Odd Contour-Cut Behavior: LP24 and SignCut ProdPro

[NukleoN 34]

I'm just posting this here since the 'Instructional Contribution' area is a ghost town. I kinda need some educated input soon!

Here's the issue in a nutshell: I was able to contour cut just fine for a few weeks, and now I am having an issue with contour cuts being off by about 2mm below where they should be. I can't seem to find what I am doing wrong, since I've eliminated about as many variables as I can think of.

I've been contour-cutting printed graphics on Papilio paper, using an LP24 with a 45-degree CleanCut

[kyjeeper 1]

Your pen and your blade have different offsets (pen will always have a .000 offset, whereas blades can vary depending on each blade).  You mentioning knowing the proper offset, but I don't see that you've tried it.  I would tinker with your offset and see if that nets you anything closer to register than you're getting now.

Bottom line is if your pen is getting it perfect, the file is likely perfectly fine. Try adjusting the offset in small increments with some scrap to see if it gets you a better result.

[NukleoN 34]

Your pen and your blade have different offsets (pen will always have a .000 offset, whereas blades can vary depending on each blade).  You mentioning knowing the proper offset, but I don't see that you've tried it.  I would tinker with your offset and see if that nets you anything closer to register than you're getting now.

Bottom line is if your pen is getting it perfect, the file is likely perfectly fine. Try adjusting the offset in small increments with some scrap to see if it gets you a better result.

Thanks for the response, Ky.

I did just try .25mm offset with a blade cut, but I don't see any improvement from the error I've seen with zero offset. It looks like every single cut is centered, but 2mm or so below where it should be. I realize that the blade needs the offset to spin properly, but I was getting perfect contour cuts a few days ago with zero offset. Confounding, isn't it?

I agree that if the pen can create a good contour then the file is probably ok, and my registration is probably ok too.

I'll try some different offsets..it's just a little odd that it's so far off all of a sudden. What are some good values to try? The offset maxes at 1 doesn't it? I'll try moving up from .25 and see what happens.

Just a little more info about my setup: I am also using a Keyspan, so my connection has been pretty rock-solid, and the cutter is grounded to an outlet via screws as recommended in other threads, and it's on a stand I bought with the cutter so it's pretty stable.

All ideas are welcome, either to corroborate the theoretical fix or possibly help with anything I may have missed.

[kyjeeper 1]

Hope you get it sorted out. I recall a few months into having my Vinyl Express plotter that it suddenly stopped cutting like it did, and I had to find a new offset in order for it to work properly.

[NukleoN 34]

Hope you get it sorted out. I recall a few months into having my Vinyl Express plotter that it suddenly stopped cutting like it did, and I had to find a new offset in order for it to work properly.

Thanks I suspect it was an anomaly that my cutter was working ok without an offset after I calibrated it with the pen.

Maybe this situation was unavoidable. I'm gonna try some extreme offset changes and see if it makes a difference and then narrow down from there.

[NukleoN 34]

Well, I got it working. I went back to a known-good file and just cut it as a baseline test and it cut fine. Then, I brought in my new art and cut it again and it cut ok.

It's still odd to me that the problem file didn't work with the blade, but worked with a pen, and the old known good file works with the blade too. Ah well, let's hope the cuts remain consistent. Unfortunately, I still don't know exactly what the difference is in these files other than the thickness of my contour/registration box and the fact that I cut the graphics on the bottom of the print this time rather than the top. (I always print at the very top or bottom just so I can flip around and re-use the paper if I need to print/cut more images).

[windasm 0]

Would it be a star shaped object you are trying contour cut?

I know some of my older graphical software is screwing up a bit when saving a star shape image. I can create a circle with a star directly in middle using 2 layers. If I save each layer as a seperate image and then open them up and paste one over top the other the star will be off to the right a bit.

I'm thinking this is some kind of driver issue with vista or maybe my vid card drivers.

[NukleoN 34]

Would it be a star shaped object you are trying contour cut?

I know some of my older graphical software is screwing up a bit when saving a star shape image. I can create a circle with a star directly in middle using 2 layers. If I save each layer as a seperate image and then open them up and paste one over top the other the star will be off to the right a bit.

I'm thinking this is some kind of driver issue with vista or maybe my vid card drivers.

Heya,

Nope, just cutting simple ovoid and circle shapes. There could indeed be some anomaly with Illustrator and sending to SignCut, which might explain why one otherwise properly setup file doesn't cut right and another does. I'm gonna do more cuts today and see if I can get nice cuts using the known-good file. Could be just some weird glitch in that one file.

Thanks for the idea and feedback.

[Guest]

Nuke,

In the future if you are having troubles getting assistance just give me a call and we will work it out. Sounds like you got it worked out this time though. If the problem comes back just let me know and I will give you a call.

[NukleoN 34]

Nuke,

In the future if you are having troubles getting assistance just give me a call and we will work it out. Sounds like you got it worked out this time though. If the problem comes back just let me know and I will give you a call.

Thanks Levi, I appreciate that.