Paul Leicester
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quote Micheal Donnellan:different board to what I have in the machine. Blade holder depth is fine just seems it is moving at a minute angle over the lenght of the machine.The date on the board confirms its not the latest, doesn’t have the heatsink on the top either, latest are V8 blue boards, I imagine your on v4.21 firmware.
/P
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Just a thought, you cannot fit this board to an early serial or non UK spec machine.
/P
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This is the latest board – obviously USB/Serial.
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quote Micheal Donnellan:may as well update this.
was NOT a motor problem, was the blasted controller board having a capacitor blowout. Got new board from Flynn signs, but have to admit it looked reclaimed as was a dent in the new cap and a connector was broken but it worked when the machine was switched on. Machine had not been switch on in a while as moving stuff about, not properly moved to outside place then. Manual in chinlish goes on about dialectic displacement if not used for time or some barely understandable gibberish. Brown junk is dialectic material from capacitor. Dialectic displacement indeed!
Machine now tend to cut through backing paper and barely scratch it on surface at when cutting full width of machine. Must not have but it back together right. but it works mostly for what I am doing now.
The latest boards are blue and show the firmware as v4.23
If the blade cuts right through the vinyl the depth is normally incorrect – make sure the holder is in the rear position in the cutting head, the cutting strip is in good condition and the blade is set as per our piccy.
/Paul
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You could ask us, give me a call
Paul
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quote Paul Leicester:quote Steve Sandy:Paul I know its about 15 days late, But I had the same problem and it was the internal memory of the cutter. Signwizard said that after each job if you press the reset button that clears the internal memory to zero. The machine itself will store all previous jobs internally then come to a stop when it is full. If you are doing small jobs then turning the machine off that will clear the memory so you might not have come across this before. When you have lots of jobs on, Which I hope you are starting to have, Then you must remember to press reset all the time just to be on the safe side.
Regards
SteveI think there has been a misunderstanding to what I have been quoted as saying…the RESET button on a PCut would normally be used to return the machine to an online state after changing settings from the menu option. The machine will not store previous jobs as stated.
If you are unsuccessful sending a file to the cutter then I would normally recommend a reboot of the computer to flush the memory buffer and maybe the cutter also, especially if you’re using expensive vinyl to prevent it all going horribly wrong a second time.
Most of the issues that arise when cutting larger jobs are flow control problems, HARDWARE set in the cutting software setup and the same in the port settings of Device Manager should fix most of them, occasionally some users report XON XOFF ( SOFTWARE flow control) works when hardware doesn’t.
Paul
PS – Whatever flow control option you choose they should BOTH match, for Windows and your cutting software.
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quote Steve Sandy:Paul I know its about 15 days late, But I had the same problem and it was the internal memory of the cutter. Signwizard said that after each job if you press the reset button that clears the internal memory to zero. The machine itself will store all previous jobs internally then come to a stop when it is full. If you are doing small jobs then turning the machine off that will clear the memory so you might not have come across this before. When you have lots of jobs on, Which I hope you are starting to have, Then you must remember to press reset all the time just to be on the safe side.
Regards
SteveI think there has been a misunderstanding to what I have been quoted as saying…the RESET button on a PCut would normally be used to return the machine to an online state after changing settings from the menu option. The machine will not store previous jobs as stated.
If you are unsuccessful sending a file to the cutter then I would normally recommend a reboot of the computer to flush the memory buffer and maybe the cutter also, especially if you’re using expensive vinyl to prevent it all going horribly wrong a second time.
Most of the issues that arise when cutting larger jobs are flow control problems, HARDWARE set in the cutting software setup and the same in the port settings of Device Manager should fix most of them, occasionally some users report XON XOFF ( SOFTWARE flow control) works when hardware doesn’t.
Paul
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These machines are new to the UK, they do not share any components from Creation machines. They have a better build quality, they are faster, quieter with a larger memory, new higher quality grid rollers, backlit lcd etc etc overall we believe a much better product now than Creation.
The CEO was the factory manager at Creation for many years – but this machine is his design which carries the changes and updates he wanted all along.
Paul
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quote Jayne Marsh:The only thing I can say other than what has been said is that trying to cut lettering 1 or 2mm high is asking alot from most machines. I generally limit letter size to about 4 or 5mm high and even then you need nimble fingers to weed it ok. Any very small lettering will tend to lift from the backing when its being cut.
I missed that about the size – 1mm, 2mm I really wouldn’t attempt to cut that or even worse…weed it.
Paul
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quote Keithdib:Its all working now, was a combination of blade pressure and height also speed…
What would people recommend software wise that’s not going to cost too much as its only for hobby use, but I still want it to work lol
Cheers
KeithThe biggest mistake new users seem to make is to assume more blade = more pressure, it doesn’t just rubbish cut quality. Blade depth should be set to match the thickness of the vinyl, normally less than 0.5mm as a rough guide.
To set it accurately try the following…
Lay a piece of scrap vinyl flat on a table, remove the blade holder from the machine and screw the blade back into the holder.
Use the holder like a pen, perpendicular to the vinyl (90deg) and at normal hand pressure wipe it across the vinyl, keep screwing the blade out by ¼ of a turn ONLY and retest until you feel it cut the vinyl, peel the back off the vinyl and you should find a nice clean cut and a slight indentation in the vinyl backing.
Lock the holder off at this point and re-install into the machine and try a test cut.
That’s it, takes 1 minute and the cut quality should be perfect.
Paul
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Cutters cut from right to left, so ensure your origin (original starting point) is approx 10mm in from the right hand edge of the vinyl – as long as the image size fits all should be ok.
Paul
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quote Gav:Bump:
Just to let you all know. The cutter works fine under Vista.
That’s interesting, I assume it’s the 32bit version – what cutting program are you using?
Paul
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As this is getting quite heated and personal now I thought I would upload a couple of screen grabs that cleary show the import process – assuming the img links works here, if not I’ll add the links at the bottom.
The first image shows the import thumbnail viewer, top right is the folder tree, this is the navigation structure (path) to where I happen to have an animal flames folder…this will be different on another computer!!
Full path is also shown clearly along the top of the browser, similar to other Windows programs.
You can also see I am on my ‘C’ drive ( hard disk ) and its set to view only PS, AI and EPS.
Second image shows the 2 import postscript options…and thats all there is to it. You will only see thumbnails in the viewer if there are any files of this type in the folder you are browsing – finally if you are viewing files on your CD rom drive you cannot delete them from Signblazer or Windows, the files are burned to the CD and you can’t add, modify or delete them.
Paul – this will be my final response to this question.
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All cutting programs work in the same way, when you want to import or even open an image you must guide the program to the folder where your images are stored – where you are looking and where the files are being stored are not in the same place (folder) at the moment.
You need to navigate using the drive/folder tree to where you’ve stored your images.
Paul
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quote Ian Gordon:Hi alistair, and thanks for the reply.
The problem is as I say getting files into signblazer workspace. I have loads of files which I have had dowwnloaded/ purchased,stored in my computer/(my pictures), and every time I try to send them to signblazer it doesnt seem to recognize the software or something because when I open signblazer there is nothing there and when I go to import there is only an empty screen coming up although in the right hand column there is a my pictures tab, but again nothing opens.
Even simple graphics like dolphins etc which are mostly vectorised already.
Bl—y frustrating!!
As I said I purchased an annual subscription last year to Premier Sign for unlimited downloads and as of today I have been unable to access any of them, apart from one or two only that I have had to print and scan or save to my pictures from where I cant do anything with them.
Probably sounds as If i am stupid I know!I am not sure as to how to upload to UKsignboards yet, is there an easy way.?
ThanksImporting into Signblazer is quite straight forward, go to file>import and on the screen you will find the file types to choose, for cutting you will need EPS or AI format only. Top right of the screen you will see your Windows folder tree, this is where you browse to find the drive/folder you have saved your files. Signblazer does NOT know where your files are, you must guide it to your folder – I would create a folder in the route of drive ‘C’ called imports or similar, dump all your AI and EPS files here, then in SB you can navigate easily to C:\imports
The Signblazer tutorial will give you more instructions I’m sure.Paul
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quote Allan McKelvie:I am new to these boards after finding the forum looking for some help for my cutter. I have no wish to use my plotter cutter for vinyl signs as I use it for our craft business. I have had a small graphtec machine for a few years but have recently bought a cheap PCUT as i needed the larger size this could offer me (and I couldnt justify the cost of the larger Graphtec model for my home/hobby use)
I use photoshop and illustrator and graphtecs own controller but I could only get the Pcut working with the down-loadable demo of WinPCsign. To be fair my other software is much better but I couldn’t got it to recognize the PCUT.
I am using the cutter to cut thin card with a homemade carrier sheet as I do on my small graphtec cutter. But the software is driving me crazy – stopping all the time and just slowing up. I have not managed even a successful pen test with my designs with the PCUT yet.
Can anyone recommend a better package that will drive the PCUT that isnt going to cost the earth as I prefer my own graphics packages and would just like a driver to get the things cut?
I am sorry If this is not posted in the correct part of the forum but as it is mainly a software issue I though someone could advise me
Many thanksCreation PCuts don’t come with a print driver, so you would require a signmaking program. SignCut and Signblazer should drive both your machines – but only on one PC, they both carry single user licences and can only be registered on a single PC
Paul
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quote Micheal Donnellan:could you please give me numbers or emails to contact you both with. either a pm or get Rob the admin to send a email with you details to me. Thank You
Paul
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quote timdallimore:to be quite truthful i dont mind which it is it cuts well and does a good job it was just when i installed winsign i needed to know which cutter to use in the settings thanks for all your help so far
Any Chinese driver should work (except Creation) as they all use the same mainboard/firmware. Look for Refine, Ucut, Liyu, Rabbit etc I don’t know your software but I assume they have the correct drivers.
The seller should really point you in the right direction.
Cheers Paul
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quote Micheal Donnellan:My Pcut has for some annoying reason decided to not work right. Whats wrong as far as I can make out its the stepper motor that moves the cutter holder belt left and right. Its basic behavior is as if one of the coils is not working and has problems starting to move. At full speed it will traverse the length of the cutter with some help but cannot go the opposite direction without jamming. slow speed it most of the tme wont move more than few mill and very roughly with lots of vibration and noise.
So does anyone know where I could get a similar motor?We offer a repair service for Creation cutters and carry spares, I’m just back from a factory visit and its a lot warmer in China than the UK brrrr
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The cutter you have is a Refine clone, they are assembled by 40+ factories in China and carry the same components. Older machines will have a 2 ports, 1 serial and 1 parallel. Later cutters have 3 port marked USB, its actually a USB to serial device.
You should have a cd included that has the USB/Serial driver, check Windows Device Manager in the ports section and the cutter will be shown as USB Serial Com* – in you cutting program you choose this com number in the cutter setup.
Not a bad cutter, cheap and should give reasonable performance – not a Graphtec though.
Cheers Paul
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If possible I would recommend com2 or 4 for a cutter, Windows doesn’t share ports well and can cause some issues.
Com1 is almost always in use and if you have an internal modem that is normally allocated com3. If your PC has real com ports I would disable these in the computer bios, if they’re not available to Windows it shouldn’t allocate any resources to them.
Its not unusual for Windows to report com1 – 15 in use especially if you like to connect your mobile phone at anytime – mobiles are normally loaded as modems and allocated a com number, but XP fails to remove the resources when you unplug – XP will then allocate another com number next time you connect it.
ArtCut only has the option for com1 or com2 and if may prove difficult to convince XP you need to use one of these ports – XP thinks it knows best..ummm.
SignCut and Signblazer have more port options and may make it easier to find a port that really is free.
Paul
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Signblazer and Signcut both work great with PCut’s
quote Chris Whitehead:Can anyone advise what software is compatible with my Pcut 630 pleaseIm using WIN PC Sign at the moment, just the free version i got with the cutter.
Im looking for some alternatives though please..
Thanks in advance…
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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
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Setting up a PCut shouldn’t be any different than most other USB/Serial type machines. If you can manage to check the com port setting in Windows Device Manager ie USB SERIAL COM* and select this com number in your cutting software, change the flow control option to match (HARDWARE is normally the default) you should be cutting fairly quickly.
Sometimes we find that the lowest available port is using a very high com number com 11-16 isn’t unheard of! you may need to lower this option by removing the hardware that Windows is still allocating resources for.
Most issues are not caused by the cutter or software…the problem usually lies elsewhere.
Paul
quote James Paul Jones:Can i put a few questions to the board? i am just about to embark on the sign writing trip, but before i do, can someone please help with the following:1. where does the “trade” stand on reproducing trademark/copyrighted material, eg, if a customer had a race team and wanted to have things like Shell Oil or Yamaha graphics on their motorcycles?where i work now, we always ask for written permission to reproduce graphics and artwork. is it just my boss being over cautious?
2. has anyone got good reason NOT to buy a Creation cutter? i have studied the boards and there does appear to be issues with the set up, but once that is sorted, is it ok?
i thank you all in advance of any replies i may receive……
😀
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I spoke to Creation yesterday and your cutter is on its way – Rachel has had a stern talking to.
Cheers Paul
quote thornfire:A BIG thank you to Jerry Bonham of Signblazer fame and also Jerrys Friend in the UK for helping me sort out my problem iwth purchasing a cutter direct from China Now that I have met Jerry I will purchase my cutters from him and sleep at night 🙂
Thornfire PS I am going to try out your SIGNBLAZER software as well Jerry
Thank you once againquote thornfire:Hi Jerry nice informative post just what I was looking for 🙂
I bought a Creation cutter from this company in Sydney had nothing but crap from him deposited cash $1495.00 into his account to get the cutter in two to three days didn’t arrive for three weeks after a lot of agro, the stand didn’t even suit the cutter different colour, I had to use my panal beating skills to adapt it. As I have a market for vinyl cutters I searched the web and purchased another from Creation ? SHENZHEN Jerry do you have a email address for the Creation company you know as I think I have done my dough with the Creation Company I am dealing with I have called them twice and asked for the manager but I think I keep getting an office girl she would not tell me her name I deposited money on the tenth January still no tracking number I would not deal with this company again just received an email from a girl called Rachel saying she lost my email address but she also had my MSN address so this is a warning to anyone attempting to import their own Creation cutter MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH. the web address’s are different one is http://www.pcut.cn.com the other is http://www.pcut.com.cn. The cutter itself is a good cutter compared to the three Redsail cutters. I imported from China very good company to deal with http://www.hflaser.com but in my opinion their vinyl cutters are not as good as the creation for the same money.
thornfirequote Jerry Bonham:Hello Russ,You complain about gremlins in your PCut
There are two manufacturers in China of PCuts. They are brothers who argued and split the business into two companies. They have never spoken to each other again. I am good friends with one of the brothers and have done a lot of work with PCuts and know their ins and outs pretty well.
So here goes and see if I can shed some light on some of your gremlins.gremlin one: causes p-cut not to respond and cut from software, but just on occasions
Aha, you do not say what model you have. Is it new, old or USB and serial or USB only or serial only?
I have seen this in USB connections. I have not seen this on serial only. Solution if it is USB. Change USB port and make sure that you are using the main USB port of your computer. If it is serial make sure that the settings in device manger are the same as in your software. If USB make sure the same setting apply as well in both software and Device Manager. (USB is a type of serial — USB does stand for Universal Serial Port) Most Chinese cutters are USB 1.Gremlin two: causes p-cut baud rate to flip from 9600 to 19200 whenever it feels like it (mines not done it for a while though)
The same answer as above applies. The setting on the USB or Serial port MUST in Device Manager match to the settings in your software.
gremlin three: causes the pressure setting to always revert back to 255 whenever it is turn on (my biggest annoyance)
Not a gremlin. Simply there is no function or memory to retain settings in your particular PCut. These cutters are produced for a very low price and sold for very low prices. Do not expect all the bells and whistles of a cutter that is three to six times the price. Compromises must be made in producing anything low cost. The PCut guys have done a remarkable job to produce a reliable cutter that does a great job.
(About who makes & designs PCuts — Sam Sun, my friend was the first person in China to design a vinyl cutter from scratch. He was a sign maker so poor that he decided to make his own. He did not even have a Roland cutter or access to another cutter to copy it. So from absolutely from scratch he made the first PCut. He is a genius — could you as a poverty stricken sign maker that needed a cutter desperately make one from scratch with parts bought from a local electrical supplier? Sam did and it worked and he then went on to make them for other sign makers in China. And of course as soon as the first one was sold it was copied by others everywhere. So today in China there are 47 manufacturers of cutters, nearly all based on Sam’s design)gremlin four: has trouble remembering where the start and the finish of the letter is when cutting no matter how you set the blade offset (only by a fraction but enough to make weeding a pain)
I think you may have a real complaint here. It does not do this when I use a PCut and as there are about 2,000 or more month made and sold to the west I would heard screams about this long ago.
The blade offset should be 0.3 not 0.25 for a normal red tipped blade. The blades in PCuts are the same as in Mimaki cutters and Omega Cutters. Did you know there are four different blades available for different uses. They have the following offsets. 0.15 for very small letters, 0.3 for normal work, 0.5 for reflective and 0.75 for the real heavy duty 3M reflective stuff. The 0.75 is what the scrapbook industry also uses for cutting light card.So do not alter your offset values. You do not say what software drives your PCut. As far as I know only SignBlazer and ArtCut can drive all PCuts. In SignBlazer the software does an over-cut. In other words it cuts (always) past the start point to stop this happening. I am not sure in ArtCut. I doubt it. We invented this over-cut way back in 1992. I have never mentioned this before and it is not in any of our advertising about SignBlazer. So without testing ArtCut I could not tell you if it does an over cut or not. I am sure that other western sign cutting software programs have added this however I am not sure. Some of the early western brands of cutters has this problem and this was our solution.
Another cause is a resharpened blade or a blade with a broken or damaged point. So try a new blade as well.
Good Luck! If you need more info just post a reply.😎 :lol1: :lol1:
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PCut machines should remember pressure settings etc – what firmware are you running?
Spare blade holders are really inexpensive now, maybe buy an extra one – might save time in the long run.
Cheers Paul
quote Russ Draper:As you prob know that the Pcut is a temperamental machine, everytime i switch it on my pressure setting is always set at 255, (i set it to 80 for my normal garment vinyl)Using the grooves on the blade holder & locking ring I can get the setting accurate enough not to have any problems, been using this system for over a week now and it works for me!
I use the same blade angle for all my cutting jobs….but that is prob more my lack of knowledge than anything else!
Cheers
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We will attempt to offer general advice on this forum (from time to time), which is what we have done in the past – if we know of a specific issue we’ll mention like we did with the changes to the PCut baud rate.
Most forums that are sign making related are full of customers having issues with their cutters…not just PCut, they are no better or worse than any other cutter. Some people do seem to have issues connecting the cutter correctly – but from our experience the vast majority don’t.
Our PCUT machines all have USB connections and the latest V4.22 firmware which generally causes few problems, from what I have read on here the problems are pre V4.22 – not even our machines.
If you have a specific problem we will do what we can to try to resolve it – but if we haven’t heard of it before we will say so. Most are computer setup related and nothing to do with the cutter.
Cheers Paul
quote scraggy:Well I am having the same problem and to be honest I am sick of it, When I spoke to signwizard last week the man on the phone said he hadn’t heard of it before which is a little strange considering they have responded to this thread.
There is obviously a problem with the usb cutter because there are posts on other forums with the same problem.
Question is is how to fix it, because a machine that doesn’t connect is as much use as a chocolate teapot.
I know they are only a cheap machine but if I can’t use it it isn’t worth a penny. -
Latest firmware version is 4.22 (USB mainboard) – but you can’t reflash the firmware to upgrade it – its an Eprom swap. I don’t know what the latest is for the serial port mainboards.
Cheers Paul
quote antonio:I had the same problem and uninstalling and reinstalling the software I make it work.And, if I want to actualize the firmware? I have the 4.15 firmware and I think the last is 4.22
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If you change the cutter speed on a USB PCut and immediately select online it will reset the cutter to its default settings – including a baud rate of 19200, you must use the ‘mode’ button again before ‘online’.
Hope it makes sense, doesn’t to me.
Cheers Paul
quote Philip Hammerton:Had a similar problem a few weeks ago with my ny p-cut which I also bought through Mr Flynn through ebay one day it was working fine – then plotter wasn’t responding from my computer – just check on p-cut machine that the baud rate is 9600 by pressing mode button til rate is displayed and adjust using up/down button – as it sometimes changes to a higher number for no reason and stops plotter communicating from computer.Good luck
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The replacement cost is for a complete new software package with a new dongle, cd and serial number. Dongles are all programmed with individual serial numbers, so your old code won’t work – its also what we are charged by the manufacturer.
Paul
quote chrisfoster:I broke my one a short while ago and Signwizard wanted £100 for a replacement! Needless to say I managed to fix/bodge it back together!!Chris 🙂
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Hi folks
We have been asked this question alot recently and always for Flexisign (which we don’t have to test).
I’ve used these drivers successfully with the UCut range of machines (not in Flexi) Houston DMPL, Generic DMPL, PCut, Copam and DingTec.
The manufacturer doesn’t have an association with Flexi so there isn’t a dedicated driver in their range to my knowledge.
All these cutters in the UK are supplied with a free copy of SignCut STD which has the correct drivers and of course there is the option (£200.00) to upgrade to SignBlazer Pro which also has the correct drivers implemented.
Hope this helps – Regards Paul
Signwizard UK Ltdquote John Cornfield:Hi,piced up a ceap cutter for a new sight andwould like to run it with flexi.
no profile for the cutter available but the guys at signwizard suggestedit would work with another machines profile.
anybody using on eof these machines and using another machine profile to drive it?
Cheers
John