Kcross47601

On my old cutter, MH721, I broke my carriage arm at the worst possiable time. If I was you, I'd order 2 just to keep one on hand. It's easy to over tighten the thumb screw and cause it to crack. Super glue will not work very well to fix either, too much pressure in the hinge area. Also, If the problem persists, May want to slow down the cut rate on the cutter and watch how it's lifting while cutting. I had the little magnet in the carriage go bad after a year or so and caused it to cut through the image like the cutter was going nuts. Would lift on power on but was slow to lift on command while cutting. I replaced the carriage which is a little more complex unless you are good at soldering wires. Good luck, Kris

Do all of the good suppliers require a tax ID #?? Where would a newbie go to start out with just getting a few shirts here and there to try out and experiment with?? Kris

I thought about heating but I was the only one there with no access inside. I'm thinking dry app may be the way to go till necessary. I did the image so big to keep both large windows exactly the same so figured one piece was the answer with the skew on "Ole". The one with the close up is a simple 26" on the front door. I believe the glass was much cooler. I was there 3 hours doing 4 graphics. 2 26" on the 2 entry doors and 2 big ones on front windows that are 44" I still believe that maybe dry app would be the key to help. I agree that the specs on adhesive are important, we still have customers to take care of even when it's cold.

Hey guys, I just finished a job where I used a 48" roll of the 8510 translucent etched vinyl. I used the tape that was required ( HT55). When I did the install, I decided to go wet because of the colder weather (45 degrees out) and size of the images (44" square). I used Rapid Tac 2 as my application fluid. I watched all the youtube videos and followed the directions just as they are written. The problem I had was when I let the image sit for a little time to dry, after squeeging, I applied the rapid tac 2 to the paper tape as a release, when I tried to remove the tape, the image was comming with it. It seemed like it wasn't drying or the image wasn't released from the tape. I was able to get it all off and done but was a large hassle and was hard to keep letters from wrinkling. Question is, does anyone have any experience working with Rapid Tac or this 8510 vinyl? What could I have done different? Apply some heat?? I tried to upload a pic but file is too big. Kris

Yeah Dakota, that's what I've been using. Normally if I have to apply a large image, I use a home made soapy water solution that I've used for the last 4 years of doing this but usually never work in cold weather. Heard of Rapid Tac 2 and decided to check out what it would do via Youtube. I ordered a spray bottle of it to use on this project. I believe that the cooler temps is causing the adhesive on the vinyl its self to not stick and maybe some of the Rapid Tac not to dry very quick. The Vinyl looks amazing but now I have a bar in a neighboring town wanting me to do some work over there and trying to get the kinks out of my method since summer is a ways off. Kris

I applied it to glass. I think maybe the colder temps played a part in the Rapid Tac not drying. Had to do the install alone so with help maybe it would be easier.

How can you do a dry application on a sheet that's almost 4 foot square? Dry would have been easier. I squeeged the crap out of it and let it set for about 30-45 min to dry a bit, then sprayed the rapid tac on the tape to release it. It said to do that in the instructions. Was afraid to do dry because of air bubbles and a 15 mph wind today.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152617681669290&set=pcb.10152617681939290&type=1 This is the link to my facebook post after I posted pics of the job.

Cobra Ink seems to have a good price on license plate blanks. I don't know if they are any good or not. I'm still looking into sublimation and haven't taken the plunge yet. Still weighing the costs.

I had the same problem trying to export from SB to SCALP4 and I have a 50" LP2 cutter. In SB, when you slect your image and go to file and export, it may show everything as a black box like something is wrong. Just go to the top of the screen and give it a file name and make sure on the bottom of the screen you save it as a .eps file. When you save it, make sure you note the location. I forgot that step because SCALP will not pick up on just a eps file. It needs to know the specific location. When you find it, it may still show with a SB icon but you can still open it. At this point, it should be able to be cut in SCALP. Depending on your image and size, you may want to go ahead and order a Keyspan. I had trouble with my LP2 cutter mid cycle stopping because of memory issues with detailed cuts. The Keyspan with the cable that came with the cutter fixed that. Just a heads up. Good Luck, Kris

Is it difficult to build the edge lit frames? The lighting looks awsome and I also like the wine bottle you did for your wife. Was she surprised??

I've been having trouble with with a large 44" graphic I need to finish for a new bar opening. If I cut it in a 20" setting, it will cut fine on regular Oracle 651. The finished graphic is on more expensive 48" Oracle etched glass and already have had this issue twice and messed up the final product. The machine stops cutting in the middle of the program when cutting the large 44" image. The laptop says it's sending to cutter and the LP2 says it's cutting. I started off using Sign Blazer and thought it was old software so converted it to SCALP4 and was able to dry run without a blade but in a live cut, it stopped. Thought it was static electricty so rubbed the vinyl with dryer sheets and dry ran it again with N/G results. Seems to stop at different points when it does this. I'm using a laptop hooked by USB to the cutter. Maybe a Keyspan would help? Anyone else ever heard of a mid cycle stop like this?? I work with CNC equipment and programs every day but this is not the high end Fanuc systems I usually deal with. Thanks guys, Kris

Thanks Guys, I ordered the keyspan on USC site before work yesterday ( I work Nights), and it's scheduled for delivery today. Gotta love the USC shipping Dept. Hope to put this issue to rest this afternoon. The weather here is suppose to be sunny and mid 50's Saturday so plan to install all the storefront that day so running out of time. KC

Jay, Do you spray the vinyl or just mist the cutter it's self with it? I may have to pick some up this weekend. What is a good one to use?? I remember back in the old days, mom would use Static Guard and the stuff smelled horriable :-p

It made a run all the way to the end without the blade only once. I thought I had the problem lined out and tried to do a live cut this morning to have it fail again. I've made 4 attempts without the blade in to save on vinyl and it stops at different points. I've also already tried all the usual grounding methods other than static spray. I'm not sure if the rollers have plastic ends either. I did try cutting a smaller image that is 20" and less detailed and it made it fine. Used cheaper white Oracle 651. Dakota, I think when I was typing the origional post this morning I was so aggrivated that I forgot a few things. At $150.00 a 10yd roll, was not happy about wasting 4' of it. In the past week, I've had 3 live cut failures so running low. Deffinately going to lose money on this job but hope to live and learn from it so if I have future issues, I'll know what to do. Kris

+1, I wouldn't mind spending a few bucks on one myself. Looks like a great idea that would save time and headaches in the long run.

Do you just pick up mugs and glasses local at the Dollar store or Walmart or is there a website that you can get them for a better price whosale? I'm looking into tinkering with something like this since I have a blast cabinet I'm not using since I quit powdercoating a few years back and have a bunch od Aluminum Oxide and glass bead.

Also, the Lp2 I'm using is the 50" model. Never had trouble when I used my smaller MH721 28". Cutting the larger size and running out of memory does make sense.

I was thinking that it may also be a cutter memory issue since it seems to stop at different times, like it has a brain fart. I'll go ahead and order a Keyspan on the USC site and see what happens. Thanks guys, Kris

What do you guys use to mask off before blasting? I tinkered before with using scrap Oracle 651 but it wanted to lift.

Hey guys, been a few years since I have had to post on here. Decided to upgrade my equipment a month ago from a 24" cutter to a Laser Point 2 50" and try out the new cutting software SCALP4. I did a few test cuts on SB with the cutter with a 20" square logo and it cut fine but now have a job that requires a logo be 44"sq and when I tried to cut in SB, it cut fine for the first part of the program then the cutter went crazy. The carriage went to home position with the blade down and started feeding material in and out at full speed shredding the vinyl all the way through the backing. I think it's in the SB program and was wanting to try to export it to SCALP4 and try again. I was able to save as eps but it will not open in SCALP. Anyone else heard of any of these issues with either transferring programs or a cutter acting like this?

Thanks for the help Donn, I was able to play with SCALP Sunday and get what I needed finished. After I get the store front done then I'll post pics. It's 2 degrees here today so I can't install till it warms up. Ordered some Rapid Tack 2 which is good for 20 degrees so maybe I can wrap up this project by the weekend.

Ok Don, I'll try to mess with it later this afternoon. I also tried to slow down the cutter and that stopped the erratic cutter issue but then SB acts like it stops responding at the same point in 2 attempts. Cut about 75% of the project then stops mid cycle. Hope that converting to the other program will correct it. Like I said earlier, with a smaller image, it cuts just fine. Unless the memory is too small on the cutter.

On the mugs, when you say "Blasted", are you using a blasting cabinet to etch or another tool?? What media and pressures do you have to run to keep from cracking or breaking the mugs??

I seem to be having about the same problem as others with SB. I have a Refine MH 721 and have been trying to use Elements. I have a Acer laptop with Vista OS. I am using the USB cord that came with the plotter and downloaded the USB drivers off the support section of the site. In my device manager, it shows that it is connected to COM30 but in SB, there is no selection in the cutter menu for com30. I tried using another program, signit, and it sent a test image and it cut that but that was it since it needs inkscape to help it work. I like the layout of Sign Blazer and would rather get it to work but when I try to send something to cut, I get a error message like others have got. Anyone have any ideas?? Thanks, Kris