LaserPoint Setup Questions

[Larryc39 0]

You guys weren't kidding on the limited documentation part.  I hope that for an entry-level tool you get the documentation up a couple levels for the hobbyists who would be buying these.

I finally figured out how to adjust the blade depth, it's really messed up compared to the "manual" pictures but I got it working.  Is there a trick to properly set blade depth?  It seems like a LOT of trial and error to get it to the vinyl but not through the paper.

The cuts I have made so far go a little too far into the paper, you can feel the indentations on the back and weeding is a pain.  Also, it seems like the lines are "double cut" and it leaves little vinyl strings on the edges of letters.  How do I cure that.

It came with the SignBlazer software.  Are there any Cal procedures I should do before plotting real works?

What is the use of basket attached to the stand?  It seems like it would "hold" long works made, but the plotter doesn't actually cut the work off the roll once it's done, correct?

Is ther a way to actually see the baud rate?  I got mine working by guessing, but I see no baud rate in the menus.

Also, apart from opening SB and doing a copy & pase, is there a way to cut from Corel V.13 directly?

Finally, what's with the two sets of roll holders behind the stand?  Which holds the vinyl under cutting, and is the other a wraparound or spare roll holder?

[Larryc39 0]

Oh, and for Vinyl I was using SignWarehouse

VOR641-2410-070       ORACAL 641 24X10 BLACK                 (Semigloss)

I also have a roll of VLG-4000-2410-4780M   LG HI-CAL 4000 24X10 MATTE BLACK       for when I get the hang of it and want to really use it.

[sammay21 0]

WOW...now that you mentioned the baud rate...I just noticed that too. I upgraded from their Pcut 25 inch to the Laserpoint because I'm having high hopes for their contour cutting.  Was this an "oops" we forgot to add it on? So far, I just got mine delivered Friday (after Turkey day) and I was able to finally open it up and play w/it...the only thing missing in my package was the manual so now I'm on a mission to print out the manual...wish me luck!

It cuts like the old one and of course...loud as the other one too. I'm waiting patiently for the program so I can see how much more blades I can ruin before I get the hang of it!!

It's a neat plotter and not a bad price.

[Larryc39 0]

I'm thinking that the "double cut" is because I have the object OUTLINED and FILLED when I paste from Corel.  This sounds like what I read on here, correct?

[kenimes 42]

You guys weren't kidding on the limited documentation part.  I hope that for an entry-level tool you get the documentation up a couple levels for the hobbyists who would be buying these.

I finally figured out how to adjust the blade depth, it's really messed up compared to the "manual" pictures but I got it working.  Is there a trick to properly set blade depth?  It seems like a LOT of trial and error to get it to the vinyl but not through the paper.

The cuts I have made so far go a little too far into the paper, you can feel the indentations on the back and weeding is a pain.  Also, it seems like the lines are "double cut" and it leaves little vinyl strings on the edges of letters.  How do I cure that.

It came with the SignBlazer software.  Are there any Cal procedures I should do before plotting real works?

What is the use of basket attached to the stand?  It seems like it would "hold" long works made, but the plotter doesn't actually cut the work off the roll once it's done, correct?

Is ther a way to actually see the baud rate?  I got mine working by guessing, but I see no baud rate in the menus.

Also, apart from opening SB and doing a copy & pase, is there a way to cut from Corel V.13 directly?

Finally, what's with the two sets of roll holders behind the stand?  Which holds the vinyl under cutting, and is the other a wraparound or spare roll holder?

The catch basket for the stand is to catch the finished project, but the cutter does not cut the finished project off for you, you would need to use scissors or an Xacto knife.

The Baud rate on the LaserPoint cutters is always 9600 and cannot be displayed or changed on the cutter, so always set the Baud rate int he software to 9600, which should be the default anyways.

At this time, there is no known way to get the LaserPoint, or the Creation PCut cutter, to cut directly from Corel or Adobe.

The two media roller on the stand are to hold the roll of materil you are feeding into the back of the cutter. The roll of materil goes on top of the two rollers. Some use just one roller however, and run it through the roll of material, then use the end caps to hold it in place.

[Sassy Shirts 0]

The roller question...

That's how I set mine up, not knowing anything of cutters I took the easy route and it appears my guess was correct.

The end guides/pieces simply hold the roll in place - it works well.

Mine cut correctly right from the git go as far as blade depth is concerned - but again, what do I know

I do have some problems with weeding and the vinyl pulling up where it should not but, i'm thinking this is more the material than anything else.

I DID cut a very small design, 1 1/2 inch decal for some xmas ornaments the wife wanted and it cut very well.

Bill

[Dellrose Custom Lighting 0]

What are the typical settings for these units? Pressure? Offset? Speed?I have tried several different settings and still have some little tags on some of my cuts. And some of the straight lines are kinda jagged and I have to use a razor knife tu cut it apart.

Thanks, J. Gray

[haumana 1,220]

I think the only adjustment that I played with was the pressure. I have it set to 60 right now.

It took a few holes through the backing and some "barely scratched the surface" cuts till I got it right (or what I suppose is right). Either way, it took a little bit of tweaking here and there (mostly adjusting the depth of the blade). I wasn't sure if my eyes were ever going to recover from all that squinting in hopes that it would look a little clearer to me 

[cutme 5]

wow! you are cutting at 60? that must be some thin vinyl!  yinyl comes in many thicknesses, for instance; i have some reflective material that is 6.7mil, but most vinyl (in my arlon catalog) ranges from 2-3mi. their fluorescent film is 7mil. as for pressure, my machine won't cut lower than 90, but for the reflective stuff i have to crank it up to about 150 before it goes through to th backing. hope this helps.

bb

[glen 0]

Is the Laserpoint a plug and play unit when hooked up via the serial cable? I can't get a laptop or desktop to communicate with it.

Can someone help me out?

[BannerJohn 1,324]

yes,it is. You shouldn't need any usb drivers if connected via serial. You just have to make sure that the serial port is selected in the sighnblazer setup. That would be com1.

[kenimes 42]

Is the Laserpoint a plug and play unit when hooked up via the serial cable? I can't get a laptop or desktop to communicate with it.

Can someone help me out?

Had you on the phone earlier today and we got you going with the USB connection.

[phrog 0]

Just got my cutter, box was open.     Ken, some tape on outside of the box would help!   I was wondering how many of the aluminum roll end supports with the rubber o-ring are you supposed to get 2 or 4? Machine seems to work fine except Flexi only allows 0.010 blade offset in their software.

Forgot: Cutter is Laserpoint 24 with stand and SB software

[kenimes 42]

Just got my cutter, box was open.     Ken, some tape on outside of the box would help!   I was wondering how many of the aluminum roll end supports with the rubber o-ring are you supposed to get 2 or 4? Machine seems to work fine except Flexi only allows 0.010 blade offset in their software.

Forgot: Cutter is Laserpoint 24 with stand and SB software

Should come with two. Flexi will allow more offset choices, you just need to check the box next to it to make the necessary changes.

[phrog 0]

Thanks Ken!  Saw a creation driver for Flexi I just downloaded that might help too.

[kenimes 42]

[Thumbprint 0]

Just bought the LP 24" with the stand.  Setup was fairly easy, no issues regarding the USB connection that I had read about previously. Not fond of the sign blazer software, it's very tedious.  I do have one question regarding the Test function under the 'mode' option.  I've tried to find what this means throughout the internet and the instructions(which are confusing at best).  My cutter is set at 255. 

I'm mainly using my machine for my drum business.  Specifically bass drum logos and stickers.  I've managed to print this out so far, weeding was difficult and I'm still trying to figure out what vinyl would work best for these applications.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[haumana 1,220]

The test mode will cut a small block in the vinyl so that you can check the depth and pressure to see if the numbers make for decent weeding. Too little and it just scratches the vinyl without cutting it, too much and it'll just cut straight through the backing. It took me a while to get the depth and pressure. I still need to tweak it here and there - depending on the different vinyls that I use.

I'm not sure if I could recommend one type of vinyl over another, but (Banner) John might be the guy to ask. I seem to recall seeing a photo of his workshop which included a drum set.

[Thumbprint 0]

Thanks for the response!

I know I can just press the test button while offline and it will cut a small square.  I can then adjust the press force(which I've set at 120).  But if you actually press the mode button and then scroll through the settings, there is a mode called Test which you can adjust the numerical value up and down.  My default was at 255 but I don't know what that actually signifies? My "instruction" manual doesn't reference anything regarding this mode function.

[haumana 1,220]

Hmm ... never noticed    I usually only tweak the pressure or speed. If I can get it to cut right, I'm not going to mess with what works 

[cutme 5]

i agree; if it works, don't fix it. but it would be nice to know about every facet of the machine. just to have a better understanding, if nothing else.

bb

[routesmith 0]

When you cut on a laser point, should come out of the cutter very easy to weed? How hard should it be, I just made some Army Condensed lettering and I couldnt weed it to save my life?.

I did the test square but it cut clean, the font is more intricate that a square though

any ideas?

WAyne

[cutme 5]

can you post the eps? then someone can try it and maybe come up with a solution. i have found that the more you reduce the size of an image, the more it "skews" or distorts at the cutter. this can make weeding and or just getting a good cut image difficult. i also will spend a lot of time with the node editor to clean up an image before cutting. also when working on a new image, i will put paper and a pen in my machine and draw it before i cut it. this shows me what the cut piece will look like in full size. sometimes i need to move a line or round off a corner, or get rid of a small detail because it isn't a significant one in the cut image. my sign maker friend told me "when weeding text, to weed it from right to left because of the negative spaces" this won't cure all of your weeding problems, but it does make it easier. i don't have any yet, but a really good pair of weeding tweezers would help. i always make sure to have a fresh blade in my exacto knife so i can make any fine cuts.

hope this helps

bb

[routesmith 0]

Sure Ill post it as soon as I get home, I created it from scratch to surprise my boss with a few bumperstickers, hopefully I wont have to make it any bigger. thanks for the tips!.

I have tried 5 cuts of the text and all of them ruined.

thanks

Wayne

[haumana 1,220]

When you cut on a laser point, should come out of the cutter very easy to weed? How hard should it be, I just made some Army Condensed lettering and I couldnt weed it to save my life?.

I did the test square but it cut clean, the font is more intricate that a square though

any ideas?

WAyne

It's kind of funny that way. That's how I initially setup the pressure for my LP too (using the test cut). Then I swapped out vinyls, had to up the pressure and totally forgot to change it back when I went back to my good 'ole white. It weeded way better!

I usually cut Oracal 651 (it's like the least expensive vinyl I can get locally), and now my settings are speed: 60; pressure: 70 - 80. I used to have it as 60. It weeds way better between 70 - 80.

I did also notice that some vinyl just weeds a lot easier than others.