

Ashcraft stacked LC.ai

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What are your plans to design? If you have no other vector programs you might try Inkscape (free) and if so SignCut will cut it's native SVG file as well altho the size may need checked I had some svg files come through mis-sized

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Hi all

Thanks for the file, I'll give it a go tomorrow.

I will try and get a few pictures or even a video of the screen and what happens at the cutter too.

I never thought of using Adobe Illustrator to create files to cut.  I have Illustrator CS6 that I tried to use for a job I was doing for a company a while back, because of the projects milestones I didn't have the time to put in to learn it so I used a package I knew well and converted them to the required format. 

I give Inkscape a go last night and again earlier today I found I'd probably need as much time to get to grips with it as Illustrator for what I need so I think I'll try Illustrator first.

Cutting plans?  Don't know yet, I want to see what I can achieve first then probably nothing grand (but who knows) it'll probably only be for family (grand kids etc) and signs for the aged and / or disabled, I am sole carer for my disabled partner and we have spent a bit on signs for the car etc and have seen where signs would have helped disabled help groups.  So I guess non-profit and sometimes even give them away free...

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Well if you have access to AI it's more robust than Inkscape anyway. I happen to use it myself. It's a steep learning curve but well worth the journey once you get to the top. If you search in the Adobe Illustrator section of the forum there is some good info to help get over the first few hurdles and hopefully making your own files. SignCut Pro 1 actually has a plug-in directly for Illustrator. I personally design on a mac and just offload my design files to a second location via thumb drive so I can have the cutter busy while I work on other things. 

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Much the same as myself (in a way).

Many of the cutter programs (cheap or free) come up in Norton as having a virus in or are dangerous but I'm reassured by many that they are OK and that Norton is false identifying.  I know Norton can as I have had stuff directly from Microsoft that it has alerted, and it has for a couple of windows programs I wrote myself.

Anyway because of that I have an old laptop in the garage just for driving the cutter and move files on memory cards between my everyday laptop and that one.  That way I don't care if it has a virus or dodgy software on it as long as it drives the cutter properly.

Going to try it again in a while once I get my partner sorted and settled so I get a few minutes for myself..

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I have Signblazer downloaded on several different computers, never a problem. I don't cut with it, only use it to help people sometimes.   I use Google, when you click on the the link, it does not open a page, it starts downloading right away, in my left lower corner,  

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Just tried the file Wildgoose sent me in SignCut.

I left all settings as is in SignCut, they could be all messed up but so they would still be if I had changed any.....   The program accepted the file without any complaints.  When I went to cut, it started the cut but it was massive, as it was cutting on a bit of vinyl I had cut before in trying to get things working Ieft it going to see if it would complete the cut.  After cutting just under half the cut (according to the progress bar) the cutting head went far left against the side and that was the end of it doing anything it stayed there.  I had to cancel the cut and power cycle the cutter.

I took a few pictures of SignCut and the settings in the hope my errors can be spotted. 

The T at the end of ASHCRAFT was cut about 8.6cm tall...  Obviously way, way too big.

I've attached the pics, sorry about the size of them, I tried reducing the size of a couple but then I had trouble reading the values on the screen...

 

 

IMG_0886.JPG

IMG_0887.JPG

IMG_0888.JPG

 

 

IMG_0891.JPG

 

 

IMG_0879.JPG

 

IMG_0881.JPG

IMG_0882.JPG

IMG_0883.JPG

IMG_0885.JPG

IMG_0890.JPG

IMG_0878.JPG

IMG_0880.JPG

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Hi Wildgoose 

Just the person I need, a black belt on SignCut, with a bit of luck this'll be an easy one for you. (Fingers crossed tight).

Are the above photos any use to working out what I have got wrong?

Looking at the last one it says the image size is shown as you said it should be but it just doesn't come out that way.  I'm guessing / hoping that it's a setting I have got wrong and it'll be an easy fix.

Many Thanks

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10 hours ago, Gypo said:

Hi Wildgoose 

Just the person I need, a black belt on SignCut, with a bit of luck this'll be an easy one for you. (Fingers crossed tight).

Are the above photos any use to working out what I have got wrong?

Looking at the last one it says the image size is shown as you said it should be but it just doesn't come out that way.  I'm guessing / hoping that it's a setting I have got wrong and it'll be an easy fix.

Many Thanks

SignCut thinks the image is inches wide (approx 101 MM) but it's coming out on your cutter WAY bigger. That would mean you need to calibrate your cutter. OR that you have the wrong drivers but if all the design seems to be correct just the size off I would guess it's a calibration thing. I know there is a spot in there somewhere to calibrate your cutter but I can't remember where it's at and am running off for the night so don't have time to look it up. It could be something as simple as switching your SignCut over to inches rather than MM but that shouldn't matter. SignCut has live tech support that can quickly fix you up rather than trial and error. Go to the website and request support and they will usually get back really quickly. 

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Sorry for the long delay. My kids had volleyball last night. Here is one of your screen shots and I circled the tool to calibrate your cutter. I have never actually needed to use this so beyond knowing it is there for this purpose thats the extent of my knowledge. 

Screen Shot 2019-10-02 at 7.04.51 AM.png

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