mh365

[maddog44 0]

carriage wont return to home/reset after cut

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

Where is the carriage ending up at after the cut now? More info needed.  Most people want the carriage  to end up at the end of the cut design, so they can cut the design off from the rest of the roll... That operation is in the cutting software. "Advance after plot" or similar message to get there. Or not to "Advance after plot", either way it should be in your cutting software. You don't state which cutting software you are using. 

[slice&dice 2,450]

Returning to 'home' (reset) would be a movement of the media to the beginning of the design outline, rewinding the vinyl to the start point (origin).

[maddog44 0]

 

Where is the carriage ending up at after the cut now? More info needed.  Most people want the carriage  to end up at the end of the cut design, so they can cut the design off from the rest of the roll... That operation is in the cutting software. "Advance after plot" or similar message to get there. Or not to "Advance after plot", either way it should be in your cutting software. You don't state which cutting software you are using. 

it ends at final cut location.  I am using an older flexi 5 software.  I have a 721 set up as well and have all the same settings.  the 721 returns to start 

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

How old are those 2 vinyl cutters? The MH series of cutters had the boards changed in them about 4 times I think. Maybe more. They may not even have  the same boards in them. One may work with the old Flexi 5 and the other may not. Good luck on trouble shooting 20+ year old software.  . 

[slice&dice 2,450]

Cutters stop at the end of the cut, as the carriage slides to the right and rests there.

The vinyl should not rewind to the beginning point (origin, or Start).

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

 

Cutters stop at the end of the cut, as the carriage slides to the right and rests there.

The vinyl should not rewind to the beginning point (origin, or Start).

 Slice,  Maddog44 and I, do know what we are talking about. You have probably never even seen or used Flexi software. With Flexi software, you CAN do that. I use the feature  all the time.   As stated above, Uncheck Advance after Plot.  The design is cut, vinyl rolls down and goes back to the start and the carriage head goes back to ORIGIN. The first design is cut and hanging. I mostly use this with long mirrored stripes, or 2 long mirrored designs on the roll. The 1st design is done and comes back to the Start/Origin position.  Then in my cutting software,. I flip/mirror the design. Then I use the ARROW key to move my carriage head to the left with enough room for the new stripe/design on the vinyl roll. Decals will be side by side mirrored.. Push ORIGIN again., then go in and check ADVANCE AFTER PLOT. It cuts my 2nd design and the carriage head ends at the end of the 2nd design.  Both decals perfect sized, don't have to rearrange the vinyl.  Both decals cut mirrored.. Order done. Don't have to have both sides of the vector file, using up memory. Only need 1 side of the file. Same file flipped, matches perfect.   Any Flexi software will, and maybe Graphtec Pro Studio can do the same thing.  

[slice&dice 2,450]

" I have a 721 set up as well and have all the same settings.  the 721 returns to start  "

Two cutters. Same software, same settings, one does what it's supposed to do, the other ignores the software command.

Now, if it was me, I would immediately download and install SignBlazer Elements, and test to see if this problem persists.
(Verifying if that older Flexi software is the culprit).

 

[maddog44 0]

the 365 is about a year old and the 721 is about 15 years old.  I use if for 4" x 4" paint mask to label baseball bats.  I tried the advance to plot and didn't change a thing.  I ordered a serial cable to see if that makes a difference.  it is connected with a usb now as is the 721.  on the 365 I have to reset every time after cut for the carriage to reset.  if I dont and try to cut another it cuts randomly across the vinyl and have to delete from que.  hoping the serial cable will help, saw somewhere that the 365 is recommended to use serial cable.  Other than that is works correctly

[MZ SKEETER 4,709]

 Yep, that is  what I was thinking. Years apart. The older MH will work with the Flexi5.  Which driver are you using in the Flexi? Those cutters will have different boards in them. They are not the same cutters on the inside. I saw where someone who had Flexi 8.1 said that the MH driver is not even in their version. They wanted to know what driver to use.  So what driver are you using?  And have you tried a different driver in your set up for the newer  MH365?  Like Maybe REDSAIL.  Or Roland PNC1000.  From what I have read on here, the older Refine MH cutters were much better cutters, than the newer Refine MH cutters being sold today. The boards have had about 4 changes in them since the earlier days.   Also Flexi 5 is not compatible for software newer than XP. Will be hit or miss.  I am still back on XP with Flexi 8.6.

[maddog44 0]

i believe it is the Roland.  the new serial cable showed up today so hopefully that is it.  thanks for the help!

[darcshadow 1,627]

The random start when cutting sounds like a memory corruption. Possibly not all the memory was purged when it completed the cut and when the command to start a new cut was sent there was still something from the last job in the memory and it gets confused. My guess is the command to move the cutter head back to the start, or advance after cut, is likely a single command and not a specific coordinate command. If that is the case it sounds like the cutter does not recognize that command. Different software/driver could possibly fix that.

Although with the MHs it's best to reset, or even power off and back on to clear the memory and ensure you get a good cut. The version of windows you're running can have an effect as well. I was using windows 7 with no problems, upgraded to windows 11 and the cutter would behave like you're describing with the random cuts if I tried to cut two designs in a row. I just power cycled it after each cut and eventually upgraded to a used Graphtec. Night and day difference.