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Need help with setting up GCC Jaguar JR-61

A

artasdmc

New Member
Hey.

Im a total noob when it comes to this.
So I bought a used Jaguar JR-61, only got the stand, USB cable and the plotter itself, no accessories, papers, or CD.

I want to use it so I can make words for tombstones.
So how do I start? What programs do I use?
How do I make everything work?

I tried registering this used plotter in GCC club so I can download drivers, applications and whatnot, but it didn't recognize the serial. So all hope is lost.
Contacting them is also pointless, they don't reply. And people say the same when I tried googling.

Good thing there's also a russian GCC site, it let me download the USB drivers for Jaguar II 61 (Which I think is my model).
So I got the USB drivers, now what do I do next? How do I use my PC together with the plotter?
What applications I need to use, and are they free?
 
James Burke

James Burke

Being a grandpa is more fun than working
When you say "words for tombstones", I assume you mean cutting thick sandblast stencil for stone cutting. Typically, monument stencil runs anywhere between 22 and 45 mils thick (or in metric terms approximately .5 to 1.1 millimeters thick).

We do stone and monument engraving, and to be honest, your plotter is not suited for cutting stencil.

You need a sprocket-fed plotter with a tangential cutting head. In other words, your plotter will utilize punched-edge stencil material and will need to have a cutting head that swivels under power around corners, or picks up the cutting head and then swivels before dropping back down into the material to continue cutting.

Gerber and Anagraph are two of the top players in this cutter category. (We use Gerber, and we have never been disappointed by their performance)

A cutting program like SignLab, Gerber Omega or Flexi is also necessary. These seem to be the "big 3" here in the states, but there are also cheaper ("bridge programs") alternatives, and workarounds to programs like Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw.

The entire process of designing, stencil cutting and then sandblasting can be brutal to learn on your own. I did it that way, but I came into it 25 years of manufacturing industry experience, along with a good handle on using CAD software and graphic design programs.

There is very little out there for help. Typically, stone cutting is learned on the job and most shops are fairly "hush" about sharing too much information with the general public. I remember walking into one monument shop years ago and asking one too many technical questions. The owner wised up to my inquiries and showed me to the door.

Over the past ten years, we have perfected and innovated a lot of our own special tools and special processes to where we can effectively compete with shops many times our size. Instead of seeking patents, we choose to keep those secrets as part of our competitive advantage.

If you're looking to get into it for free or at a very low cost, you're better off doing something else. The investment in equipment, tools and skills is very costly unless you find some good bargains and some extremely good help along the way.


JB
 
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