why is installing PCUT CTN630 & Artcut 2005 a problem?

[Glen Mathers]

Hello Luke, i have one of these machines but i’m using mine through the serial port, just by looking on these boards it seems everyone who uses the P-Cut with a USB connection seems to have trouble setting up.
Type P-Cut in the search section of this site and it will throw up loads of others in your predicament but i think they all got sorted in the end just by reading all the other posts.
Hope you enjoy the machine, mine runs a treat, i would advise getting some different software though, i got Artcut with mine but i changed, now run mine through Flexsign with no trouble at all, also Signgo runs well on the P-Cut.
Sorry i can’t be more of a help.
Glen

[luke_187]

Hi there
Thanks for your reply, that is great I will have a dig through the forums later on. Thanks again.

By the way, where did you get the serial connector from as mine only came with USB?

Regards
Luke

[Glen Mathers]

Mine came with a serial connection, you can get the adapters but i’m not sure where from, i’m sure that is in one of the posts on this site also.

By the way, welcome to the boards mate, anything you get stuck with , there is always someone on here that will help you out.

Glen

[dcurzon]

mines on usb, and i have it set on COM2. my Com1 is still enabled. I’m running SignBlazer Elements which is pretty basic, there again, so am i. All on WinXP.

Also plugged it into my ageing laptop with win2k and worked fine, although the lappy struggles to keep running with modern software, so thats gone back into the cupboard.

You could also download the trial version on WinPCSign, which allows you to cut, however you’ll need to keep hitting the ‘continue’ button.

Have you conigured the baud rate/bits/parity? and have you checked that the baud rate on the cutter matches? if not, check this is set at 9600.

i’m still learning the machine, just about getting there i think (?) and even sold my first item today! 😀 although struggling with small text and also the odd erroneous cut line here or there.

anyone know what blade pressure actually is/does? why would this need to be adjusted?

[luke_187]

Hi thanks for the reply,

I think it is going to be a lot of messing around, the guy I bought it from said it’s either dead simple and works right away or it is a nightmare and takes forever…..not the answer I wanted from them to be honest but what can I do….

The Baud rate is set at 9600, and the other setting appear to be as they have advised in the instructions. I think that Windows is allocating the COM ports for something else, I have disabled COM1 in the BIOS and amended the settings in Windows on startup but still no joy, will try COM2 tonight.

I am going to trawl through these forums tonight to try and find something useful for me….just need to get it working, it seems like nothing is going right at the moment 🙁

As for the pressure question, it really depends on the vinyl you are using…adjusting it will just be a case of trial and error getting it to cut deep enough but not so deep that it cuts through the backing paper.

I will also have a try of WinPCSign.

Thanks again for the reply.

Luke

[Jerry Bonham]

Hello Luke Taylor,
You can download a copy of SignBlazer Elements here
http://www.colorchromefirst.com/SignBla … _ments.htm
It is easy and simple to connect to a PCut. There are some simple things that you need to do after installing SignBlazer. It is full functional in trial mode and if you do not like it you can try another program.
1. PCuts I have seen are USB1. This means that it is the old standard. So in Device Manager see what com port it has set itself up to. (do NOT disable Com1 as some one suggested) If it is COM1 to COM 8 it is OK to use. If is not then you need to go to the advanced setting button and change it to be between 1 and 8. Always choose the lowest. Do not worry about choosing the wrong port number. Windows XP will not allow you to anyway!
2. Now the secret. Click on the “port settings” tab in port properties dialog box. This is where the settings are that are mostly wrong. It should be 9600, 8, none, one, and for flow control it is best to first try “hardware”. Then in the SignBlazer Elements cutter setup just chose the same com port but choose one called BlazerCom1 or the same number. Click on the setting button and just make sure the same settings are used here as well. The most important is to have your flow control matching. This mismatched flow control is most likely causing grief.
3. If it does not work on ‘Hardware” then change it to “Xon-Xoff”
Now you are up and away with your cutting. Good Luck

[dcurzon]

re: my earlier reply, i have checked the com settings on both the winxp pc and the win2k laptop, and both of them are connecting to the pcut on com 3 with no problems. both have com 1 enabled as well.

see the reply immediately above, good info on the com port settings 🙂

[John Davis IOM]

I have just checked the settings on my PC and plotter and reset the plotter to the lowest available com port whilst re-enabling com port 1. As soon as it was re-set the PC shut down and re-started. This is the third PC I have tried to install the the plotter on with limited success. It works some of the time. (I don’t have to alter any settings for it to work again, it just seems to avoid the conflict occasionally and operate correctly.) All PC’s have been running Windows XP home. Any suggestions..? 😕

[Barry0164]

Google got me on this forum, finding more folks having similar problems.

I am having the same problems with my recently bought Pcut 630.
(USB only)
Initially it worked fine after installing it with the provided driver and manual.

Yesterday I did some cutting without any problems.

Today however, I wanted continue working with it,
but by no means I got the plotter running.
The connections were unaltered, the only thing happened was switching the pc and plotter off yesterday and switching them back on today.

The plotter settings seem to be OK, 9800 Baud and displaying "on line".
The driver settings for the usb-serial converter were unchanged (I use COM1).
The plotter is not responding to any plot commands.

I decided to try another usb port. Windows recognized it only as an "unknown usb device"
Trying to update this device with the provided drivers didn’t work.
After unplugging and removing the drivers using the small tool on the driver-cdrom, I started all over.
Now when plugging in windows detects the usb-serial converter and installation of the drivers (fresh from the cd-rom) goes well.
In the device manger all seems to be ok, the usb serial port was COM3 so I changed it to 1 again.
Unfortunately, Trying to plot failed..again
I decided to reboot the pc (thinking maybe changing from COM3 to 1 requires a reboot).
After the reboot, the usb-serial converter and the usb com ports are gone in the device manager and what remains is the unknown usb device!!
I tried installing it on a 2nd pc, with exact the same (read: No) result
🙁

I tried all the things posted above and in other threads but so far no go.

The usb ports used are 2.0 and are straight on the mainboard (no brackets,hubs or stuff like that in between)

I seriously have my doubts to the serial-usb adapter used in the plotter. I couldn’t find any updated drivers for it anywhere.

I think my issues resemble alot with some other people’s issues posted here, so I hope together we can sort it out and perhaps come to a "how to properly install the PCUT" guide.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Barry

[Jerry Bonham]

quote Barry0164:

Google got me on this forum, finding more folks having similar problems.

I am having the same problems with my recently bought Pcut 630.
(USB only)
Initially it worked fine after installing it with the provided driver and manual.

Yesterday I did some cutting without any problems.

Today however, I wanted continue working with it,
but by no means I got the plotter running.
The connections were unaltered, the only thing happened was switching the pc and plotter off yesterday and switching them back on today.

The plotter settings seem to be OK, 9800 Baud and displaying “on line”.
The driver settings for the usb-serial converter were unchanged (I use COM1).
The plotter is not responding to any plot commands.

I decided to try another usb port. Windows recognized it only as an “unknown usb device”
Trying to update this device with the provided drivers didn’t work.
After unplugging and removing the drivers using the small tool on the driver-cdrom, I started all over.
Now when plugging in windows detects the usb-serial converter and installation of the drivers (fresh from the cd-rom) goes well.
In the device manger all seems to be ok, the usb serial port was COM3 so I changed it to 1 again.
Unfortunately, Trying to plot failed..again
I decided to reboot the pc (thinking maybe changing from COM3 to 1 requires a reboot).
After the reboot, the usb-serial converter and the usb com ports are gone in the device manager and what remains is the unknown usb device!!
I tried installing it on a 2nd pc, with exact the same (read: No) result
🙁

I tried all the things posted above and in other threads but so far no go.

The usb ports used are 2.0 and are straight on the mainboard (no brackets,hubs or stuff like that in between)

I seriously have my doubts to the serial-usb adapter used in the plotter. I couldn’t find any updated drivers for it anywhere.

I think my issues resemble alot with some other people’s issues posted here, so I hope together we can sort it out and perhaps come to a “how to properly install the PCUT” guide.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Barry

Hello Barry,
I have personally involved in the installation of hundreds of (& software for) Chinese cutters as apparently no one else wants to even know about them in Australia. So far if the cutter is not a dud I or our tech support staff have never failed to get one up and running. I do not know if I can help you however I can try. I like to have a hands on approach to all this stuff as this is the way I can add new features to our software.
If you read some of my earlier post you will see that I talk about Flow Control. This is the “secret” of getting these cutters to run. This must be the same in Device Manager as it is in the software. The only two setting suitable for Chinese Cutters are “Xon-Xoff” and “Hardware”. I would try “Hardware” first.
However you do not mention what software you are using. If it is ArtCut then you should have been issued with a “software serial number”. If you did not get this number then you have only a demo copy. These stop working after an indeterminate amount of time. Sometimes a week- sometimes longer, 6 months is the longest I have heard of before asking for a CD to be put in the computer’s drive or a serial number or something else.
Also so many eBay sellers of cutters with ArtCut simply duplicate the one CD they buy and tell you as it is “Free” software that they do not and will not support it. So your free software has a strong possibility of being simply demo software. So this may be the problem.
In Australia every eBay reseller of cutters that package ArtCut with their cutters offer zero support as the “software is free”. Legally in this country this does not fly. However no one has challenged them. They come to us to get support. If they buy a copy of our software then they get 12 months technical support automatically without us asking any questions. Our tech support staff can usually sort out the problems within a few minutes.
Some other points in your email I will comment upon — You say it comes up as Com1 or Com3. This means that the cutter you have is NOT a USB 2 cutter. It is USB 1. Also if you do not have the converter and sometimes the cutter plugged in and TURNED ON then nothing will show in Windows Device Manager. This is normal and a great feature of Windows. Your Device Manager is not cluttered up with lots of unused drivers. Once a USB driver is installed it is only loaded when Windows recognises it from your original installation. In other words the USB device (vinyl cutter) must be plugged in and turned on. I love this about Windows. I have dozerns of driver installed on one of our test computers. Imagine if I had to go through a list of installed devices that was over a hundred long! Often we install or I install test USB devices such as scanners and printers and cameras etc as well as cutters just to ensure total compatibility with SignBlazer software. These might only ever be used once.
There are other points about USB ports I was going to add however I do not think they are relevant to your problem. If it turns out you need this info then I will post it.
Also you say you think your USB converter may be at fault. This is a possibility. This appears to be all a bit strange, your cutter I mean. The latest PCuts do not have this problem with converters. Do you have an old PCut? If you tell me what is on the label at the back of the cutter I may be able to tell you who made it and when. Yes, there are more than one manufacturer of PCuts in China!
Tell me from the label —- the manufacturer’s name, the actual model number and the serial number and the date of manufacture please?
There are now more than 30 models of PCut made since their first sales into the west. These all have different electronics etc. Different electronics usually means with Chinese cutters different drivers are needed. Often even every component except the case and control panel are different. If you have one made for the Chinese market then you may have real problems. These are not earthed, have inadequate power supplies and cheaper motors and other “dodgy” components. They do not meet any western electrical standards. Check to see if it has “CE Approval”. If there is no CE Approval sticker then it definitely is a dodgy cutter and the bad news is that is may never work. They cannot be repaired as all the components have to be changed and the cost of the spares would be more than a new cutter!
If it is an early PCut there are only two converters which will run the older cutters on USB. I will give the brand namers later if you need them.
What is even worse is that there are subtle differences in what is needed to drive various PCuts. For example the very latest PCut only are driven completely correctly by SignBlazer. The only other program that I am aware of that even just cuts vinyl with the very latest USB PCut is ArtCut. From our customers (many on this board) they will tell you that SignBlazer outperforms ArtCut in cutting vinyl with these new models USB PCuts.
You can try downloading a copy of our software (check other post by myself and the download link is in one). This is a very easy way to check out cutters. It runs just about every Chinese Cutter made and if you tick all the information boxes correctly when installing (cutter model and Com1 or Com 3 etc) it should start cutting immediately.
Finally all the information must be identical in Device Manager as well in SignBlazer Elements software (ours). This is true in ArtCut or any other cutting software.
I hope the above helps you. If you need more information then please just post the questions.

[Paul Leicester]

The latest version of Signblazer Elements v6 should clearly report the correct port setting for PCut machines now, Com* USB SERIAL now shows in the port settings of SBE, so easier to select, no guessing – you still have to change the flow control to hardware, manually in Windows Device Manager.

Paul

[alex reid]

About your p cut failing to cut it could be that your cutter needs moved away from the buffer which stops it working when you go to far to the side
you will find one either side of the cutter when the box holding the cutter hits this it disables the cutter. Manually move the cutting box away from the buffer and it should work okay. As you seem to have done all the checks with your pc b,baud rate etc seems ok .So it must be something simple like above as I had the same problem with my pcut .

[alex reid]

If you go online type in pcut laserpoint parts & supplies you can get any part from them from a pinch roller to a main board quite cheap its based in america though.

[alex reid]

should have read the date on that post .sorry hope its useful for anyone wi the same problem.