bigtracy 4 Posted March 2, 2009 Wel I did it, after months of researching other cutters on Ebay, etc., I realized I would not be able to beat the value/support of the US Cutter guys!! I just ordered a Refine MH-871 from the US cutter website and also goth the Flexistarter dongle/all driver software! I can't wait til it gets here! I will be using PC with XP Media Center and USB connection. Does anyone have access to a download of the MH-871 user manual in .pdf or other format?? I would like to look thru it while my new cutter is being shipped. I have read all the strories about people having issues with USB, but from what I have read, it appears to be either MAC problems or user error setting it up and not the cutter itself. Plus, for all the people that have reported USB issues withe the Refines, you have to consider how many units have been sold and the # of people that use USB without any problems, you never hear from them. Anyway, if I do have connection issues, I am confident I can turn here and all these great folks on here will have me up and running in no time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BannerJohn 1,324 Posted March 2, 2009 My refine worked fine on USB with no problems. It's just a matter of doing what you are supposed to do,in the correct order,and getting your settings right. You wouldn't believe how many people I have helped and it was just that they didn't install the usb driver. As for the manual...I can't remember but I don't think you would learn any more from it than just reading the forums. Seems like it was just basic set-up stuff. It's the software that needs reading up on. But Flexi Starter is fairly easy to learn. I was using it 15 minuters after I got it set up. And btw, welcome from a fellow Tennesseean. And I have actually been to Athens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigtracy 4 Posted March 2, 2009 Thank you for the insight Bannerjohn. I plan to take my time and make sure it is set up properly, but you guys are great at helping people that can't seem to get it set up right. I have read great things about Flexi starter and am looking forward to using it and I also use inkscape and Roland Cutstudio for vectorizing. I appreciate your help/thoughts and anyone else who would like to chime in!!!!! Anyone? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tlzimmerman 11 Posted March 2, 2009 Congrats...I love my refine, it does everything I could have hoped it to do. My tip that took me awhile to learn....when setting your blade depth get your depth as shallow as you can get away with. My cutter at least cuts much better with less blade and more pressure than more blade and less pressure....doesn't pull up the vinyl near as bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigtracy 4 Posted March 3, 2009 Thanks for the info! Just curious, if you were using Oracle 651, what would you set the pressure to on the refine and what is a good way to set the blade depth? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tlzimmerman 11 Posted March 3, 2009 I am using oracal 651 and 751 currently...and they are different. Honestly setting blade depth and pressure seems to be different on every machine. Start at 1/2 a credit card thickness.....start your pressure at 100 cut a test cut, move it over and do it again at 90 pressure, then 80, 70 60 50 so on........then I just weed them and see how it weeds...how deep its cutting into the backing, find a good range where you are getting clean cuts but barely touching the backing. If you really wanna get fancy once you find that point, pull the blade in just a tiny bit, and see if you can get the same results using just a little more pressure. Like I said I am sure every cutter is different, but there is definitely a sweet spot in there when cutting find detail where it really makes a difference in pulling the vinyl up. Big stuff it really doesn't matter! Mine usually runs about 70-80-90 pressure and less than a 1/2 credit card width sticking out when I really get it cutting good. I need to get more blade holders, every time I get it set I end up having to do some cardstock or something and have to change out blades and depth and start all over. You get pretty good at resetting your depth having to do it all the time though. I also suggest finding yourself a relatively detailed small cut you can use as a test cut.....something more challenging than the test cut from the cutter (just a diamond in a square is what it does on its own). Helps you dial it in further. Good luck...the key really is just to play with it, a test cut wastes like 1.5 inches x 1.5 inches of vinyl, you can do 25 or so easy on a tiny bit of your 24 inch roll, its worth it to take your time and get the thing singing before you start cutting and realize you just did a big graphic and parts of it didn't cut all the way through the vinyl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigtracy 4 Posted March 3, 2009 Great info tlzimmerman, Thanks! I had already thought about getting other blade holders and trying to get one set to cut regular 651 vinyl good and set another one to cut easy weed heat transfer vinyl good. Sounds like that will be less headache than having to readjust the blade depth when I switch back and forth. Have you seen and instruction/manual on here that describes how to adjust all the different settings on the Refine display? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rodger 527 Posted March 3, 2009 Congrats...I love my refine, it does everything I could have hoped it to do. My tip that took me awhile to learn....when setting your blade depth get your depth as shallow as you can get away with. My cutter at least cuts much better with less blade and more pressure than more blade and less pressure....doesn't pull up the vinyl near as bad. + 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tlzimmerman 11 Posted March 3, 2009 No I have not....but its really pretty simple. When the machine is online there is a force + button and a force- button for adjusting force, a speed+ button and a speed- button for changing cutter speed......and when offline those same 4 buttons move your vinyl and carriage for positioning. There is an origin button to set the origine, and an online button to take the cutter online and offline....pretty simple, you will have it figured out in 5 minutes! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigtracy 4 Posted March 3, 2009 What a great help! appreciate it and I am sure I will have more questions when my cutter arrives, which I hope will be soon! I just ordered it yesterday and I hope it will be here this week! Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
