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So I have a MH1351 and I am using the SignCut program that came with the cutter. Something I have always had a problem with is cutting large graphics (ie 40" or longer). Usually what happens is if it is a large shape, the start and end points of the cut won't be connected. This isn't the end of the world usually because I can just finish it up with a knife and make it look fine. However, I recently made a Chevy logo for a friends garage and it came out really really bad. The ends weren't connected like usual, but when I went to hang it up on the garage, this is how it looked: You can see how uneven the widths of the horizontal parts are. They should be the same size but are almost an inch different in width. The file is fine, I have used the same file for smaller logos and they come out no problems. I measured the widths inside of Corel and they are identical. What is causing this? I'm tired of wasting vinyl on large items because of stuff like this. I am ready to throw this cutter out the window!!! :why: :why: :why: Any help is much appreciated!!!!!!

Here are my details: 50" Refine Plotter Windows XP Pro USB Connection CorelDraw for creating AI Files SignCut X2 for cutting Oracal 651 White Fresh blade, 80lbs force Tried speeds from 8-> 24 same result I have the 50" Refine cutter/plotter and I recently got a request from a friend for some decals and his local car club chapter. He gave me a JPG of what he wanted and I recreated with Corel to make an AI file for SignCut. The decals are 2"x7" so the text and stuff is pretty small. My problem is that it seems that on most of the shapes, the cutter isn't completely making a full cut, and when I go to weed, a lot of the little stuff gets pulled up because it isn't completely cut. I know the file is fine because I've done similar stuff with larger graphics and don't have a problem. It seems to just be with this smaller stuff. So here is the picture of what I am cutting out. I am weeding out all of the black stuff. Some of the things that always get pulled up are the little pieces of the 'F' and "E" characters. Also some of the little round headlights do too. And it's ALWAYS the same pieces, in every cut. So that tells me it isn't just a fluke and its either the software sending the wrong commands or whatever or the hardware not working right..... any ideas? I can send someone the AI file if they want to give it a shot on their plotter. Thanks!!! Mike

Hey all I have the 50" Refine cutter/plotter and I recently got a request from a friend for some decals and his local car club chapter. He gave me a JPG of what he wanted and I recreated with Corel to make an AI file for SignCut. The decals are 2"x7" so the text and stuff is pretty small. My problem is that it seems that on most of the shapes, the cutter isn't completely making a full cut, and when I go to weed, a lot of the little stuff gets pulled up because it isn't completely cut. I know the file is fine because I've done similar stuff with larger graphics and don't have a problem. It seems to just be with this smaller stuff. So here is the picture of what I am cutting out. I am weeding out all of the black stuff. Some of the things that always get pulled up are the little pieces of the 'F' and "E" characters. Also some of the little round headlights do too. And it's ALWAYS the same pieces, in every cut. So that tells me it isn't just a fluke and its either the software sending the wrong commands or whatever or the hardware not working right..... any ideas? I can send someone the AI file if they want to give it a shot on their plotter. Thanks!!! Mike

Details SignCut x2 version 2.19 (just updated to see if that would fix it, and it doesn't) MH-1351 Tried both USB and serial interface Windows XP SP 2 So I have a MH1351 and I am using the SignCut program that came with the cutter. Something I have always had a problem with is cutting large graphics (ie 40" or longer). Usually what happens is if it is a large shape, the start and end points of the cut won't be connected. This isn't the end of the world usually because I can just finish it up with a knife and make it look fine. However, I recently made a Chevy logo for a friends garage and it came out really really bad. The ends weren't connected like usual, but when I went to hang it up on the garage, this is how it looked: You can see how uneven the widths of the horizontal parts are. They should be the same size but are almost an inch different in width. The file is fine, I have used the same file for smaller logos and they come out no problems. I measured the widths/heights inside of Corel and they are identical. What is causing this? I'm tired of wasting vinyl on large items because of stuff like this. I am ready to throw this cutter/software out the window!!! :why: :why: :why: Any help is much appreciated!!!!!!

Thanks for the write-up and that is exactly what the problem was. For large stuff now, I just do what you said and cut the vinyl off of the roll for the desired length. and it works much better. Anything under 50" or so I actually just cut with the vinyl fed sideways, and it eliminated this problem completely. Thanks again. Mike

Ok, I think you are right kenimes in that it is vinyl drifting. I tried unsucessfully to get the vinyl to feed out in the same spot the whole way (about 55"). No matter what I did, it would not always come out straight, the closest I could get was 1/4". Sometimes it would feed out straight and then start to drift. Sometimes it would drift and then when I went back in with it it would drift. It does not seem to be very consistent. I never messed with the pinch roller settings. They are the same as they were when i bought the plotter. Is this causing the drift? I am getting very frustrated with this thing. I was able to get my friends logo done, but I had to cut a 50" length of vinyl and put it into the cutter sideways for it to cut it out right. This is not going to work for things larger than 50" though.

I assume they are the same tension, but how do I check for sure to be sure 100%? I am using 24" vinyl, there are 4 pinch rollers and I am using 2 on the first feed roller and 2 on the second feel roller as close to the edge as I can be, but still positioned over the "grit" part. That is the proper setup, correct?

Yes the carriage is on track.

Anyone?

I have only tried the SignCut program.

Ok, thanks, I will look at it a little later when I get back into my shop. I hope this takes care of it. Mike

Hello I have a Refine MH1351 SignCut X2 Windows XP Pro SP2 USB Connection Whenever I try to cut multiple copies of something in SignCut, I run into some issues. Basically what happens is not all of the copies are cut the same. I usually have problems with cuts not being closed all the way or just the way it cuts a copy is just wrong. I'm cutting some 5" x 5" decals and want to do 25 of them at a time. Basically the futher away the plotter get from the origin when its cutting, the worse the cuts are. On this last batch I just ran, all of the decals on the far column were cut incorrectly and are unusable. Of the 25, only 17 were cut properly. Is this somethign with SignCut or what should I try to do to fix this? Thanks, Mike

How do I check the carriage to make sure it is where its supposed to be? I will check the feed rollers and make sure they are all tight. I have also had problems cutting large things as well. Like I have tried cutting out rectangles a certain width about 30" long and a lot of the times when it goes to close the rectangle it usually "misses" the spot where it started the rectagle so I have to use a knife to finish what it started. It can get very frustrating. Is this the same issue?

Thanks Bigmac, I will give that a shot and see what I come up with. I tried setting the offset to 0.020 and it seems to have fixed the initial problem, but now the decals looks like crap. There are little burrs sticking out everywhere on the decal, so that isn't going to work.

Yeah, I know I can do it with patience and a knife, but I don't want to do the cutting that is what the machine is for. Plus if he wants 20 or 30 of these at a time, that is a LOT of time with the knife and weeding, when it should only take a few minutes to weed and another few minutes to tape and cut. I will play with that offset and slow it down....but I guess I'm not going to keep my hopes up. Seems like there are others with the same issues.... :-

dgreen, well that image above I was cutting to 2"x7", so whatever that is worth. I will try the offset setting. Where exactly is that and what should I try and set it to?

Hey all, I just purchased my first vinyl plotter here a week or so ago. I got te 48" Refine model, and so far I am pretty happy with it. I have been using SignCut and have made a few decals so far so I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. My sister is a graphics designer so I was able to get a copy of Corel Draw X3 from her and that is what I've been using to make the vector files for SignCut to use. Anyways, the main question I have is this. Let's say I have a company who wants to buy a bunch of the same decal to hand out or sell or whatever. I would want to cram as many of them onto the vinyl as possible as to not waste any. What is the easiest way to do this? Should I make an AI file that has a bunch of copies of the same decal over and over? Is there an easy way to tell SignCut I want the same thing cut out multiple times without wasting a bunch of material? I saw there was a number of copies option, but I wasn't really sure how this worked. Another question I have is about layering. Is it really as simple as making the decal in Corel with mutiple colors, bring it into SignCut, put in some of those reference points and cut out the different colors? I think that is all I have for now. I'm sure I will come up with some more questions a little later on. Thanks for any tips!