Summa F1612 Bed Vacuum

[Mike Pickett]

Looking for some advice... in our shop we have a Summa Flatbed cutter which works great for large media. If I'm cutting out of a piece of Coroplast 48" x 96" it's excellent. However... if I need to cut something small like a sign out of a piece 24" x 12" the vacuum seems to not have the ability to hold the piece in place.

Is this normal? Is there a way to clean the bed to allow for better suction?

I've tried setting the size to the exact dimensions of the piece and went full bed - neither work. At first I thought it was only when using the router but it's with all blades as well.

Any assistance, suggestions or advice appreciated!

 

[ProColorGraphics]

How old is it?
Have you cleaned the bed off? Just turn the blower on, then take another shop vac with a bristle attachment and go over it good. The bed getting clogged would be the only thing I could think of.

 

[daenterpri]

I do wish it worked better, but most of the time we are taping smaller items down, especially if the edges of the media tend to want to curl.

 

[Santimus]

Setting the size in Summa Axis Control: It concentrates the suction to the smaller piece's width along the right side (origin side) It does not work for length so that option is useless- I talked to the tech who set ours up. He said its basically 1 wall that moves inside from the left (wider materials) to the right (thinner). Also, if you try to cut 11.5x23.5 out of 12x24 it doesn't have Enough suction in outer margins to hold it down. You can test this out by trying to cut a 2x2 square out of the center of that 12x24- it shouldn't move. Like somebody else suggested, you can try taping it down OR you can put other same thickness scraps around it and those should help hold it in place! Good Luck!

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Super Top Secret Trick we just learned.... Use an adhesive backed polyfoam as a spoil platform for small parts. They come on rolls of 50" x 450' or 650' for about $375.

Also if its too small for your zone add scrap material around it to fill the zone.