MUTOH VC-600, VC-1300, VC-1800 User Manual

Rev No. V5a 2015 Jan

USER MANUAL

Sign Cutting Plotter

Read This Manual Before Using The Plotter.

VC-600

VC-1300 VC-1800

Trademark Mentioned in this Manual

 MUTOH, ValueCut, VC-600, VC-1300, VC-1800, ValueJet are registered trademarks or

product names of MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.

 Other company and product names may be registered trademarks or product names.

Caution

 No part of this product or publication may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted in any

form or by any means, except for personal use, without the permission of MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD.

 The product and the contents of this publication may be changed without prior notification.  MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD. has made the best efforts to keep this publication free from

error, but if you find any uncertainties or misprints, please call us or the shop where you bought this equipment.

 MUTOH INDUSTRIES LTD. shall not be liable for any damages or troubles resulting from

the use of this equipment or this manual.

ValueCut USER MANUAL Important Information

Important Information

Thank you for purchasing the ValueCut Cutting Plotter. Before you use the cutting plotter, please make sure that you have read

the safety precautions and instructions below.

Caution

SAFETY PRECAUTION

 For safety concern, please always hold the cutter firmly from the bottom while

moving it. Do not move the cutter by clasping the depression area on both sides.

 Do not place your hand close to the tool carriage to prevent your fingers from

being clamped during the operation of the cutting plotter.

O (Correct) X (Incorrect)

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Important Information ValueCut USER MANUAL

 Hazardous moving parts keep fingers and other body parts away!

 Do not shake or drop the blade holder, a blade tip can fly out.

 During an operation, do not touch any of the moving parts of this machine (such

as the carriage). Also be careful to make sure that clothing and hair do not get caught.

 Always connect the power cable to a grounded outlet.

 Always use the accessory power cable which is provided. Do not wire the power

cable so that it becomes bent or caught between objects.

 Do not connect the power cable to branching outlet to which other machines are

also connected, or use an extension cable. There is danger of overheating an d of mis-operation of the machine.

 Keep the tools away from children where they can reach.

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Important Information

Operation precaution

 Always put the pinch rollers within the white marks.

Note: Never press the top release grip (the release grip is fully pressed when a

clip sound is heard) and pull the bottom release grip at the same time as the pictures shown below. This will prevent you from disabling the pinch roller as the stop bar will not reach the correct position and therefore will not be functioning.

Pull up bottom to release grip

Disable

Press down

O (Correct)

Stop bar

Push

X (Incorrect)

Enable

Press down

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Table of Contents ValueCut USER MANUAL

Table of Contents

1 General Information ............................................ 9

1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 9

1.2 Package Items ........................................................................................................... 9

1.3 Production Features ............................................................................................... 11

1.4 Appearance of ValueCut ......................................................................................... 12

1.4.1 The Front View ....................................................................................................................... 12

1.4.2 The Back Vuew ...................................................................................................................... 13

1.4.3 The Whole View of ValueCut .................................................................................................. 13

1.4.4 The Left Side View ................................................................................................................. 14

1.4.5 The Right Side View ............................................................................................................... 14

2 Installatopn ........................................................ 15

2.1 Precaution ............................................................................................................... 15

2.2 Stand & Flexible Media Support System (VC-1300/1800) .................................... 16

2.3 Desktop Flexible Media Support System (VC-600) .............................................. 22

2.4 Instruction of Damper Roller ................................................................................. 24

2.5 Installation of Media Basket System ..................................................................... 25

2.6 Cutting Pad Installation .......................................................................................... 28

2.7 Blade Installation .................................................................................................... 30

2.8 Automatic Blade Length Detection ....................................................................... 32

2.9 Cable Connection ................................................................................................... 34

3 The Control Panel ............................................. 35

3.1 The LCD Panel ........................................................................................................ 35

3.2 Menu in On-line mode ............................................................................................ 36

3.3 Menu in Off-line Mode ............................................................................................ 37

3.4 Menu Items .............................................................................................................. 39

4 Operation ........................................................... 43

4.1 Media Loading ......................................................................................................... 43

4.1.1 Loading the Sheet Media ....................................................................................................... 43

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Table of Contents

4.1.2 Loading the Roll Media ........................................................................................................... 45

4.2 Tracking Performance ............................................................................................ 48

4.3 Cutting Force and Offset Adjustment ................................................................... 49

4.4 How to Cut 3mm Letters ........................................................................................ 50

4.5 How to Make A Long Plot ....................................................................................... 50

4.6 When Completing the Cutting Job ........................................................................ 51

5 Automatic Aligning System II .......................... 52

5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 52

5.2 AAS Calibrating the System .................................................................................. 53

5.2.1 Media Calibration ................................................................................................................... 53

5.2.2 AAS Calibration ...................................................................................................................... 53

5.2.3 AAS II on ValueCut ................................................................................................................. 54

5.3 Printer Test .............................................................................................................. 56

5.4 Registration Mark Offset Range ............................................................................ 58

5.5 Contour Cutting ...................................................................................................... 58

5.6 Tips for AAS ............................................................................................................ 60

6 Maintenance ...................................................... 61

6.1 Cleaning the Cutting Plotter .................................................................................. 61

6.2 Cleaning the Grid Drum ......................................................................................... 62

6.3 Cleaning the Pinch Rollers .................................................................................... 62

7 Trouble Shooting .............................................. 63

7.1 Non-operation Problems ........................................................................................ 63

7.2 Operational Problems ............................................................................................ 64

7.2.1 LCM Error Messages ............................................................................................................. 64

7.2.2 Other operational problems .................................................................................................... 65

7.3 Cutting Plotter/Computer Communication Problems .......................................... 67

7.4 Software Problems ................................................................................................. 68

7.5 Cutting Quality Problems ....................................................................................... 69

8 FlexiSTARTER Quick Start Guide .................... 70

8.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 70

8.2 Install of the FlexiSTARTER ................................................................................... 70

8.3 Start up of the FlexiSTARTER ................................................................................ 71

8.4 Add Device by Using the Production Manager .................................................... 72

8.5 Initial Settings of the Production Manager ........................................................... 73

8.5.1 Change to the setting of leaving job that finishes runnin g ...................................................... 73

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Table of Contents ValueCut USER MANUAL

8.5.2 Change unit of measures used in the Production Manager .................................................... 74

8.6 Basic Settings ......................................................................................................... 75

8.6.1 Overview of the FlexiSTARTER screen .................................................................................. 75

8.6.2 Standard T oolbar .................................................................................................................... 76

8.6.3 Main T oolbar ........................................................................................................................... 77

8.7 Create the Character .............................................................................................. 78

8.7.1 Cut/Plot Window ..................................................................................................................... 79

8.8 Cut the Character .................................................................................................... 80

8.9 Create Date of the Contour Cut Line ..................................................................... 82

8.9.1 Procedure of the cut contour .................................................................................................. 82

8.9.2 Read in the data of the Adobe Illustrator ................................................................................ 82

8.9.3 Create data of the contour cut line ......................................................................................... 83

8.9.4 Cut contour mark .................................................................................................................... 84

8.9.5 Create a cut contour mark ...................................................................................................... 85

8.10 Cut Contour ........................................................................................................... 86

8.10.1 Image Print ........................................................................................................................... 86

8.10.2 Cut contour window .............................................................................................................. 86

8.10.3 Cut Contour .......................................................................................................................... 87

8.11 Feature List ............................................................................................................ 88

8.12 Troubleshooting .................................................................................................... 90

8.12.1 Can not send the data from FlexiSTARTER ......................................................................... 90

8.12.2 How to change the pen up speed ......................................................................................... 90

9 Appendix ........................................................... 91

9.1 ValueCut Specification ........................................................................................... 91

9.2 Blade Specification ................................................................................................. 92

9.3 About the T ool ......................................................................................................... 93

9.4 Consumable and Optional Item List ...................................................................... 94

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ValueCut USER MANUAL General Information

1 General Information

1.1 Introduction

ValueCut series c utt i ng plotters have been designed to produce computer-generated images or perform contour cutting on sheets or rolls of vinyl media.

This manual covers the following models of ValueCut series cutting plotters:

‧VC-600 for media width: 50mm(1.97”) ~ 770mm(30.3”) ‧VC-1300 for media width: 50mm(1.97”) ~ 1594mm(62.7”) ‧VC-1800 for media width: 300mm(11.8”) ~ 1900mm(74.8”)

1.2 Package Items

The package of the ValueCut model contents the items listed below, please check carefully. If you find any item missing, please consult your local dealer for further ass ist anc e.

SSttaannddaarrdd IItteemm

QQuuaannttiittyy

1. Cutting Plotter Main unit 1

2. Stand Set ( for VC-1300/1800 only )(Optional for VC-600)

 2 piece of T-shape stand  1 piece of stand beam  18 pieces of M6 screws  1 piece of M5 L-shape hexagon screw driver  1 piece of Installation Guide for Stand Set

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General Information ValueCut USER MANUAL

3. Flexible Media Support System Package

Items VC-1300/1800 Only VC-600 1 set of Roll Media Flange (2 pieces) V V 1 set of Roll Holder (2 pieces) V V 1 set of Roll Holder Guide Bushes (4 pieces)

V V 1 set of Roll Holder Support (2 pieces) V V 1 piece of M6 L-shape hexagon screw driver V V 1 piece of Installation Guide for Roll Holder V 1 piece of M5 L-shape hexagon screw driver

1 set of Desktop Support Brackets (2 pieces) V 4 pieces of Plastic Foot V 4 pieces of M4 screws V 12 pieces of M6 screws V 1 piece of M4 L-shape hexagon screw driver

4.Media Basket (VC-1300/1800 only) (VC-600 : opt.)

 2 pieces of Basket Arm  2 pieces of Basket Rod  1 piece of Basket  4 pieces of Basket Screw  2 pieces of Fixtures (for Basket Arms)  8 pieces of M3 screws  1 piece of 2mm L-shape hexagon screw driver

5. Accessories

 1 piece of User’s Compact Disk  1 piece of data cable (RS-232C 3m)  1 piece of data cable (USB cable 3m)  1 set of Blade Holder Assembly (Installed in tool carriage of the cutting plotter)  1 piece of Blade (45° with Red Cap/ Installed in Blade Holde r)  1 piece of Safe Blade  1 piece of Cutting Pad for Vinyl cutting  1 piece of Tweezers  1 Oily ball-point pen

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ValueCut USER MANUAL General Information

1.3 Production Features

The following are the main features of the ValueCut series cutting plotters:

‧ Tri-port connectivity provides you with greater flexibility ‧ Up to 600-gram cutting f orce ‧ Up to 60-inch/per second cutting speed ‧ Guaranty 10-meter trac king ‧ User friendly, multi-language control panel ‧ Ingenious media basket (optional item) ‧ Enhanced Automatic Aligning System for automatic contour cutting

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General Information ValueCut USER MANUAL

1.4 Appearance of ValueCut

1.4.1 The Front View

Figure 1-1

Grid Drums – move the

media back and forth during operation.

Tool Carriage – performs the

cutting with the installed blade and pen with AAS module.

Slicer Groove – slice off the

extra media easily along this groove.

Platen – provides the surface

for holding and supporting

media while performing cutting.

Alignment Rulers – media

can be aligned with the clear guide line marks.

Cutting Pad – provides the

protection of blade when the blade is cutting.

Control panel – consists of 14

control keys and 1 LED and 1 LCM showing messages and menus.

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ValueCut USER MANUAL General Information

1.4.2 The Back Vuew

1.4.3 The Whole View of ValueCut

Figure 1-2

Figure 1-3

Pinch Rollers –

hold the media during cutting.

Lever –

raises or lowers the pinch rollers.

Roll Holder – holds and

supplies the roll media for cutting.

Roll Holder Guide Bushes – serve to keep

the roll media in place when media is pulled from the roll.

T-Stand –supports the cutti ng

plotter body.

Roll Holder Support –

supports roll holders.

Stand Beam – stabilizes the

body.

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General Information ValueCut USER MANUAL

1.4.4 The Left Side View

1.4.5 The Right Side View

Figure 1-4

Figure 1-5

Power Switch – On when switches to [I]; Off to

Circuit Breaker – 3 Amp.

AC Power Connector – used to insert the AC power

Serial Interface Connector (RS232C) – used

to connect the cutting plotter to a computer through a serial interface cable.

USB Connector – used to connect the cutting

plotter to a computer through a USB cable.

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

2 Installatopn

2.1 Precaution

Please read the following information carefully before you start installation.

Note:

 Make sure the power switch is off before installing the cutting plotter.  Carefully handle the cutter to prevent any injuries.

2. Choosing a proper place before setting up the cutting plotter

Before installing your cutting plotter, select a suitable location,

which meets the

following conditions.

 The machine can be approached easily from any direction.  Keep enough space for the machine, accessories and supplies.  Keep the working area stable, avoiding sever vibration.  Keep the temperature between 15 and 30

℃

(60-86oF) in the workshop.

 The relative humidity of the working environment should be between 25% to 75%.  Protecting the machine from dust and strong air current.  Preventing the machine from direct sunlight or extremely bright lighting.

3. Connecting the Power Supply

Check the plug of the power cord to see if it matches with the wall outlet. If not, please contact your dealer.

 Insert the plug (male) into a grounded power outlet.  Insert the other end (female) of power cord into the AC connector of cutting plotter.

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

2.2 Stand & Flexible Media Support System (VC-1300/1800)

Step 1

Please examine supplied items in the accessory box of stand carton:

 2 pieces of base beams  2 pieces of side beams  1 piece of stand beam  20 pieces of M6 screws  1 piece of M5 L-shape hexagon screw driver  1 piece of Installation Guide for Stand Set

Step 2

Remove the plotter body and the accessories from the s hipped carton. Assemble the base beam to the side beam with 2 screws to f orm a T-shape stand.

Please pay attention to the direction of the base beam (t he wheel on the front end of the beam comes

with a break while the rear one is on its own).

Figure 2-1

Figure 2-2

Figure 2-3

Front

Rear

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

Step 3

 Place the stand beam upright on the T-stand and follow number (1) (2)to assemble. (See Figure

2-4 & 2-5)

Step 4 Position the stand beam perpendicularly to part (1)and put the screws into the holes and tighten them as Figure 2-5. Then the complete picture of stand will be like Figure 2-4.

(1) T-Stand

(2) Stand beam

Figure 2-4

Figure 2-5

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

Step 5 Remove the cutting plotter from the carton. Position your stand under the plot ter, and then insert the screws into the holes on plotter’s bottom and tighten them up as shown in Figure 2-6.

を

Screw(M6)

Figure 2-6

Note: The cutting plotter needs to be assembled by at least two people.

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

Step 6 Insert the roll holder support with the screws into the holes of the stand, and then tighten them up as shown in Figure 2-7. You could decide roll holder support’s position by insert i ng into different holes.

Step 7 Place roll holder 1 into the holes in the roll holder support. (Figure 2-8)

Roll holder support

Roll holder 1

Figure

2-8

Roll holder support

3 screws

Roll holder 2

Figure 2-7

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

Step 8 Turn the screw counter-clockwisely for around three times after unpacking roll holder 2 (Figure 2-9).

Step 9 Insert the end of the roll holder without the damper into the left roll holder support and then insert the end of the roll holder with the damper into the right roll holder support. Ensure the white protrusion is wedged in the groove (Figure 2-10).

Figure 2-9

Figure 2-10

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

Step 10 Tighten the screw on the damper until it is securely attached to the right roll holder support (Figure 2-11).

Step 11 Lastly, the complete picture will be shown like below (Figure 2-12).

Figure

2-12

Figure 2-11

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

2.3 Desktop Flexible Media Support System (VC-600)

Step 1

Please examine the following items in stand carton’s accessory box:

 1 set of Roll Media F l ange (2 pieces)  1 set of Roll Holder ( 2 pieces)  1 set of Roll Holder Guide Bushes (4 pieces)  1 set of Roll Holder Support (2 pieces)  1 set of Desktop Support Bracket (2 pieces)  4 pieces of Plas tic Foot  4 pieces of M4 screws  12 pieces of M6 screws  1 piece of M4 L-shape h exagon screw driver  1 piece of M5 L-shape h exagon screw driver  1 piece of M6 L-shape h exagon screw driver (for adjusting the screws of Roll Hol ders)  1 piece of Installation Guide for Roll Holder

Step 2 Put the 4 Plastic Foot under the Roll Holder Support and insert the M4 screw into the hole of Plastic Foot and tighten them with the M4 L-shape screw driver. (Figure 2-13

)

M6 screws

Figure 2-14

M6 screws

Figure 2-13

M4 screws

Plastic

M4 screws

Roll Holder Support Roll Holder

Support

Desktop Support Brackets

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

Step 3 Position the Desktop Support Brackets beside the Roll Holder Support and insert M6 screws into the Roll Holder Support and tighten them with M6 L-shape screw driver. (Refer to Figure 2-14 at the left). Step 4 Put the bottom of machine in lateral, and position the Roll Hol der Assembly beside the bottom of the machine. Then, insert the M6 screws into the holes of Roll Holder support assembly and tighten them with M6 L-shape screwdriver. Like Figure 2-15.

Step 5 Place the two roll holders into the holes of Roll Holder Support (Figure 2-16). T o install the roll holder with damper, please refer to chapter 2.2, step 8 to step 10.

Step 6 The complete Desktop Media Support System will be shown as in Figure 2-17.

Figure 2-17

Figure 2-16

Roll Holder Shaft

Figure 2-15

Screw holes

M6 screws

Roll Holder Assembly

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

2.4 Instruction of Damper Roller

Step 1 Turn the wheel as instructed below to adjust damping. The bigger the number is, the stronger the damping. The volume symbol sticker indicates the damping level (Figure 2-18, 2-19).

Figure 2-18

Figure 2-19

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

2.5 Installation of Media Basket System

Step 1 Please examine the supplied items in the accessory box

 2 pieces of basket arms  2 pieces of basket rods  1 piece of basket  2 pieces of fixtures (for basket arms)  8 pieces of M3 screws  1 piece of 2mm L-shape hexagon screw driver

Step 2 First, place the basket arms beside the stand and fix them with fixtures. Then insert the M3 screws and tighten them with the 2mm L-shape screw driver. (See Figure2-20)

Stand

M3 screws

Fixtures

Figure 2-20

Basket arm

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

Step 3 Insert the basket rods to the basket holes (See Figure 2-21)

Step 4 Loosen the basket screws from the basket arms. Posit i on the basket rod in front of the basket arms and insert the basket screws into the holes on the basket rod and tighten them. (Figure 2-22)

Basket rods

Basket

Basket rod

Basket arm

Figure 2-21

Figure 2-22

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

Step 5 The complete Media Basket System will be like Figure 2-23.

Figure 2-23

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Installation ValueCut USER MANUAL

2.6 Cutting Pad Installation

1 piece of cutting pad is included in the accessory pack. F ol low the instruction below to install a new cutting pad when the existing pad is worn out.

Step 1 Carefully remove the cutting pad from the unit.

Step 2 Remove the remaining adhesive on the groove with alcohol or cleaning naphtha. Remaining adhesive

Remaining adhesive

Figure 2-24

Figure 2-25

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ValueCut USER MANUAL Installation

Step 3 Attach the new cutting pad to the groove after unrolling i t and removing the backing sheet and the installation process is completed.

Figure 2-26

Figure 2-27

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MUTOH VC-600, VC-1300, VC-1800 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual