whitecastle

This is very similar for most Refine cutters & Mac. I wrote this thread earlier this year on Mac setp: http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php/topic,22143.0.html

Read my Mac/Signcut/Illustrator setup instructions here: http://forum.uscutter.com/index.php/topic,22143.0.html

All, I wrote the above instructions sometime ago. I thought I would update the information with some additions for the Keyspan USB Serial Adapter. I recently bought the adapter as i was having some troubles cutting large, complex jobs. The cutter would just halt in the middle of the job. Anyway, since installing the and using the adapter I've had no issues. So: If you are having troubles, a Keyspan Adapter may help. You will want Keyspan Adapter #USA-19HS You can find it at many places online, if you are in Canada, which I am, I recommend Memory Express http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX7694(ME).aspx It's a little pricy there, but they are great at price matching - I got mine for about $40 after a match Install the software that comes with the adapter. Stuff will happen and you will see a "New Network Device" dialog asking you to configure. Don't bother. Also installed is a Keyspan Serial Assistant. Open this and it will tell you which two serial port have been installed With the cutter on, and connected, open Signcut. Under Settings, Choose Cutter Select the drop down for "Output Device / Port" choose the port that applies - you should see two: USA19Hf... & Key Serial 1 USA19Hf... worked fine for me. The real unfortunate thing is my Signcut trial has now expired, and even thought I've spent many hours getting it up and running and assisting many others doing the same, because vinyl cutting is just a hobby for me, and my needs are so limited, I can't justify the cost of renewing. Every piece of software I've ever owned, I've bought - and it was mine. I fundamentally disagree on principle with a licensing model for software. So I probably won't be updating this anymore, but ping me if you need help, and I'll see what i can do.

I was using SignCut, but it's now expired and for the limited times I use my cutter, it's not worth what they charge. There has to be something out there for MAC.

I recall a while back some discussions around upgrading the memory - I recently had my cutter stop mid cut on a large, complex job. Can I upgrade the memory? What do I need & where can I get it? thanks.

Make sure the cable is connected - Obvious I know, but I was sending jobs last night and couldn't figure out why it wasn't' cutting. Then I saw the cable wasn't hooked up - Doh. If not that, I'd make sure you installed the right set of drivers. I had no success until I did that. Lastly, make sure Baud is the same in Signcut as on your cutter, and that output device is set correctly. Here are my settings:

I am not running the USB/Serial converter. I decided to give it a whirl before I bought the adapter that is recommended. It worked perfectly after I installed the drivers. It is NOT slow for me with this setup. In fact it's pretty damn quick in my opinion, and I have it set to Normal speed. I can't imagine how fast the Fast setting is. Once you get it working, you'll need to fiddle with the blade setting. grab a credit card and put place it on top of the cutter head. Then dial the blade to it sits about half the thickness of the credit card. YES, half the thickness. Just peeping out the tiniest amount. Then dial the force down to like 50. I'm getting amazingly intricate cuts out of this set up. I would also LOOSEN up the springs for the pinch feeders. Otherwise they will leave an impression on the vinyl. I have mine set to half way through the gold nuts. You'll know what I mean when you look at the nuts.

When considering this cutter, I was confused about all the various pieces of info when it came to Mac setup. So I thought I'd post the easy and few steps it took to get it running on my Mac. I use illustrator partnered with Signcut via USB. (no adaptor) 1. Buy your cutter. 2. Get your cutter. 3. Get your activation codes and download links for Signcut. One year is included with your purchase, and it's a great way to get up and running fast. It *may be in the box with your cutter, but if not, the support team will get you the info you need. Only took 1 hour for me to get sorted as there wasn't any paper work with my cutter.You need to go to http://www.signcutpro.com/Register-Bundle.html and register your bundle. You will then be shown the download links. You are also sent an email with download instructions. 4. Download and install Signcut. I also installed the Illustrator plugin which allows me to send straight to Signcut from Illustrator. 5. IMPORTANT: Install the USB/Serial extensions. This will allow your mac to send commands to the cutter through USB. Select the right one for your OS. These are available here: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm 6. Connect your Mac to Cutter via included USB cable. 7. Fire up Signcut and open an EPS file. Send to cutter. 8. Enjoy. Hopes this sheds some light on how simple it is to get this cutter working on the mac. Cheers.