Highlight HL 721A, HL 721B User Manual
HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
Table of contents
1. Statement from Manufacturer ·········································································· 2
2. Precaution ·································································································· 2
3. Routine Maintenance ····················································································· 3
4. Packing List and Accessories ··········································································· 3
5. Setup ·········································································································· 4
5.1. Machine Assemble ············································································· 4
5.2. Cable Connection ·············································································· 5
5.3. Blade and Pen Assemble ····································································· 5
5.4. Blade Adjustment and Installation ·························································· 6
5.5. Paper Setup ····················································································· 6
6. Offline Operation (Machine Standalone Adjustment) ············································· 7
6.1. Initialize ··························································································· 7
6.2. Check Z Axis (Pen/blade holder heads down or up) ·································· 7
6.3. Check X Axis (Pen/blade carriage moves left or right) ································ 7
6.4. Check Y Axis (Paper feeding shaft rotate forward or backward) ··················· 8
6.5. Check and Adjust Drawing/Cutting Speed ··············································· 8
6.6. Check and Adjust Blade Pressure ························································· 8
6.7. Starting Point & Trial Cut ····································································· 8
6.8. Check and Adjust Baud Rate ································································ 9
6.9. Repeat Previous Cutting Job ································································ 9
6.10. Cancel Current Cutting Job ·································································· 9
6.11. Online Mode ····················································································· 10
6.12. Offline/Pause Mode ············································································ 10
7. Online Operation (Work with PC) ······································································ 11
7.1. Install USB Driver under Windows OS ···················································· 11
7.2. Install Artcut with Graphic CD ······························································· 15
7.3. Work with CorelDRAW (for reference) ··················································· 18
7.4. Work with SignBlazer (for reference) ······················································ 20
8. Technical Specifications ·················································································· 22
9. Trouble Shooting ··························································································· 23
9.1. Carriage Assembly ············································································· 23
9.2. Paper Pressure & Feeding Shaft ··························································· 24
9.3. Power Supply ···················································································· 24
9.4. Random Cutting and Unpredictable ······················································· 24
9.5. Not Output any Work (No Response) ····················································· 24
9.6. Produced Work has Jagged Edges ························································ 24
10. FAQ ········································································································· 25
HIGHLIGHT ELECTRONICS
HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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1. Statement from Manufacturer
1. The manufacturer reserves the right to alter the contents of the manual and specifications of the product without notice.
2. If the machine develops a fault, please contact your authorized agent straight away for prompt attention to your problem.
3. The manufacturer is not liable for damage to persons or property caused by improper or unauthorized repairs or use of the
machine.
4. Windows©, Windows XP©, Roland©, and Artcut© are brand names mentioned in this manual. These names are owned by
their respective copyright© holders. The manufacture makes no claim to these names and they are mentioned in this manual
only to assist users.
2. Precaution
If the machine emits any smoke, smell, or abnormal noise, please switch power off
immediately.
Make sure the machine is well grounded.
Do not detach, repair or reconstruct the machine, it may result fire, electric shock,
personal hazard.
Do not touch the knife tip with your finger to prevent injury or
perspiration of knife head.
Do not damage or random replace the supplied power cable. Do
not excessively bend, pull, bundle the power cable or place weight
on it, otherwise the power source may be damaged even fire or
electric shock is thus incurred.
If you are not going to use the machine for a period of time,
please unplug the power cable.
When operating the machine, do not place your hand on any
moving parts to avoid injury.
Place the machine on a stable, and level surface, otherwise it
may result damage.
To unplug the power cable from power point, ple ase hold the plug
instead of the cable, strongly pulling off the cable possibly results
in electric shock or fire.
Any operation is forbidden in case of storm or lighting to prevent
damage of the machine.
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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3. Routine Maintenance
1. Make sure the machine is placed on a stable, level surface and in a clean space with easy access.
2. Do not share same power source with any heavy electrical appliances.
3. Do not plug or unplug any cables while power stays on.
4. Do not move the knife carriage by force when the power is off to avoid damage the machine.
5. Do not apply excessive force on any movable parts such as film holding and feeding shafts, lever of film feeding wheel, and
carriage moving belt.
6. Do not drop any tiny substance on the feeding shaft as it may cause inaccuracies and damage to the machine.
7. Keep away from any electrical noise such as electric welders, and magnetic field such as electrical transformer.
8. Always unplug the power cable before start trouble shooting on electrical and mechanical issues.
9. Always lift the latch lever of press wheel when the machine is not in use to prevent deformation to the rollers and thus possible
inaccurate operation.
10. Always check the power point, power cable, fuse, sockets, communication cable, communication plug and sockets first if
something unusual.
11. Unplug the power cable and put the dust cover on when it is not in use.
12. Keep all CDs in good condition.
4. Packing List and Aaccessories
Item Qty Item Qty
Plotting cutter
1
Floor stand and fittings
(optional)
1
Power cable
1
Dust Cover 1
Blade knife and holder
1
Ball pen and holder 1
Com cable (RS 232)
1
USB cable
1
Artcut S/W CDs (optional) 1 USB driver CD
1
Artcut S/W user manual (optional)
1
Cutter user manual
1
Film collect basket (optional) 1 Vinyl collect basket (HL721A
model only)
1
HIGHLIGHT ELECTRONICS
HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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5. Setup
5.1. Machine Assemble
1. LHS cover 9. Mounting support
2. Carriage bracket 10. USB port
3. Holder 11. COM port
4. Carriage 12. Power socket
5. Upper cover 13. Fuse
6. Feeding wheel 14. Power switch
7. LCD panel 15. Feeding wheel lever
8. RHS cover
Step 1
Black short screws with
long plastic sleeve& cap
Qty: 2 x 2
Step 2
S/S big screw with
S/S sleeve
Qty: 3 x 2
Curve side face outside
Flat side face inside
Step 3
S/S long screws
Qty: 4 x 2
Fig 5.1a Machine Stand
Fig 5.1b Machine
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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Installation of vinyl collect basket for HL 721A model only
5.2. Cable Connection
1. Turn off both powers of the cutter and PC.
2. Connect USB or RS 232 (9 pin serial cable comes with the machine) to a PC (Only connect one of the cables. If
connects the USB cable, then need to install a USB driver from the CD comes with the machine. If connects the RS
232 cable, then do not need install the USB driver, but still need set up a COM port and data flow settings).
3. Connect power cable to the power source.
* Do not turn on the powers until everything is correct.
5.3. Ball Pen and Blade Assemble
Fit a ball pen into its holder first and load a piece of paper for an offline trial draw before start using a blade and film.
(External view) (Detail view)
Outside of main frame
Inside of main frame
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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5.4. Blade Adjustment and Installation
5.4.1. Adjust the protruding length of the knife top as required for specific cutting media。
Correct Too long protruding Too short protruding
length of knife point length of knife point
5.4.2. Undo the screw of carriage holder. 5.4.3 Redo the screw of carriage holder.
When the tool is in appropriate position screw it and fix the screw.
With B model, the front holder is for ball pen, rear holder is for blade.
* Make sure there is 1 ~ 2 mm gap between knife or pen tip and paper when the carriage lifts up.
5.5. Paper/Film Setup (The LCD panel layout of B model is different than A model, but the key operations
are same
)
This machine is suitable for both single-sheet and roll paper (film).
Lift all feeding press wheels.
Line up paper at proper position (level and even) and lower the feeding wheels with avoiding any press wheel seats at the right joint of
two rolling shafts.
1. Turn on the power of machine (a red light of Reset button on LCD panel will be light on).
2. Press the Offline/Pause button on the LCD panel (a yellow light will be light on).
3. Press two arrow buttons (↑ and ↓) to check whether the paper and carriage move nice smooth, square and even.
Adjust the level spring to get a correct wheel pressure.
Knife adjusting screw
Knife handle Knife Knife sheath
Superficial
materials
Base paper
HL
HL
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Paper adjustment button operation
2
1
3
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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* Make sure there is 1 ~ 10 cm distance between feeding wheel and paper edge to achieve good feeding.
6. Offline Operation - Machine Standalone Adjustment (The LCD panel
layout of B model is different than A model, but key operations are same
)
Key points:
1. The cutting plotter stands alone, do not need to connect to a PC.
2. Manual check X, Y, Z axis, adjust the carriage speed and pressure.
3. Load a ball pen and a piece of paper; check whether a test pattern (a test square) can be drawn.
4. The cutting plotter will be considered as OK generally as long as it’s able to draw a test square.
6.1. Initialize
1. Load a piece of paper properly (smooth, nice even and square).
2. Load a ball pen into a carriage holder (to eliminate any influence from a knife).
3. Plug power cable to the 240V AC 50Hz power point and turn on the power switch (a red “Reset” LED stays on and a blue
screen on LCD panel).
4. The blade carriage will move to right end position.
5. The rolling shaft will rotate forward and backward.
6. The carriage head will lift up 1~ 2mm.
7. The “Reset” LED stays on which means the cutter is standby.
The factory default settings are:
Baud rate: 9600 bps.
Cutting speed: 480 mm/s.
Cutting force: 240 g.
Starting point: right end of the machine.
Data buffer: empty.
*The default settings can be changed during running.
6.2. Check Z Axis (Pen/Blade Holder Heads Down or Up)
1. The red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press and hold “Origin” button on the keypad and the blade holder on the carriage will head down, and lift up when release “Origin”
button.
6.3. Check X Axis (Pen/Blade Carriage Moves Left or Right)
1. The red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press “Offline/Pause” button, and make sure the yellow LED stays on.
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
X axis operation
1
2
3
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Z axis operation
2
1
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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3. Press “
←” or “→” arrow buttons, the pen/blade carriage will move left or right direction corresponding.
6.4. Check Y Axis (Paper Feeding Shaft Rotate Forward or Backward)
1. The red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press “Offline/Pause” button, and make sure the yellow LED stays on.
3. Press “↓” or “↑” arrow button, the paper feeding shaft will move forward or backward corresponding.
6.5. Check and Adjust Drawing/Cutting Speed
1. The red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press the “↓” or “↑” button to increase or decrease the setting, and LCD screen will display “Speed XXX mm/s” corresponding. (The
default setting is 350 mm/s).
6.6. Check and Adjust Blade Pressure
1. The red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press “←” or “→” button to increase or decrease the setting, and LCD screen will display “Force XXX g” corresponding. (The default
setting is 100 g).
* Make sure the blade tip should stick out about 0.5 mm or 2/3 thickness of the vinyl. Start from lower force, and then increase
it gradually.
6.7. Starting Point & Trial Cut
* Prefer to set up a ball pen on the carriage holder and load a piece of paper rather than a knife and vinyl film.
* Always do a trial-cut every time starting a new vinyl film to achieve a right cutting force.
* It is always good exercise to adjust paper feeding and carriage moving speed, draw/blade pressure, and paper feeding
wheel pressure to achieve a nice good trial.
* The machine is used to be considered as good on hardware issue if it’s able to draw/cut a trial.
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Blade pressure Adj.
CutSpeed 50 mm/s
CutPress 50g
1
2
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Cutting Speed Adj.
CutSpeed 50 mm/s
CutPress 50g
1
2
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Y axis operation
1
2
3
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HL 721A/B 1351B Plotting Cutter User Manual
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1. Make sure the red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press “Offline/Pause” button, and make sure the yellow LED stays on.
3. Press “↑” or “↓”or “→” or “←”arrow buttons corresponding to align paper and pen/blade carriage horizontally and vertically to find a
proper stating point.
4. Press “Origin” button to Zero the new starting point.
5. Press “Offline/Pause” button again, and make sure the yellow LED stays off.
6. Press “Test” button, the machine should be able to draw or cut a trial cut.
6.8. Check and Adjust Baud Rate (9600 bps) and Up-Speed
* Keep the baud rate setting as 9600 all the time to match what sets at PC control panel and Artcut application software.
* The Up-Speed is a speed for blade carriage and media film return to starting point after a project is finished.
1. Make sure the red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press “Setup” button, and make sure the green LED stays on.
3. Press “←” or “→” arrow buttons to adjust the baud rate, “↑” or “↓” arrow buttons to adjust the up-Speed.
6.9. Repeat Previous Cutting Job (Power without been off and reset)
1. Make sure the red “Reset” LED stays on.
2. Press “Offline/Pause” button, and make sure the yellow LED stays on.
3. Press “Setup” button, and make sure the green LED stays on.
* It will not repeat if the green LED flashing which means data error.
6.10. Cancel Current Cutting Job
During a cutting, press the red “Reset” button again, it will cancel current job and return to factory default settings.
Up-Speed 570 mm/s
Baud rate 9600
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Baud rate & Up_speed setting
1 2 3
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Offline trial cut
1
2&5
3
46
Up-Speed 570 mm/s
Baud rate 9600
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Repeat previous cutting
1
2 3
Up-Speed 570 mm/s
Baud rate 9600
Offline
/Pause
Reset
Setup
Test Origin
Cancel current cutting
1&2
HIGHLIGHT ELECTRONICS
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