I tried to search past post for an answer put I guess I can't word it right.
Is there a trick to Align vinyl for a long cut(9ft)on my plotter? I'm using a Roland CX-24 and for the life of me I can't seem to get the vinyl straight for that long a of a cut. Guess it was dumb luck before when I did a long cut. Any help would be great, Thanx.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Greg..if the CX is like my CM it just takes a bit of patience.
I line up the vinyl and prefeed a couple of yrds to see whats happening and then back track it if it is OK. If not I make the necessary adjustment in alignment. (in my case the vinyl, if aligned with the markers perfectly, will ALWAYS drift to the right, so I am used to "mis-aligning" automatically to compensate for the fact that the guy who stuck the markers on my machine was hung over the morning he did it! )
I have successfully cut "swooshes" as long as 15'. BUT, if there are 3 or 4 or more to do out of the same length of vinyl, I only cut one at a time then re-align and and cut the next one.
For text, it is real easy..just cut bite size sections and fit them together after cutting and weeding.
It's hard to visualise, but if the vinyl drifts right, you have to align the vinyl so it feeds to the right to compensate.
BTW...try doing a continuous cut that is 10-12 ft long with these things if it is reflective material. They are great machines but the ARE limited by their pricetag.
I don't know the seetings on the CX, but on the CM there is a dip switch that is normally set for normal vinyl (2 and 3 mil) but can be set for heavier material (reflective). this switch, when set for heavier material will slow down the feed and increase the pinch roller pressure. (check your user manual, I am sure there is a similar feature on your machine)
Edited to add..the info on blade pressure, pinch roller pressure and feed speed is found on pages 59 and 60 of your user manual.
Hope some of this helps.
[ July 06, 2006, 07:36 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
I usually pull half of the needed material through the plotter first, then align it, then use the plotter to advance to the starting point. If it stays fairly straight, all is good. If it drifts a little bit, it will drift evenly to both sides and not run short of the pinch rollers.
Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on :
The only way I ever found to get any of our Roland plotters to stay on track for more than 10 feet was to get rid of them and get Summa plotters. I'm not sure who the salesman that sold my boss on them was but I owe him lunch one of these days.
Posted by Jon Butterworth (Member # 227) on :
As Mike says ... align the vinyl at least half way into the length you want to cut then run back to the begining. I have a Graphtec and tab #1 does this.
Once you ahve got it right, mark the position of the edge of the vinyl on your machine for future reference. We used a length of masking tape up against the edge of the vinyl on both sides of the cutter platform.
Last week I cut over 30ft in one hit without realigning!
Posted by Steve Eisenreich (Member # 1444) on :
Pat that is not helping HAHAHA
Greg
Have you tried cleaning your rollers and do you make sure you leave the pinch rollers in the up position when not being used? Do you have a good location with enough infeed and outfeed area for such a long cut? I do remember the Roland I used years ago was a bit finicky when loading vinyl just take your time and do run in and out the vinyl as long as you intend to cut as a double check. Is the vinyl roll holder straight if it is crooked a little it wont help things.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Another thought occured to me..24" vinyl is slit from wider logs. If this was done locally at a suppliers place and the slitter blade was the slightest bit "wobbley" then aligning the slit edge is also more difficult. Try aligning the other side of the vinyl.
I have watched vinyl being pre fed and one edge will sometimes wander back and forth by an eighth of an inch.
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
Step 1) Get rid of your plotter. Step 2) Buy a Gerber Odyssey.
Problem solved.
I love how it automatically aligns itself. 50yd plots are never a problem.
.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
Glenn
Probably good advice. I haven't had experience with Gerber cutters other than to see them.
However...I just thought of yet another thing I do to assist with long cuts on my CM24....
Greg..As you know the Rolands do a check on pinch roller position before coming to rest at their "start" position. And if you are trying to utilise every bit of vinyl on the roll, you set the pinch rollers as wide as practical.
What I will do on long runs is do the prefeed and make sure that alignment is going to be OK..BUT..I then raise the pinch rollers, leaving the cutting head in it's "start" position, and move the pinch rollers inboard on either side by 1/4" to 1/2" and then clamp down the pinch rollers again. (as long as you don't disturb the vinyl, the grit rollers will hold it in the same alignment)
The machine doesn't know that I have done this since it had already done the check, but if there is unexpected drift there is an extra 1/2"-1" of room for it.
Basically, by doing this, it "could" cut past the position of the pinch rollers.
[ July 06, 2006, 11:18 PM: Message edited by: Dave Grundy ]
Posted by Patrick Whatley (Member # 2008) on :
Okay, actually what I used to do was use the "Show Me" command in FlexiSign. That would roll out the vinyl, essentially showing you the box that the cut was going to be in. Usually by the time the vinyl got the far end it had come out from under one of the pinch rollers. When it would start back to the beginning I would guide it back under the rollers by gently pinching it between my fingers. I could guide it along and make sure it stayed aligned. By the time it was back to the beginning it would be almost perfect. Doing it that way I could get 10-15' cuts pretty regularly.
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
are your pinch wheels new? thats important
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
to support Pat's input I can cut 50 yds of vinyl without an adjustment on my summa... 24 inch material...I cut it in incriments.. but it tracks perfectly
Posted by Curtis hammond (Member # 2170) on :
My anagraph would cut 15 feet ,, after I got the material to run perfectly right I would scrib a thin pencil line on the platten. From that point on IT was very easy to align the vinyl. Run it back and forth until it was just right. Then have enuf vinyl run out so the machine would never have to pull against a full roll. runs straight and true that way.
Posted by Miles Cullinane (Member # 980) on :
since no one has mentioned this way I thought I would. put the material through the plotter without lowering the friction wheels. bring about 30" through. (this will only work if you have the stand that comes with roland)
take the 2 sides at the leading edge of the vinyl and line them up with the 2 edges of the vinyl at the other side of the plotter near to the roll of vinyl. if you pull it tight, it will be aligned and i end up using my chin to hold it for a second and then drop the friction wheels.
I know it sounds a pain but I can get 12' to 15' runs without a problem. if anyone needs to see it let me know and i'll get some shots of it and post them.
I learned this from someone on the board. Posted by greg feil (Member # 4379) on :
Thanks for the help everyone. I'd like to upgrade my plotter but this one works OK for now.
I think the problem was caused by the vinyl not being slit right. I only had problems with the black. The other to colors lined up just right with little fussing around.
I never did get the black aligned.
Thanks again everyone
Posted by J & N Signs (Member # 901) on :
Why in the world would anyone want to cut anything over 8 feet and be practical?
Posted by captain ken (Member # 742) on :
I went with the pat theroy.... get rid of the Roland and get a Summa, they have super tracking and with the guide wheels on I have cut 40' long stuff
Posted by Bill Modzel (Member # 22) on :
Mario, I did two 5x10 alumalite panels last week. I set the first 10' run on my graphtec just using the alignment bar and after that just kept hitting the origin key without realigning it. Cut all 40' without a hitch.
Posted by Ricky Jackson (Member # 5082) on :
I have a Summa and we cut 30 to 50 feet of stuff all the time without repositioning. I also have a Goober Envision too; it's twice as fast, has more down force, is tangential cut, sprocketed and only costs' three times as much, LOL. I only use it for cutting Edge printed jobs.
If you can't afford the Goober, jack up the Rowland and put a Summa under it.
Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :
Greg, you are most likely right, it was probably the vinyl. I've had jobs where I was going to cut several 7 or 8 foot sections of the same color. Cut the first second and third running dead straight, then all of a sudden the fourth cut would start drifting. I've had some rolls that will not run straight no matter what I do.
One thing no one mentioned is even if you pull out all the vinyl that you need to cut so its hanging over the roll in the back, make sure the roll is perfectly aligned with the vinyl going through the plotter. When ever I forget to do this so that the roll is off to the left or right even a half inch, the vinyl will start skwewing for sure.
Another trick that has worked for me is after you do the show me thing, after it goes back to 0, 0, I'll lift one of the pinch rollers and move the vinyl just slightly. If while looking at the plotter the vinyl skews to the right, move the vinyl under the left pinch roller back just a tad. It doesn't work every time but often it does. Don't forget to do another show me.
Posted by Tim Whitcher (Member # 685) on :
My Roland will cut up to 48" width material, and I've cut up to 12 ft. no problem. This baby is 9 years old this summer (PNC 1860). I've never changed the rollers. Just to be sure, sometimes I'll align the vinyl, then run the vinyl through the plotter to make sure it's aligned correctly, then run it back, before cutting. I run it a 10mm rather than the usual 20, for cast vinyl.
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
)![[Bash]](graemlins/bash.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)