Tools/vinylcut
Graphtec Craft ROBO Vinyl Cutter
Introduction[edit]
The Vinyl cutter can cut shapes out of self-adhesive vinyl that can be used for decorative purposes, or as a mask for chemical etching or sandblasting. It is suitable for use with thin vinyl/PVC that can't be cut on the laser as PVC fumes are hazardous. Induction is not required for the vinyl cutter but it can be quite tricky to use and if you need help you can contact someone from the maintainers listed below who may be able to help. Please be aware that the blade on the bottom of the cutter is razor sharp and take care not to get cut. The manual for the vinyl cutter is here.
Current Status[edit]
| Date | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 10th June 2019 | Functional | Functioning normally on Design Station 1 after re-installation of drivers |
How to use it[edit]
The vinyl cutter is kept in the cupboards underneath work table in the kitchen area. The vinyl cutter is used to cut self-adhesive designs of various patterns (typically text and logos) to be stuck on to a workpiece. For more advanced usage it could also be used to make stencils for chemical processes or paint. The cutter will cut UP TO 210 mm wide, but will cut to an infinite length (assuming you can source an infinite length of vinyls).
The Vinyl Cutter uses drivers which install the device as a printer. Design Station 1 does have the corresponding drivers installed the printer is called: Graphtec CC330.
Preparing the Design[edit]
- You can prepare your design in Inkscape or similar 2D software some members use Adobe illustrator as there prefered tool.
- Set the document properties to units of mm (milimetres) - this will help you down the line and avoid confusion!
- Draw the design actual size. Obviously fill and colour don't matter, it only cuts outlines.
- If the design includes text, using the toolbar at the top of the page go to: "Path -> Object to path" option in Inkscape to make paths. This applies also to any other object which is not a path for example a image you have imported.
- All cut lines must be in black and with a line with of 0.25pt
- Ungroup everything before cutting (Inkcut doesn't like groups)
- Orientation - the cutter will cut ALONG the roll by default. This is not usually what you want for small pieces (width < 500mm). So rotate it 90 deg. If creating a very large design (e.g. 500mm high text), then leave the design "the right way up". (NOTE: This advice seems to be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but I'm keeping it in case anyone finds it helpful)
Setting-up the Machine[edit]
- Plug the machine in to the PC via USB and into the mains
- Turn the machine on using the power button.
- Ensure it has connected to the PC correctly by looking in the devices menu on the PC and finding the printer GraphtecCC330.
- Lift the lid in the FRONT of the machine.
- The vinyl must be smooth and without major dirt, rips, wrinkles, or folds.
- Place the vinyl straight against the rollers, and ensure the leftmost edge is pressed against the second aligning guides.
<picture coming soon>
- If the screen displays "Load Vinyl", press Enter, and the machine will pull in the sheet of vinyl (if anything else displays on the screen, see the "Troubleshooting" section of this wiki.
- Either from the printing preferences, or by clicking on the ROBO Craft icon, adjust the position of the cutter head to be in the BOTTOM LEFT corner of the sheet (the corner closest to the aligning guides), and adjust the pressure based on the thickness of the vinyl (usually in such a way that it doesn't cut through the backing sheet, just the vinyl itself, but significantly enough that it cuts all lines solidly).
- DO NOT attempt to manually move any parts of the machine (for more information on manual adjustments see the "Advanced" section).
- Click the "Test" button, and watch the blade closely for any flaws (See "Troubleshooting" for more information).
Printing[edit]
- When all is prepared open the print menu of your chosen software and select GraphtecCC330.
- Go into preferences and ensure that they match the image below:
<Image coming soon>
- For more advanced settings see "Advanced".
- Ensure the back of the printer is not against a wall or obstructed by anything, and also ensure that the full length of the vinyl will not fall off the surface.
- Click print.
Applying Vinyl to Workpiece[edit]
There is a roll of "transfer film" which is "sticky but not too sticky" often stored in the Small Machine Room.
- Prepare (clean, dry, lay out etc) the workpiece.
- Cut the vinyl to size with scissors etc.
- You can "weed" out the unwanted pieces at this stage, or manually remove them from the workpiece afterwards.
- Cleanly stick the transfer film to the top of the vinyl.
- The tricky part - now remove the backing from the vinyl, you should be left with the self-adhesive stuck to the transfer film.
- Stick the vinyl to your workpiece!
tech details[edit]
linux[edit]
- The cutter shows up as a standard USB<->RS-232 converter cable, and talks HP-GL.
- Connection via USB in Linux, means the device is probably /dev/ttyUSB0, Make sure that the serial baud rate is set to the same on the PC in Inkcut, as on the front panel menu. (see Tech Details below) Ensure you have read/write permissions to /dev/ttyUSB0, this can be done by running sudo chmod 777 /dev/ttyUSB0
- The best software for printing (From Linux at least) is InkCut an InkScape extension. Simple convert stroke to paths, select what you want, and `Extensions->Cutter / Plotter->InkCut`. Click the 'Properties' top-right to set the correct serial port (probably /dev/ttyUSB0) and speed (defaults to 38400, but you can set it via the menu button and LCD on the cutter).
windows[edit]
- Forget about Inkcut plugin, Inkscape will cut directly.
- Install drivers from http://www.microcontrols.org/arduino-uno-clone-ch340-ch341-chipset-usb-drivers/ (These work in Win10)
- Turn the printer on, then plug usb in
- Find Com? in device manager
- In Inkscape lick Extentions>Export>Plot...
- Set com? and baud 38400, when printer is zero'd and online then click apply and it should start cutting.
If the power supply messes up[edit]
If the power supply goes wrong in an especially weird way then it will cause the vinyl cutter to set some internal lockout that prevents it recovering even if a good power supply is connected. This can be diagnosed by checking the clock signal on the main CPU on the vinyl cutter's circuit board. If it's in lockout then the clock will be grossly distorted.
The fix for this is to connect the vinyl cutter to a known good power supply (24V at not less than 2A) then while it is powered up remove the firmware EEPROM module which is bolted onto the main PCB. This causes a hard-reset of the internal state and clears the lockout. Then power off the cutter and replace the module and re-start the cutter. This should restore normal operation.
Planned Upgrades[edit]
No upgrades are currently planned for the Vinyl Cutter
Graphtec Craft ROBO Caretakers[edit]
Maintainers[edit]
These are the people who look after and repair the Graphtec Craft ROBO, they're the ones to contact if there's any problems with it
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tony-S | Tony offers support in using the vinyl cutter |
| Steve R | Steve supports the hardware of the vinyl cutter but does not offer assistance with software installation or use. |
Recent Changes[edit]
If you make any non-trivial changes to the Graphtec Craft ROBO or perform maintenance please note it here, delete records older than 1 yr