Looking for input on Gerber M3000 Turbo

[Glavin_ID]

I am interested in purchasing a used (2010) Gerber M3000 Turbo to work with an HP Scitex FB700. We currently sub out all of our flatbed printing and cutting and we just scored a new contract that will justify us purchasing our own equipment. I have done a ton of research on the used equipment we are looking at buying and the one thing I am a little nervous about is the registration capabilities of the Gerber. I know it is older technology but does anyone have input on how tight the cutter can register off printed parts? The machine we are looking at has the Mvision cut optical registration but I need to be comfortable that it can hold a tight registration. The contract we got is to print and cut .118 polycarbonate inserts for the door of a piece of industrial equipment. The finished piece needs to fit into a molded enclosure and has tabs that snap into the enclosure. This use is a little more detailed than most normal graphics/sign jobs. I know that a Zund or Esko machine would be better but we don't have $100k+ to spend. I would love some input from folks who have this machine or any Gerber Techs who might be on here.

We will also be using the machine for lots of other more conventional cutting/routing but to justify the investment, it needs to be able to do this job on a regular basis.

 

[TrustMoore_TN]

I worked at a place with a M3000, and I don't recall registration being an issue, but we didn't do much tight registration work. Are you concerned about it cutting the exact dimensions to fit in the door of the equipment, or the placement of the print on the polycarbonate. I would say that it should be able to cut that size with precision, but I can't speak to the registration of the print within the cut. Is the M3000 still operational so that you could print a sample and run it to test it?

 

[Glavin_ID]

I am more concerned about registering the placement of the print, there are clear windows in the art that have to match up with the enclosure. I think the machine has been decommissioned but I will ask, thanks for the feedback.

 

[Ed. C.]

I am interested in purchasing a used (2010) Gerber M3000 Turbo to work with an HP Scitex FB700. We currently sub out all of our flatbed printing and cutting and we just scored a new contract that will justify us purchasing our own equipment. I have done a ton of research on the used equipment we are looking at buying and the one thing I am a little nervous about is the registration capabilities of the Gerber. I know it is older technology but does anyone have input on how tight the cutter can register off printed parts? The machine we are looking at has the Mvision cut optical registration but I need to be comfortable that it can hold a tight registration. The contract we got is to print and cut .118 polycarbonate inserts for the door of a piece of industrial equipment. The finished piece needs to fit into a molded enclosure and has tabs that snap into the enclosure. This use is a little more detailed than most normal graphics/sign jobs. I know that a Zund or Esko machine would be better but we don't have $100k+ to spend. I would love some input from folks who have this machine or any Gerber Techs who might be on here.

We will also be using the machine for lots of other more conventional cutting/routing but to justify the investment, it needs to be able to do this job on a regular basis.

I've been running the m3000 with the m vision registration for about 10 years now. The machine is pretty accurate in cutting shapes to the right sizes and also on cut alignment with the graphics.. there has been times when we have had to adjust the sensor to cut because it went out of accuracy not by much. but an 1/8 of an inch could really show a big offset if you are producing graphics and need persice cuts...