Contour Cutting

[fishtail]

I have a very small budget. We bought this plotter for contour cutting. I cant figure out registration marks. When I go to contour cut it cuts through the image.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you!!!

VEVOR 53-Inch Automatic Contour Vinyl Cutter Plotter Force & Speed Adjustable Sign Cutting With Floor Stand & Signmaster Software | VEVOR US

VEVOR Vinyl Cutter with optical eye for precise contour cuts, U-Disk offline operation, LED panel, adjustable speed, and versatile materials handling.

www.vevor.com

 

[CanuckSigns]

I've never heard of that brand, but considering the whole unit costs less than the optical eye assembly on my graphtec I wouldn't expect much from this machine.

 

[chester215]

Sounds like too much blade pressure if it is cutting thru the both the print and the backing paper.
It looks like it is adjustable on this machine.
Try setting the cutting pressure to a lighter setting.

[DIGITAL CONTROL]- Cutting pressure with 20-500g adjustable, cutting speed with 20-800mm per second adjustable. Backlight LCD display for more intuitive operation.


As far as the registration marks, they are calculated by the rip program and both the printer and cutter need to be set up in the rip program.
One of the problems with purchasing a 'generic' plotter is that you need to figure out how to set the plotter up in the rip program if it is not listed in the setup. Sometimes you can use a different plotters setup but you need to know which one when there are many to choose from.

 

[fishtail]

What software are you using?
What do you mean, cuts through the image? Like it should cut around the image?

Using flexi....yes it does not contour the image at all....it will cut off half of it kinda like the registration marks are off. I dont know how to fix it.

 

[rjssigns]

Before you do anything else go into Flexi and check that your cutter is supported. If not you're out of luck.

 

[CA Creative Group]

Are you printing out of Flexi as well as cutting or only cutting? If so, you can use the 4 point manual cut option to do contour cutting as shown in the attached screenshot.

Does flexi have that cutter brand listed or are you using another driver like a roland PNC1000 driver to connect it? Majority of these cutters use the older 90's Roland firmware.

Contour cutting can be done in Flexi and the laser isn't needed and on these machines the laser pointer is usually only supported with the software they include with the cutter. I bought a $300 uscutter last year when my roland and vinyl express cutters died and I need to get orders done. I was able to contour cut intricate designs in Flexi using the manual 4 point contour cutting. I have since gone to a Summa, but still keep the uscutter as a backup when I start to get backed up on cutting.

If it is cutting all the way through that is due to the blade and/or pressure being to high. For these sub $1k printers Flexi only usually supports cut command and does not control pressure or anything else to the machine even if it shows as an option in Flexi so you will need to adjust pressure on the machine before you send the cut from Flexi.


In this video at the 1min mark they walk through how you use the interactive alignment with the 4 point contour to register the 4 points with flexi so it knows where to contour cut.

 

[CA Creative Group]

You can also contour cut with 2 point, but the issue there is if your print dimensions is skewed x or y by a couple mm and your contour is close to the image the contour cut will be off. Doing 4 point will compensate for any x or y skew when Flexi goes to contour cut and you will get a better end result.

I also recommend you do not try to contour cut sheets longer than 60 inches as these machines don't track so great. They will work get the work done as long as you understand their limitations which are poor tracking on long runs and low memory so I recommend using the serial option to connect it to the computer with on/off turned on in the communication to prevent the machine from running out of memory on larger files.

 

[pete anderson]

I have a very small budget. We bought this plotter for contour cutting. I cant figure out registration marks. When I go to contour cut it cuts through the image.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you!!!

VEVOR 53-Inch Automatic Contour Vinyl Cutter Plotter Force & Speed Adjustable Sign Cutting With Floor Stand & Signmaster Software | VEVOR US

VEVOR Vinyl Cutter with optical eye for precise contour cuts, U-Disk offline operation, LED panel, adjustable speed, and versatile materials handling.

www.vevor.com

After hours of messing with this plotter, I got it, works good. I will try and explain. This works for me.
Finished artwork in Flexi, save as a ai. file
Import into the software that came with cutter, SM Signmaster
Set contour cut, IN AUTO ARMS MODE, this makes the 90 degree registration marks, on 4 corners.
Save as a ai. file
Pull back into Flexi, and print, followed by laminating, if desired.
In my case, I had to cut 1" or 2" off the width, I have a 54" mutoh printer.
Pull back into the SM signmaker program, and set software into manual mode. Put lazer on the 90 intersection, of the bottom right, and test. I had to offset 1".
Any problems, email and I will help you. Its not a ideal situation, but serves as a stepping stone. Fluorocan@gmail.com