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Author Topic: vinyl cutter?  (Read 12005 times)

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Offline nik

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vinyl cutter?
« on: July 10, 2008, 01:30:01 PM »
hello
I'm just looking for vinyl cutter blades, and they all have an offset about 0.25-0.5mm, they work in blade holder with bearings, so 4-th axis is not necessary , this offset helps blade to find the proper direction, the only problem is how to set mach3 to work with this offset. the problem appear in changing directions - on 90 degree corner the blade cut small raduis, and mach3 should compensate this
any ideas?
thanks

Offline Kristin D

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2008, 10:06:03 PM »
Nic,

What does a vinyl cutting machine do? does it lift the knife and reposition in the corner before going in the next direction on a 90 degree cut? For that matter a small radius may not be all so bad unless your working with real small cutouts as it would prevent the edges from lifting.

Kristin

Offline bowber

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2008, 06:14:23 PM »
Commercial vinyl cutters have the blade offset set so they compensate on corners.
I'm sure there is a way to compensate, maybe cutter compensation, no that'll offset the blade to one side. This may take some thinking about.

Steve

Offline nik

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2008, 07:12:43 PM »
if the software make these corrections , the tool is not necessary to lift up even in 179 degree turn, the only question is how to tell mach3 that actually the cutting edge of the tool is always behind, should be somethink like backlash, but modified when direction is changed, even in circle movement

vmax549

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2008, 09:43:35 PM »
HUM the blade would have to over run the corner by the amount of offset so when it turned it would square the corner then retract the offset before the axis moved beyond the offset amount. I don't think MACH has that capability directly it would have to be done through gcode.

Hope that helps
(;-) TP

Offline Chaoticone

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2008, 11:15:53 PM »
Could the blade be set up as a tangential axis?

Brett
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Offline nik

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2008, 06:04:12 AM »
yes, but this is one more motor, more cables, and etc, vynil ploters use that offset on their blade, so the blade is always in the correct direction, and this offset is set in their software
« Last Edit: July 12, 2008, 06:06:09 AM by nik »

Offline Hood

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2008, 06:21:40 AM »
Having trouble visualising if this would work but I am thinking if you just add 0.25mm to your straight line dimension before the arc would that not work?

Hood

Offline bowber

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2008, 08:22:49 AM »
I'm not sure how it's done but the offset is set in the machine, you can do a test cut and alter the offset to get sqr corners.
Too much offset and you get pointy corners, to little and you get rounded corners.

I must point out that I'm a sign maker and have a few of these cutters.
Summa graphics machines tend to use 0.45mm offset and Roland use 0.25mm offset. I also think even the cutters with tangential heads use an offset.

Why do you want to make one of these cutters, they're not expensive and I would have thought by the time you've made the machine and bought the steppers, screws etc your up to the price of a good quality cutter.
Or are you making a flatbed cutter for thick materials, in which case you need the tangential head anyway.

Steve

Offline nik

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Re: vinyl cutter?
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2008, 10:23:08 AM »
the machine is ready and working, this is just one more attachment, i think for new vinyl cutter but i dont have more space, my workshop is not verry big, i have allready trubles with the space
i dont use often vinyl, so one attachment will be enough
i just finish with the blade holder, soon im going to test it without the offset, but im sure will be problem
« Last Edit: July 12, 2008, 10:25:03 AM by nik »