Vinyl Express Qe60 User Manual

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Vinyl

Express Qe60

USER’S MANUAL

MANUAL NO. VEXQe06-UM-151

CUTTING PLOTTER

Signwarehouse.com

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Checking the Accessories ..............................................................................................1-2

1.2 Parts Names and Functions ...........................................................................................1-3

Front View ......................................................................................................................... 1-3

Rear View..........................................................................................................................1-3

Control Panel..................................................................................................................... 1-4

1.3 Assembling the Stand .....................................................................................................1-5

Stand Construction............................................................................................................1-5

Stand Assembly Instructions.............................................................................................1-5

1.4 Attaching the Basket .......................................................................................................1-7

Basket Construction .......................................................................................................... 1-7

Basket Attachment Instructions.........................................................................................1-7

2. SETTING UP THE CUTTER PLOTTER

2.1 Connecting to Your Computer .......................................................................................2-2

2.2 Turning on the Power ......................................................................................................2-3

2.3 Loading the Medium ........................................................................................................2-4

Loading a Roll Medium...................................................................................................... 2-4

Loading Sheet Media.........................................................................................................2-7

Aligning the Push Rollers .................................................................................................. 2-8

2.4 Adjusting and Mounting the Cutter Pen ......................................................................2-10

Types and Features of Cutter Blades.............................................................................. 2-10

Cutter-Pen Construction..................................................................................................2-11

Replacing the Cutter Blade..............................................................................................2-11

Adjusting the Blade Length..............................................................................................2-12

Mounting the Cutter Pen..................................................................................................2-12

3. BASIC SETTINGS AND OPERATIONS

3.1 Setting the Format of Data to be Received ...................................................................3-2

Setting the Command Mode.............................................................................................. 3-2

Setting the STEP SIZE......................................................................................................3-3

Setting the ORIGIN POINT................................................................................................3-3

3.2 Setting the Interface Conditions ....................................................................................3-4

3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions .................................................................................3-5

Selecting Cutter-Pen-Condition Setting Areas .................................................................. 3-6

Storing Cutter-Pen-Condition Setting Areas...................................................................... 3-6

Setting TOOL (cutter blade or pen)...................................................................................3-7

Setting OFFSET................................................................................................................3-7

Setting FORCE.................................................................................................................. 3-8

Setting SPEED..................................................................................................................3-8

Setting QUALITY...............................................................................................................3-9

3.4 Displaying the Effective Cutting Area ...........................................................................3-9

3.5 Moving the Pen ................................................................................................................3-9

3.6 Setting the Initial Cutting Position ...............................................................................3-10

3.7 Stop Function ................................................................................................................3-11

3.8 Moving the Pen Carriage in +100 mm Steps ...............................................................3-12

3.9 Test Cutting ....................................................................................................................3-12

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4. FUNCTION SETTINGS AND OPERATIONS

4.1 PAUSE Menu List ............................................................................................................4-2

4.2 Reading the Auto Registration Marks (Option) ............................................................4-3

4.3 Setting the FEED function ..............................................................................................4-4

4.4 Setting AUTO PRE-FEED ................................................................................................4-5

4.5 Setting TANGENTIAL Mode ............................................................................................4-6

4.6 Auto-Registration-Mark-Reading Settings (Option) .....................................................4-8

Setting the Registration-Mark Mode................................................................................4-10

4.7 Clearing the Buffer Memory .........................................................................................4-21

4.8 Aligning the Coordinate Axes ......................................................................................4-22

4.9 Distance Adjustment .....................................................................................................4-24

4.10 Setting the PAGE LENGTH ...........................................................................................4-26

4.11 Setting the Cutting/Plotting Area .................................................................................4-27

4.12 Expanding the Cutting/Plotting Area ...........................................................................4-28

4.13 Rotating the Coordinate Axes ......................................................................................4-29

4.14 Mirroring .........................................................................................................................4-30

4.15 Cutting/Plotting Using the Buffer Memory ..................................................................4-31

4.16 Sorting Settings .............................................................................................................4-33

4.17 Interface Settings ..........................................................................................................4-34

4.18 Setting the Format of Data to be Received .................................................................4-35

Setting the Command Mode............................................................................................4-35

Setting the STEP SIZE....................................................................................................4-36

Setting the ORIGIN POINT..............................................................................................4-36

4.19 Blade Wear Detection ....................................................................................................4-37

Checking the Wear Rate .................................................................................................4-37

Setting Wear-Rate Groups..............................................................................................4-38

Setting Wear-Rate Factors..............................................................................................4-39

Clearing the Total Distance (Wear Rate).........................................................................4-39

4.20 Raising and Lowering the Pen .....................................................................................4-41

4.21 TEST Mode .....................................................................................................................4-42

Condition-List Printing .....................................................................................................4-42

Dump Mode.....................................................................................................................4-43

Cutting Force Test Cutting...............................................................................................4-44

4.22 Setting the PEN UP SPEED ..........................................................................................4-46

4.23 Setting the OFFSET FORCE .........................................................................................4-47

4.24 Setting the OFFSET ANGLE .........................................................................................4-48

4.25 Setting the STEP PASS .................................................................................................4-49

4.26 Setting the Initial Down Force ......................................................................................4-50

4.27 Setting the LENGTH UNIT .............................................................................................4-51

5. Setting and Using the Special Functions

5.1 Description of Special Functions A ...............................................................................5-2

Enabling/Disabling the “:” and “;” Commands (when the COMMAND setting is GP-GL)..5-2 Moving the Pen While Raised or Lowered in Response to the “W” Command (when the

COMMAND setting is GP-GL)........................................................................................... 5-2

Model ID Response (when the COMMAND setting is HP-GL)..........................................5-2

SETTING PRIORITY.........................................................................................................5-2

Blade-Tip Initial Position Setting........................................................................................5-2

Enabling/Disabling PEN UP MOVE...................................................................................5-3

Enabling/Disabling the Media Sensors..............................................................................5-3

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Enabling/Disabling the Home Sensors..............................................................................5-3

Setting the PARALLEL I/F Mode.......................................................................................5-3

Circle-Command Resolution Setting (when the COMMAND setting is HP-GL)................5-3

Enabling/Disabling Blade Wear Detection......................................................................... 5-3

5.2 Setting Special Functions A ...........................................................................................5-4

5.3 Description of Special Functions B ...............................................................................5-4

Display Language Setting (MENU LANGUAGE SELECTION).........................................5-4

5.4 Setting Special Functions B ...........................................................................................5-5

6. TROUBLESHOOTING

6.1 The Cutting Plotter Does Not Operate When Turned On .............................................6-2

6.2 The Cutting Plotter Does Not Operate Correctly ..........................................................6-2

6.3 The Cutting Results Are Unsatisfactory ........................................................................6-3

6.4 An Error Message Was Displayed .................................................................................6-4

APPENDIX

Appendix A Main Specifications .........................................................................................................A-2

Appendix B Options and Supplies ......................................................................................................A-3

Appendix C External Dimensions .......................................................................................................A-4

Appendix D Menu Tree .........................................................................................................................A-5

INDEX

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INTRODUCTION

1.1 Checking the Accessories

......................................................1-2

1.2 Parts Names and Functions

...................................................1-3

1.3 Assembling the Stand

...............................................................1-5

1.4 Attaching the Basket

.................................................................1-7

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1.1 Checking the Accessories

Check to conﬁrm that all of the standard accessories listed below are present. If any item is missing, please contact your sales representative or nearest Signwarehouse vendor promptly.

AC power cord Quick Start Manual, Usage Precautions

User Guide CD-ROM

Stand

Cutter blade (CB09UA)

Water-based fiber-tip pen

1 1 each

Cutter plunger

USB cable

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1.2 Parts Names and Functions

■

Front View

Cutting mat

: Cutting or plotting is performed on this mat.

Grit roller

: Feeds the medium backward or forward

Push rollers

: Pushes the medium against the grit rollers

Pen carriage

: Moves the cutter pen to the left and right

Pen holder

: Holds the cutter pen and moves it up and down

Media set lever

: Raises or lowers the push rollers during loading of a medium

Control panel

: Used to operate the cutting plotter and set functions

Parallel (Centronics) interface connector : Used to connect a Centronics-compatible parallel interface cable USB interface connector

: Used to connect a USB cable

Serial (RS-232C) interface connector

: Used to connect an RS-232C serial interface cable

■

Rear View

AC power inlet

: Connects the power cord to the cutting plotter

Power switch

: Turns the power supply to the cutting plotter on or off

Cutting mat

Grit roller

Pen carriage

Push rollers

Media set leverPen holder

USB interface connector

Serial (RS-232C) interface connector

Control panel

Parallel (Centronics) interface connector

AC power inlet

Power switch

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■

Control Panel

STATUS: Illuminates while the power to the cut-

ting plotter is turned on, and goes out when the cutting plotter is in PAUSE status. This lamp ﬂashes when data is being received from an interface, regardless of whether or not the cutting plotter is in PAUSE status.

TEST: Press this function key to conduct a cut-

ting test and check the cutting conditions.

PREV.: Press this function key to view the pre vi-

ous display on the LCD when in PAUSE status.

NEXT: Press this function key to view the next

display on the LCD when in PAUSE status.

COND.: Press this function key to view the cut-

ter-pen condition settings.

PAUSE: Press this function key once in READY

status to switch to PAUSE status in order to change the various settings. Press it again to cancel the PAUSE status. Pressing this key while cutting or plotting is in progress stops the cutting or plotting.

ENTER: Pressing this function key registers the

cutting or plotting conditions set.

POSITION:

These keys are used to mov e the cursor or change the settings on the LCD display on the function setting screens. Press these keys when in PAUSE status to move the pen carriage or the medium.

ORIGIN: Press this function key to set the origin

point. The pen position is set as the origin point when this key is pressed.

Indicator Lamp

Panel Keys

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1.3 Assembling the Stand

■ Stand Construction

The stand is made up of the following parts.

■ Stand Assembly Instructions

Fasten the stand feet (L/R) to the stand side bars (L/R) with the hexagonal socket bolts (M5), using the Allen wrench.

Fasten the stand tops (L/R) to the stand side bars (L/R) with the hexagonal socket bolts (M5), using the Allen wrench.

Step

Stand feet (L/R)

Hexagonal socket bolt

(M5) x 12

Coin screw x 4

Allen wrench (M5)

Center barStand side bars (L/R)

Hexagonal socket bolt (M5)

Stand side bar

Stand foot

Front

* There are three bolt holes, but the center one is not used.

Hexagonal socket bolt (M5)

Stand side bar

Stand top

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Loosely fasten the stand side bars (L/R) to the center bar with the hexagonal socket bolts (M5), using the Allen wrench.

Mount the Vinyl Express cutting plotter on the stand by inserting the positioning pins on the stand into the positioning holes on the underside of the cutting plotter. Fasten using the four coin screws.

Tighten the hexagonal socket bolts loosely fastened in step 3.

Step

Hexagonal

socket bolt (M5)

Center bar

Stand side bar

Coin screws

Stand

cutting plotter

Positioning pins

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1.4 Attaching the Basket (Optional)

■ Basket Construction

The basket is made up of the following parts.

■ Basket Attachment Instructions

Detach the four coin screws or he xagonal soc k et bolts (M6), and separate the cutting plotter from the stand (see “1.3 Assembling the Stand”).

Attach the sheet support pipe to the stand tops, and fasten using the hexagonal socket bolts.

At least two people are required for assembly of the basket.

Step

Sheet support pipe Sheet Hexagonal socket bolts (M6) x 4

CHECKPOINT

Sheet support pipe

Stand top

Hexagonal socket bolts (M6)

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Pull out the sheet support pipe and attach the sheet. Divide the sheet over the center bar, and then fasten the sheet to the sheet support pipe using the press-studs.

Step

Coin screws

Stand

cutting plotter

Positioning pins

Sheet

Press-studs

Sheet support pipe

Divide over

the center bar

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SETTING UP THE CUTTER PLOTTER

2.1 Connecting to Your Computer................................................2-2

2.2 Turning on the Power................................................................2-3

2.3 Loading the Medium..................................................................2-4

2.4 Adjusting and Mounting the Cutter Pen...........................2-10

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2.1 Connecting to Your Computer

The cutting plotter can be connected to a computer via the parallel (Centronics-compatible) port, serial (RS-232C) port, or USB por t. Select which port to use according to the requirements of your application software and/or which of your computer’s interface ports are available for use. Use a Centronics-compatible parallel cable, serial cable, or USB cable in accordance with the connection method chosen. Obtain a Signwarehouse approved interface cable that is compatible with the interface ports (the interface cables are available separately).

Check to conﬁrm that the Power switch is turned off (the “O” side is down).

Connect the cable between the cutting plotter and the computer. Make sure the connectors at the cutting plotter and computer ends are correctly oriented.

Step

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2.2 Turning on the Power

Connect the cutting plotter to the AC electrical socket using the power cord provided, and turn on the power.

Check to conﬁrm that the Power switch is turned off (the “O” side is down).

Connect the cutting-plotter AC power inlet to a correctly rated electrical socket using the power cord provided.

Turn on the cutting plotter by pressing the “|” side of the Power switch. The STATUS lamp on the control panel will light up.

Step

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If no medium has been loaded, the message below appears on the display, prompting the loading of a medium.

If a medium has already been loaded, the current media setting is displayed as shown below.

Select the media mode to suit the medium used. F or instructions on loading media and selecting the media mode, see “2.3 Loading the Medium.”

2.3 Loading the Medium

Load the medium, aligning it with the right-hand grit roller when viewed from the front so that it registers with the media sensor. Then, adjust the push-roller position to match the width of the medium. The cutting plotter can use media in roll or sheet form. Load the desired medium type by following the appropriate instructions.

■ Loading a Roll Medium

Load the roll medium onto the stand stock rollers.

Fit the stoppers to one of the stock rollers (loosen the screws on the stoppers ﬁrst).

Position the stock roller with the stoppers towards the front, and place the other stock roller toward the rear to suit the roll-medium size.

Step

Placing on the Stand

Step

LOAD MEDIA!!

ROLL2 PRESS ENTR

Stoppers

Stock roller

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Place the roll medium on the stock rollers, and clamp it between the stoppers. Once the position is ﬁxed, tighten the screws on the stoppers.

Lower the media set lever to raise the push rollers.

Place the roll medium on the stand stock rollers, and then pass the leading edge of the medium from the back of the cutting plotter so it emerges from the front, while making sure to remove any slack in the medium conveyance path.

Step

Loading the Roll Medium

Step

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Pull the leading edge out of the front of the cutting plotter so that it completely covers the media sensor. If the leading edge has been pulled out too far , turn the roll to adjust the length of the medium that is protruding.

Adjust the position of the left- and right-hand push rollers to suit the width of the roll medium.

After ensuring that there is no slack in the medium’s conveyance path, raise the media set lever to lower the push rollers and provide slack in the medium for a length corresponding to the length of the medium to be used.

Raising the media set lever displays a menu for selection of the media mode. Select the media mode.

Step

Load the medium so that it passes over the media sensor.

Step

If the “REALIGN ROLLERS” message is displayed when the medium is loaded and the media set lever is raised, either the right-hand push roller is not positioned over the right-hand wide grit roller or the left-hand push roller is not positioned over the grit roller. Check to conﬁrm that they are positioned correctly.

Media sensor

CHECKPOINT

Raise media set lever to clamp medium

Provide slack

ROLL2 PRESS ENTR

CHECKPOINT

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Pressing the or key displays “ROLL1 PRESS ENTR”, “ROLL2 PRESS ENTR”, and “SHEET PRESS ENTR”. Select “ROLL2 PRESS ENTR” or “ROLL1 PRESS ENTR” and then press the

(ENTER) key to conﬁrm. When “ROLL2 PRESS ENTR” is selected, only the medium width is detected.

Select this mode to begin cutting at a point beyond the leading edge. When “ROLL1 PRESS ENTR” is selected, the leading edge and width of the medium are detected. Select this mode to begin cutting from the leading edge.

After the medium size has been detected, the pen carriage returns to the origin point and the cutting plotter awaits cutting data. If the INTERFACE conditions or COMMAND mode have not yet been set, they should be set. If they have already been set, adjust the cutter pen. Once the cutter pen has been adjusted, the cutting plotter is ready to perform cutting, so cutting data can be sent from the application software on the computer.

■ Loading Sheet Media

Lower the media set lever to raise the push rollers.

With the Vinyl Express, position the edges of the medium ﬂush against the guide lines engraved on the front guide.

Adjust the position of the left- and right-hand push rollers to suit the medium width.

Step

Guide lines

Media sensor

Flush

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Raising the media set lever displays a menu for selecting the media mode. Select the media mode.

Pressing the or key displays “ROLL1 PRESS ENTR”, “ROLL2 PRESS ENTR”, and “SHEET PRESS ENTR”. Select “SHEET PRESS ENTR” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm the selection. When “SHEET PRESS ENTR” is selected, the front and rear edges are detected.

■ Aligning the Push Rollers

Adjust the position of the left- and right-hand push rollers to suit the medium width. Position the push rollers at either edge of the medium so that they are above the grit rollers. Adjust the push rollers so that they are positioned above both the medium and the grit rollers. Positioning the push rollers within the pushroller alignment marks ensures that they are above the grit rollers.

Step

If the “REALIGN ROLLERS” message is displayed when the medium is loaded and the media set lever is raised, either the right-hand push roller is not positioned over the right-hand wide grit roller, or the left-hand push rollers are not positioned over the grit roller. Check to conﬁrm that they are positioned correctly.

Step

To move the push rollers, the media set lever must be in the lowered position.

SHEET PRESS ENTR

CHECKPOINT

Push-roller alignment mark

NG NG

OK OK

CAUTION

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The push roller on the right-hand edge when viewed from the front must always be moved over the righthand wide grit roller.

Position the push rollers over the grit rollers to grip each edge of the medium.

To move the push rollers, the media set lever must be in the lowered position.

If the “REALIGN ROLLERS” message is displayed when the medium is loaded and the media set lever is raised, either the right-hand push roller is not positioned over the right-hand wide grit roller, or the left-hand push roller is not positioned over the grit roller. Check to conﬁrm that they are positioned correctly.

• The push roller (1) must be positioned over the right-hand wide grit roller.

• The medium must always be positioned over the media sensor.

Right-hand push roller

Right-hand grit roller

CAUTION

CHECKPOINT

Media sensor

Push roller (1)

Push roller (2)

Grit roller

Medium

OK OK

CAUTION

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Position all of the rollers over the r ight-hand wide grit roller. Position the medium with the left-hand edge aligned with the left-hand edge of the grit roller, and position the push rollers over both edges. The minimum width of the medium that can be set is 50 mm for the Vinyl Express.

2.4 Adjusting and Mounting the Cutter Pen

Individual cutter blades have a var iety of features. Select the optimal cutter blade to suit the medium to be cut.

■ Types and Features of Cutter Blades

For Minimum-Size Media

• The medium must be at least 125 mm in length.

• The medium must always be positioned over the media sensor.

To avoid cutting your ﬁngers, always handle the cutter blade with caution.

Part No. and

proﬁle

Blade diameter

and offset

Compatible

plunger

Use and features

CB 09UA ø0.9 mm

0.45

PHP32-CB09N The standard blade for cutting color adhesive-backed

media. Suitable for cutting media up to 0.25 mm in thickness. Max. cutting distance: Approx. 4,000 m

CB 15U ø1.5 mm

0.75

PHP32-CB15N Capable of cutting thicker media than possible with the

CB09UA blade. Suitable for cutting media 0.25 mm to

0.5 mm in thickness.

CB 15UB ø1.5 mm

0.15

PHP32-CB15N Suitable for detailed cutting (e.g., letters less than 10

mm in size) of media up to 0.25 mm in thickness.

Medium

Push roller (2)

Grit roller

Media sensor

Push roller (1)

CAUTION

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■ Cutter-Pen Construction

The cutting plotter cuts using a cutter blade mounted in a cutter-pen plunger. There are two different cutterpen plungers to suit the diameter of the cutter blade to be mounted (the 0.9-mm cutter-pen plunger is provided as standard equipment). Be sure to mount the cutter blade in the corresponding cutter-pen plunger.

■ Replacing the Cutter Blade

Turn the blade-length adjustment knob to retract the blade into the plunger.

Turn the plunger cap in the counter-clockwise direction to remove it from the plunger.

Remove the blade from inside the plunger cap.

Insert the new blade into the hole provided in the plunger cap.

To prevent cutting your ﬁngers, always handle the cutter blade with caution.

Step

Cutter blade

Plunger cap

Plunger

Blade-length adjustment knob (Blue: For 0.9-mm-diameter blades) (Red: For 1.5-mm-diameter blades)

CAUTION

1.5-mm-diameter cutter pen

Plunger-cap

cross-section

Plunger cap

1.5-mm-dia. blades

Blade-length

adjustment knob (red)

Plunger

Spring

Plunger cap

Plunger-cap

cross-section

0.9-mm-dia. blades

0.9-mm-diameter cutter pen

Blade-length

adjustment knob (blue)

Plunger

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With the blade inserted into the plunger cap, screw on the plunger from above.

■ Adjusting the Blade Length

If the blade is extended too far in relation to the thickness of the medium being cut, it will damage the cutting mat. Be sure to adjust the blade length correctly.

Adjust the blade length by turning the blade-length adjustment knob. Turn the knob in direction “A” to extend the blade, or in direction “B” to retract the blade. When the knob is turned by one scale unit, the blade moves approximately 0.1 mm. One full turn of the knob moves the blade approximately 0.5 mm.

First align the blade tip with the tip of the cutter pen, and then extend the blade from that position to suit the thickness of the media to be cut.

Assuming that the medium thickness is “t,” as shown in the ﬁgure below, the blade length “rrrr” should be equal to or slightly greater than “t.” Make sure “rrrr” is never greater than the combined thickness of the medium and its backing sheet. If it is not possib le to accurately determine the medium thickness , adjust the blade length by gradually increasing it until only traces of the b lade appear on the bac king sheet after a cutting test is conducted.

■ Mounting the Cutter Pen

After the blade length has been adjusted, mount the cutter pen in the cutting plotter.

Step

To prevent cutting your ﬁngers, always handle the cutter blade with caution.

Step

To prevent cutting your ﬁngers, always handle the cutter blade with caution.

CAUTION

ＡＢ

ｔ

Medium

Backing sheet

CAUTION

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Loosen the pen-holder screw and then mount the cutter pen.

Once the cutter pen is properly positioned, tighten the pen-holder screw.

Step

Press the plunger in firmly so that it contacts this surface of the pen holder.

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BASIC SETTINGS AND OPERATIONS

3.1 Setting the Format of Data to be Received .......................3-2

3.2 Setting the Interface Conditions...........................................3-4

3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions.......................................3-5

3.4 Displaying the Effective Cutting Area.................................3-9

3.5 Moving the Pen............................................................................3-9

3.6 Setting the Initial Cutting Position (Origin Point) ...........3-10

3.7 Stop Function ............................................................................3-11

3.8 Moving the Pen Carriage in +100 mm Steps...................3-12

3.9 Test Cutting ................................................................................3-12

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3.1 Setting the Format of Data to be Received

Before data is sent from the computer , the f ormat (command mode) of the data sent by the application software must be checked. The cutting plotter accepts two data formats (command modes): GP-GL (Gr aphtec) and HP-GL commands. Set the command mode to suit the application used.

■ Setting the Command Mode

Check to conﬁrm that the cutting plotter is in READY mode (displaying the current pen settings).

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the menu shown below is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the menu shown below.

Press the or key to select “GP-GL” or “HP-GL,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

If “GP-GL” is selected, set the STEP SIZE. If “HP-GL” is selected, set the ORIGIN POINT. If a different command from that set previously is selected, the PAUSE mode is automatically cancelled once the STEP SIZE (GP-GL) or ORIGIN POINT (HP-GL) is set.

Step

1 PEN 23 30 2

COMMAND

COMMAND HP-GL

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■ Setting the STEP SIZE

If the GP-GL command mode is set, it is possible to change the minimum unit of distance that the cutter pen or pen can travel to one of four settings: 0.01 mm, 0.025 mm, 0.05 mm, or 0.1 mm. The default setting is 0.1 mm, so this setting should be changed if your application speciﬁes a different step size.

Set the command setting to “GP-GL.”

Press the (ENTER) key to display the step-size setting.

Press the or key to select “0.100 mm,” “0.050 mm,” “0.025 mm,” or “0.010 mm,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

■ Setting the ORIGIN POINT

If the HP-GL command mode is set, the origin point can be set to the lower left or center. The default setting is the lower left, so this setting should be changed if your application speciﬁes a different origin position.

Set the command setting to “HP-GL.”

Press the (ENTER) key to display the origin-point setting.

Press the or key to select “L.L. (LOWER LEFT)” or “CENTER,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

COMMAND GP-GL

STEP SIZE 0.100mm

COMMAND HP-GL

ORIGIN PT L.L.

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3.2 Setting the Interface Conditions

The interface conditions must be set if the RS-232C serial interface is being used. The data transfer rate (baud rate), data length, parity settings, and the handshaking mode for the cutting plotter must be set to match those of the computer operating system. This section describes the cutting-plotter interface conditions. For details on the proper settings for your application or computer operation system, refer to the manual provided with the application or operating system.

Check to conﬁrm that the cutting plotter is in READY mode (displaying the current pen settings).

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the menu shown below is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the interface settings.

The current settings are displayed (from the left): transfer rate (baud rate), parity, data length, and handshaking mode. The baud rate can be set to “19200,” “9600,” “4800,” “2400,” “1200,” “600,” or “300.” The parity can be set to “N” (None), “E” (Even parity), or “O” (Odd parity). The data length can be set to 7 or 8 bits. The handshaking mode can be set to “H” (hard-wired handshaking) or “X” (Xon/Xoff handshaking). “E” (ENQ/ACK handshaking) can also be selected when the command mode is set to HP-GL. All of these interface conditions must be set to match the corresponding settings in the application software and the computer operating system. The parameter that can be changed is displayed immediately to the right of the mark. Use the or key to select the parameter to be changed, and use the or key to select the setting details. Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

1 PEN 23 30 2

RS-232C

9600 N 8 H

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3 – 5

3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions

Before starting cutting, set the TOOL (cutter blade or pen), cutter-blade length, OFFSET, FORCE, SPEED, and QUALITY settings to ensure the optimal cutting conditions. (1) TOOL (cutter blade or pen): Set to suit the material to be cut. (2) Cutter-blade length: Adjust the blade length by referring to the media thickness table below.

For details on adjusting the blade length, see “2.4 Adjusting and

Mounting the Cutter Pen.” (3) OFFSET: Set to suit the cutter blade being used. (4) FORCE: Set the FORCE by referring to the table below. (5) SPEED: Set the SPEED by referring to the table below. (6) QUALITY: Set the QUALITY by referring to the table below.

When the TOOL (cutter blade or pen) has been selected from among “09U,” “15U,” and “15B,” the OFF- SET is automatically adjusted by ±5 with respect to the default cutter offset v alue f or that b lade type . Select the PEN setting for plotting using a pen. When the PEN setting is selected, no OFFSET setting is required.

Optimal Cutting Conditions for Each Media Type

Media type Thickness (mm) Blade used FORCE SPEED QUALITY

Film for outdoor use 0.05 to 0.08 CB09UA 10 to 14 30 or less 2

CB15UB (for small-letter cutting) 10 to 14 20 or less 1 Film for decorative use 0.08 to 0.1 CB09UA 14 to 17 30 or less 2 Transparent or

semi-transparent ﬁlm

0.08 to 0.1 CB09UA 14 to 20 30 or less 2

Reﬂective ﬁlm 0.08 to 0.1 CB09UA 14 to 20 30 or less 2 Fluorescent ﬁlm 0.20 to 0.25 CB09UA, CB15U 20 to 21 20 or less 1

Blade Part Nos., Displayed Blade Types, and Displayed CUTTER OFFSET Values

Blade material Part No.

LCD display indication

Speciﬁable range Initial CUTTER OFFSET

Blade type Default

Supersteel blades CB09UA 09U 0 ±5 18

CB15U 15U 0 ±5 28 CB15UB 15B 0 ±5 5

Pens Pen —— 0

Reference Pen Conditions for Plotting Pens

Pen type FORCE SPEED QUALITY

Water-based ﬁber-tip pen 10 to 12 30 2

Page 34

3 – 6

To preserve the pen life, set the FORCE to the lowest setting, and set the SPEED after checking to conﬁrm that there are no faint lines or other problems during plotting.

■ Selecting Cutter-Pen-Condition Setting Areas

To set the cutter-pen conditions, ﬁrst select the setting area (condition number). Switching between these setting areas enables any of up to eight predeﬁned media types to be selected easily.

Press the (COND.) key in READY mode to display the cutter-pen conditions.

To select condition settings that have previously been stored, use the or key to select the desired condition number stored on the cutter-pen-condition settings display (the number at the left of the display),

and then press the (ENTER) key. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT), (PREV.), or (COND.) key.

■ Storing Cutter-Pen-Condition Setting Areas

The cutter-pen conditions can be stored in nine setting areas numbered “1” to “9.”

To display the cutter-pen conditions, either press the (COND.) key when the cutting plotter is in READY mode, or when the media set lever is lowered and the buffer is in the empty (cleared) status.

The current settings are displayed (from the left): condition number, PEN TYPE (cutter blade), CUTTER OFFSET, FORCE, SPEED, and QUALITY.

The item to be changed is indicated by the symbol. Press the key to change the symbol to , and press again to move it to the right. Press the key to move it to the left. Use the or key to select the parameter to be changed, and use the or key to select the setting details. Press the

(ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT), (PREV.), or (COND.) key.

• If the SPEED and QUALITY settings are set to high values, the cut/plotted

results will have a coarser ﬁnish, but the overall cutting/plotting time will be reduced.

• If the SPEED and QUALITY settings are set to low values, the cut/plotted results will have a ﬁner ﬁnish, but the overall cutting/plotting time will be longer.

Selection method

Data from the controller is used for condition number 9.

Storage method

When using the optional registration mark scanner, condition settings 1 and 2 are used for the pen settings when performing “Adjusting the Registration-mark Reading Sensor (2)” (refer to page 4-17). It is therefore more convenient if the cutter pen settings are assigned to 3 to 8 ﬁrst.

CHECKPOINT

2 09U +1 23 30 2

CHECKPOINT

2 09U +1 23 30 2

CHECKPOINT

Page 35

3 – 7

■ Setting TOOL (cutter blade or pen)

Set the type of pen (cutter blade) to be used.

To display the cutter-pen conditions, either press the (COND.) key when the cutting plotter is in READY mode, or when the media set lever is lowered and the buffer is in the empty (cleared) status.

Select the setting area (condition number) to be set, and then press the or key to mo v e the sym- bol to the position shown below.

Press the or key to select “09U,” “15U,” “15B,” or “PEN.” Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm the selection. If other conditions are to be set, press the or key to move the symbol to the param- eter to be set.

■ Setting OFFSET

This setting adjusts the offset of the cutter blade to suit the blade type used. The tip of the blade mounted in the cutter-pen plunger is not positioned at the center of the pen, so correction is required. This correction is referred to as the OFFSET setting. The cutting plotter has been preset with OFFSET values for each cutter-blade type. Selecting “09U,” “15U,” or “15B” for the PEN TYPE setting also sets the appropriate OFF- SET, allowing ﬁne adjustment within the range of ±5. When the “PEN” setting is selected, the OFFSET cannot be set.

Press the (COND.) key in READY mode to display the cutter-pen conditions.

Select the setting area (condition number) to be set, and then use the or key to move the sym- bol to the position shown below.

Use the or key to select the value to be changed in the range of “-5” to “+5.” Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm the selection. If other conditions are to be set, press the or key to move the symbol to the parameter to be set.

Step

2 09U +1 23 30 2

Page 36

3 – 8

■ Setting FORCE

Sets the pressure applied by the cutter pen during cutting. Set the FORCE value based on the guidelines in the table entitled “Optimal Cutting Conditions for Each Media Type” on page 3-5.

Press the (COND.) key in READY mode to display the cutter-pen conditions.

Select the setting area (condition number) to be set, and then use the or key to move the symbol to the position shown below.

Press the or key to select the value to be changed in the range speciﬁed below. “1” to “31” Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm the selection. If other conditions are to be set, press the or key to move the symbol to the parameter to be set.

■ Setting SPEED

Sets the speed used for cutting. Set the SPEED value based on the guidelines in the table entitled “Opti- mal Cutting Conditions for Each Media Type” on page 3-5.

Press the (COND.) key in READY mode to display the cutter-pen conditions.

Select the setting area (condition number) to be set, and then use the or key to move the symbol to the position shown below.

Press the or key to select the value to be corrected in the range speciﬁed below. “1” to “45” For all cutting plotters, “1” to “10” is in increments of 1, and “10” to “45” is in increments of 5. Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm the selection. If other conditions are to be set, press the or

key to move the symbol to the parameter to be set.

Step

2 09U +1 23 30 2

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3 – 9

■ Setting QUALITY

Sets the acceleration used in cutting.

Press the (COND.) key in READY mode to display the cutter-pen conditions.

Select the setting area (condition number) to be set, and then use the or key to move the symbol to the position shown below.

Press the or key to select the value to be changed in the range speciﬁed below “1”, “2”, “3” Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm the selection. If other conditions are to be set, press the or

key to move the symbol to the parameter to be set.

3.4 Displaying the Effective Cutting Area

Press the (ENTER) key in READY mode to display the current effective cutting area.

3.5 Moving the Pen

In READY mode, press the or key to move the pen carriage to the left or right, and the or key to feed the medium backward or forward. Pressing the (NEXT), or (PREV.) key together with the (POSITION) keys enables high-speed or low-speed movement.

(POSITION) keys + (NEXT) key: High-speed movement (POSITION) keys + (PREV.) key: Low-speed movement

Step

2 09U +1 23 30 2

X 0000mm Y 000mm

Page 38

3 – 10

3.6 Setting the Initial Cutting Position (Origin Point)

This function allows the starting position for cutting or plotting to be moved to the desired position.

In READY mode, use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the cutter pen to the new origin point.

Press the (ORIGIN) key. The following menu is displayed and the new origin is set.

Moving the origin when the coordinate axes have been rotated gives the following results.

When the coordinate axes are rotated after the origin point is moved, the origin point is reset as shown in the ﬁgure below. The distance “a” is retained, but the distance “b” is reset.

Step

When the Origin is Moved After Rotating the Coordinate Axes

When the Coordinate Axes are Rotated After Moving the Origin Point

Original origin

New origin

ORIGIN PT SET

Original origin

New origin

Origin moved

Origin moved after rotation

Original origin

Origin moved

Original origin

Origin moved Rotation

Page 39

3 – 11

When it is necessary to both move the origin and rotate the coordinate axes, be sure to rotate the coordinate axes ﬁrst.

3.7 Stop Function

Cutting or plotting can be stopped by pressing the (PAUSE) key while cutting or plotting is in progress. The operation selection menu is displayed on the control-panel screen while cutting or plotting is stopped, enabling operations to be resumed or aborted as required. Raising or lowering the media set lever while the cutting or plotting is stopped does not require the medium to be selected, so the medium can be replaced or reset.

Press the (PAUSE) key while cutting or plotting is in progress to stop cutting or plotting and display the PAUSE menu.

Pressing the (PAUSE) key while cutting or plotting is stopped cancels the pause function and restarts cutting or plotting. To completely abort cutting or plotting, stop sending data from the computer or press the

(NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the buffer memory clear menu.

Press the or key to select “YES” or “NO.” To abor t cutting or plotting, select “YES” and press the

(ENTER) key. To cancel, select “NO” and either press the (ENTER) ke y or press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to reset PAUSE mode.

After a new origin point is set, the displayed coordinate values of X= and Y= represent the respective distances from the new origin.

Step

CHECKPOINT

FEED

CLEAR BUFFER

CLEAR <YES>

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3 – 12

3.8 Moving the Pen Carriage in +100 mm Steps

This function allows the pen carriage to be moved from its current position in +100 mm steps along the Xand Y -ax es.

In READY mode, press the key while holding down the (ENTER) key to move the pen carriage in +100 mm steps along the X- and Y-axes.

In READY or PAUSE mode, press the key while holding down the (ENTER) key to return the pen carriage to the origin.

3.9 Test Cutting

Test cutting can be performed after selecting the TOOL (cutter blade) and specifying the cutter-blade length, OFFSET, FORCE, SPEED, and QUALITY settings to ensure that the selected cutting conditions actually produce the desired cutting results. Chec k ho w far the blade cuts into the ﬁlm and how corners are being cut; if the cutting results are not satisfactory, reset the cutting conditions and repeat the test cutting until the optimal settings are achieved. If you perform test cutting while the cutter-pen conditions are being set, the test cutting will be performed under the conditions being set.

Load the medium for test cutting on the cutting plotter.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the pen carriage to the position for test cutting.

Switch to READY mode, and then press the (TEST) key.

When test cutting has been completed, the pen carriage moves to the standby position and the following menu is displayed.

Returning to the original position

Step

Original pen-carriage position

Moved pen-carriage position

100mm

PRESS ENTER KEY

Page 41

3 – 13

Press the (ENTER) key to return the pen carriage to its previous position and to switch the cutting plotter to READY mode.

Adjust the CUTTER OFFSET value to suit the type and thickness of the medium being used, and ﬁne- adjust the ﬁnish of each corner. Set the FORCE so that only faint cutting lines remain on the base sheet when the blade length is properly adjusted.

Upon completion of ﬁne adjustment, actual cutting data can be sent to the cutting plotter.

Step

CUTTER

OFFSET

is too low

Increase

(by +1 to +5)

Correct CUTTER OFFSET

setting

CUTTER OFFSET

is too high

Decrease

(by -1 to -5)

Page 42

3 – 14

Page 43

FUNCTION SETTINGS AND OPERATIONS

4.1 PAUSE Menu List........................................................................4-2

4.2 Reading the Auto Registration Marks

(Option).............................................................................................4-3

4.3 Setting the FEED function.......................................................4-4

4.4 Setting AUTO PRE-FEED .........................................................4-5

4.5 Setting T ANGENTIAL Mode.....................................................4-6

4.6 Auto-Registration-Mark-Reading Settings

(Option).............................................................................................4-8

4.7 Clearing the Buffer Memory..................................................4-21

4.8 Aligning the Coordinate Axes..............................................4-22

4.9 Distance Adjustment...............................................................4-24

4.10 Setting the PAGE LENGTH....................................................4-26

4.11 Setting the Cutting/Plotting Area........................................4-27

4.12 Expanding the Cutting/Plotting Area.................................4-28

4.13 Rotating the Coordinate Axes..............................................4-29

4.14 Mirroring......................................................................................4-30

4.15 Cutting/Plotting Using the Buffer Memory

(COPY Function)............................................................................4-31

4.16 Sorting Settings........................................................................4-33

4.17 Interface Settings .....................................................................4-34

4.18 Setting the Format of Data to be Received.....................4-35

4.19 Blade Wear Detection (When Blade Wear Setup is On) ......4-37

4.20 Raising and Lowering the Pen.............................................4-41

4.21 TEST Mode..................................................................................4-42

4.22 Setting the PEN UP SPEED...................................................4-46

4.23 Setting the OFFSET FORCE (Initial Cutting Force) ..........4-47

4.24 Setting the OFFSET ANGLE.................................................4-48

4.25 Setting the STEP PASS...........................................................4-49

4.26 Setting the Initial Down Force..............................................4-50

4.27 Setting the LENGTH UNIT......................................................4-51

Page 44

4 – 2

4.1 PAUSE Menu List

Pressing the (PAUSE) key in READY mode displays the PAUSE menu, enab ling the various settings to be made. Select the required menu by scrolling through the list using the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key. Note: “MOVE TO R. MARK” is applied only for RMS model (Option).

“AUTO REG. MARK” is applied only for RMS model (Option).

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

4.2 Reading the Auto Registation Marks (Option)

4.3 Setting the FEED function

4.4 Setting the AUTO PRE-FEED

4.5 Setting T ANGENTIAL Mode

4.6 Auto-Registration-Mark-Reading Settings

(Option)

4.7 Clearing the Buffer Memory

4.8 Aligning the Coordinate Axes

4.9 Distance Adjustment

4.10 Setting the PAGE LENGTH

4.11 Setting the Cutting/Plotting Area

4.12 Expanding the Cutting/Plotting Area

4.13 Rotating the Coordinate Axes

4.14 Mirroring

4.15 Cutting/Plotting Using the Buffer Memory

(COPY Function)

4.16 Sorting Settings

4.17 Interface Settings

4.18 Setting the Format of Data to be Received

4.19 Cutter-Blade Wear Detection

(Special function only displayed for BLADE WEAR SETUP “ON’)

4.20 Raising and Lowering the Pen

4.21 TEST Mode

4.22 Setting the PEN UP SPEED

4.23 Setting the OFFSET FORCE (Initial Cutting Force)

4.24 Setting the OFFSET ANGLE

4.25 Setting the STEP PASS

4.26 Setting the INITIAL DOWN FORCE

4.27 Setting the LENGTH UNIT

Page 45

4 – 3

4.2 Reading the Auto Registration Marks (Option)

When “2 POINT,” “3 POINT,” or “4 POINT” has been set (see “4.6 Auto-Registra- tion-Mark-Reading Settings”), press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode and display the following menu.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the cutter pen to the lower-right registration mark, and then press the (ENTER) key. The sensor reads between points 1 and 2 (and also between points 1 and 3 for 3-point alignment or 4-point alignment), and the following is displayed.

The distance between X-axis registration marks (points 1 and 2) read by the cutting plotter is displayed on the left. Enter the actual distance on the right. Use the

or key to move the cursor to the digit to be entered, use the or key to increase or decrease the values, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. For 3-point alignment or 4-point alignment, the distance between the Y-axis registration marks (points 1 to 3) is also displayed and should be set in the same way. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Step

• If the registration-mark distance correction is set to

“5 mm,” “10 mm,” “50 mm,” or “STD.” the alignment input screen is not displayed.

• The registration marks are read in accordance with the registration-mark-detection movement distance setting.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

MOVE TO R. MARK

X00308.9 00308.9

CHECKPOINT

Page 46

4 – 4

4.3 Setting the FEED function

The FEED function feeds the medium forw ard and bac kward to leave f aint tracks of the grit rollers on it and prevent the media from slipping during a cutting or plotting operation.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the feed-length setting. Set the length to be fed.

Use the or key to set a value within the range of 1 m to 50 m, and then press the (ENTER) key. The cutting plotter performs the feed operation (mov es

the medium forward and then back to the origin). To cancel the operation, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Step

Pressing the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key during the feed operation aborts the feed operation and returns the medium to its original position.

• The feed operation starts immediately once the feed length has been set and the (ENTER) key is pressed. Make sure there are no obstructions at the front or rear of the cutting plotter.

• When using roll media, either extend and load the length to be used beforehand or use the media feed procedure (“4.3 Setting the FEED function”, “4.4 Setting AUTO PRE-FEED”). Beginning cutting or plotting without feeding the media ﬁrst may generate a position error or may cause the roll media to fall off the stock shaft.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

FEED

FEED 1m

CHECKPOINT

CAUTION

Page 47

4 – 5

4.4 Setting AUTO PRE-FEED

When the AUTO PRE-FEED function is set to “ON,” the medium is automatically fed forward and back- ward by the preset length when data is received. This operation leaves traces of the grit rollers on the media and prevents it from slipping during a cutting or plotting operation. Similarly, if roll media is used, the medium is automatically pulled out by the cutting plotter.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the AUTO PRE-FEED setting.

Press the or key to select “ON” or “OFF,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm.

If “ON” is selected and the (ENTER) key pressed, the feed-length setting is displayed.

Use the or key to set a value within the range of 1 m to 50 m, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

When using roll media, either extend and load the length to be used beforehand or use the media feed procedure (“4.3 Setting the FEED function”, “4.4 Setting AUTO PRE-FEED”). Beginning cutting or plotting without feeding the media ﬁrst may generate a position error or may cause the roll media to fall off the stock shaft.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

AUTO PRE FEED

AUTO PRE FEED ON

AUTO PRE FEED 1m

CAUTION

Page 48

4 – 6

4.5 Setting TANGENTIAL Mode

This function should be used for the cutting of thick media (more than 0.3 mm in thickness) and when the cutter blade is not able to turn properly due to the cutting depth, resulting in discrepancies between the start and ﬁnish point and the inability to cut sharp corners. This function can be set on or off individually for each of the eight cutter-pen setting areas, and it should be set to suit the media used. The overcut-amount setting screen is displayed for cutter-pen setting areas for which the TANGENTIAL mode is “ON.”

This setting has two modes: Mode 1 and Mode 2. Mode 1: Overcuts the start and ﬁnish cutting positions and acute-angle cor ner sections to avoid leaving

uncut sections. In addition, the cutter blade is moved on the surface of the medium during cutting when it is rotated signiﬁcantly, ensur ing sharp cutting unaffected by the medium toughness or thickness.

Mode 2: Overcuts the start and ﬁnish cutting positions only . In addition, the cutter is rotated on the medium

surface for the start cutting position only. This uses simpler cutter control than Mode 1, and provides a shorter cutting time.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the TANGENTIAL setting. The numbers “1” to “8” indicate the cutter setting areas, and those marked with a symbol have the TANGENTIAL mode set to “ON.”

Use the and keys to mov e the cursor and select a setting area. Use the and keys to display/not displa y the symbol, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Select the condition-setting area to be set to “ON” (refer to “Selecting Cutter-Pen- Condition Setting Areas” on page 3-6).

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

TANGENTIAL

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

5 15U 0 20 30 1

Page 49

4 – 7

Press the (ENTER) key or use the key to move the cursor to the right-hand side, and then press the key again to display the menu shown below. If the distance adjustment is set for the setting area selected, the distance adjustment will be displayed here. Either press the (ENTER) key or move the cursor to the right-hand side and press the key.

Press the or key to select “Mode 1” or “Mode 2,” and then press the (ENTER) key. The over- cut setting is displayed.

“STR” indicates the initial overcut amount, and “END” indicates the end overcut amount for the line sec- tion. Press the or key to select “STR” or “END”, use the or key to increase or decrease the values, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key.

Step

TANGENTIAL MODE 1

STR=0.2 END=0.2

Page 50

4 – 8

4.6 Auto-Registration-Mark-Reading Settings (Option)

These settings enable pre-plotted media to be cut without any offset by reading the registration marks using the cutting-plotter sensor and adjusting the axes to suit the coordinate data.

The following precautions must be observed when the registration marks are automatically read.

• Registration-mark pattern

• Reading range required for the detection of registration marks

• Medium and registration-mark position

• Drawing origin point

• Medium type

The registration-mark conditions that can be read by the cutting plotter are as follows.

• Registration-mark line width: 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm (The registration-mark center lines are used as the reference points.)

• Registration-mark size: 5 mm to 20 mm (See “Setting the Registration-mark Size.”)

• Registration-mark pattern: Pattern 1 or 2 (See “Setting the Registration-mark Pattern.”)

• Registration marks must be formed of single lines.

• Registration marks must be drawn in black.

The cutting plotter cannot detect registration marks on the following media types.

• Transparent media: The writing surface is also read, preventing the registration-mark lines

from being read.

• Non-monochrome drawings: The registration marks cannot be read on colored media or if the registra-

tion marks are not black.

• Untidy drawings or media: The registration marks cannot be read if the medium surface is dirty or

creased, or if the registration marks are defaced.

• Medium thickness: The registration marks cannot be read if the medium is more than 0.3 mm

in thickness.

Registration-mark reading accuracy *: Within 0.3 mm * Accuracy when using pens provided with the cutting plotter, high-grade media,

and reading the speciﬁed pattern.

• The registration marks used in the application software cannot be used. The registration marks must always be created as drawing data.

• If auto mark reading is not possible, use the axis alignment function (see “Setting Axis Alignment”).

• Auto mark reading cannot be performed when MIRROR is set to ON.

CHECKPOINT

Sensor

CHECKPOINT

Page 51

4 – 9

The cutting plotter is capable of reading the following registration-mark patterns.

The range required for the detection of registration marks is as shown below.

Blank margins must be left between the medium edges and the registration marks to enable the marks to be read.

Note: The margins in parentheses are the blank margins that must be left between the medium edges and the cutting area in SHEET mode.

Registration-mark pattern

Reading range required for the detection of registration marks

• Incorrect detection may occur if there are marks other than registration marks within the reading range. If drawings overlap the registration-mark reading range , refer to “Setting the Registration-mark detection movement distance.”

• Incorrect detection may occur if the registration-mark reading range is dirty or foreign matter is adhering to the medium surface.

Medium and registration-mark position

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Registration-mark reading range

a=6mm

Registration-mark pattern 2Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark reading range

a=6mm

CHECKPOINT

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Right-hand push roller

1515

5010

Left-hand push roller

Right-hand push roller

1515

（30）

Left-hand push roller

Units: mm

Page 52

4 – 10

The drawing origin point following reading of the registration marks will be at the bottom-right registration mark, as shown below.

■ Setting the Registration-Mark Mode

For 2-point alignment, the origin and X-axis registration marks are read; for 3-point alignment, the origin, X-axis, and Y-axis registration marks are read; and for 4-point alignment, all four registration marks are read. Axis alignment (correction of any tilt) and distance adjustment are then performed.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu.

Drawing origin point

Step

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Origin point

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Move the cutter

blade within

this area.

Point 1 (Drawing origin point)

Point 2

Point 4

Point 3

Point 4

Point 1

(Drawing

origin point)

Point 3

Point 2

Move the cutter blade within this area.

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK MODE

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4 – 11

Press the (ENTER) key to display the MARK mode settings.

Press the or key to select “OFF,” “2 POINT,” “3 POINT,” or “4 POINT,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

This sets the distance between the registration marks and changes the initial registration-mark scanning position. Avoiding reading areas that obviously do not include registration marks increases the registrationmark reading speed and minimizes the possibility of incorrect reading due to other marks on the medium.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Step

Setting the Registration-mark detection movement distance

Step

MARK MODE OFF

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Set the registrationmark detection movement distance X based on this distance.

Set the registration-mark

detection movement distance

Y based on this distance.

Set the registrationmark detection movement distance X based on this distance.

Set the registration-mark

detection movement distance

Y based on this distance.

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK POSITION

Page 54

4 – 12

Press the (ENTER) key to display the registration-mark detection movement distance X-axis setting.

Use the or key to move the cursor to the digit to be entered, use the or key to increase or decrease the values, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. The Y-axis setting is then displayed and should be set in the same way.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

The cutting plotter is capable of reading the following registration-mark patterns.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Step

• This setting is retained in the memory even when the power is turned off.

• If the detection movement distance is set to 0 mm, the sensor continues detect-

ing between the registration marks without skipping until it detects the next mark.

• For 2-point alignment, the Y value is ignored.

• The medium will be ejected if the detection movement distance is set to a value

greater than the medium length.

Setting the Registration-mark Pattern

Step

M. POS X=0000mm

CHECKPOINT

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK TYPE

Page 55

4 – 13

Press the (ENTER) key to display the registration-mark pattern setting.

Press the or key to select “1” or “2,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

This sets the size of the registration marks to be read.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Step

The registration-mark conditions that can be read by the cutting plotter are as follows.

• Registration-mark line width: 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm (The registration-mark center lines are used as the data.)

• Registration-mark size: 5 mm to 20 mm (See “Setting the Registration-mark Size.”)

• Registration-mark pattern: Pattern 1 or 2

• Registration marks must be formed of single lines.

• Registration marks must be drawn in black.

Setting the Registration-mark Size

Step

MARK TYPE 1

CHECKPOINT

Enter this length

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK SIZE

Page 56

4 – 14

Press the (ENTER) key to display the registration-mark size setting.

Use the or key to set the value within the range “5 mm” to “20 mm,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

This adjusts the distance between registration marks automatically, rounding up or down to the nearest 5 mm, 10 mm, or 50 mm as speciﬁed. If STD. (Standard) is selected, the distance is automatically rounded up or down to the nearest 5 mm, 10 mm, or 50 mm depending on the distance between the marks.

Up to 50 cm: 5 mm; 50 cm to 1 m: 10 mm; 1 m or larger: 50 mm. (Inch display: rounded up or down to the nearest 0.25", 0.5", 0.75", 1", or 1.5").

For example, if the distance adjustment is set to 5 mm and the distance between the registration marks is read as 312 mm, the distance is rounded down to the nearest 5 mm and is treated as a distance of 310 mm.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the registration-mark distance-adjustment setting.

Step

Setting the Registration-mark Distance Adjustment

Step

MARK SIZE 10mm

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK DIST. ADJ.

MARK DIST. OFF

Page 57

4 – 15

Press the or key to select “OFF,” “5 mm,” “10 mm,” “50 mm,” or “STD.” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

If the registration-mark origin point is not set, it will be positioned as shown in the ﬁgures below. This function should be set when it is required to move the origin point from this position.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the X-axis registration-mark origin input setting.

Use the or key to move the cursor to the digit to be entered, use the or key to increase or decrease the values (or display/don’t display “-” for the space to the right of “=”), and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. The Y-axis origin input setting is then displayed and should be set in the same way. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Step

Setting the Registration-mark Origin Point

Step

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Origin

New origin position

Origin

New origin position

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK OFFSET

OFST X= 000.0

Page 58

4 – 16

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

This adjusts the position of the sensor for the reading of registration marks. The adjustment crosshairs are plotted after crosshairs already plotted have been read, and the difference between the two is input to adjust the position.

Load a medium with the crosshairs plotted.

Set the cutter pen conditions to “PEN” (refer to “3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions”), and mount a pen in the cutting plotter.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key. The following menu is displayed.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the cutter pen to the position of the crosshairs already plotted on the medium, and then press the (ENTER) key. The sensor scans the crosshairs and overwrites them.

Step

Adjusting the Registration-mark Reading Sensor (1)

Step

Medium feed

direction

Move the pen within this area

Medium feed

direction

Crosshairs already plotted

Newly plotted crosshairs

Crosshairs already plotted

Distance adjustment Y

Distance adjustment X

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK SENSOR ADJ1

MARK ADJ1 SCAN

Page 59

4 – 17

Measure the offset of the crosshairs in the X-axis, and enter the distance adjustment. Using the already plotted crosshairs as the point of reference, enter the actual amount of the offset between these crosshairs and the crosshairs that were plotted on top of them after the already plotted crosshairs were read by the sensor. (For example, for the ﬁgure at the above right, since there is an offset in both the –X and –Y directions, enter the [X= –**mm] and [Y= –**mm] corrective values.)

Move the cursor to the digit to be entered using the or key, use the or key to increase or decrease the values (or display/don’t display “-” for the space to the right of “=”), and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. If there is no offset, simply press the (ENTER) key. The Y-axis distanceadjustment input is then displayed and should be set in the same way. To cancel, press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

This adjusts the position of the sensor for reading the registration marks by plotting crosshairs and then reading them. First set both cutter pen conditions 1 and 2 to the same pen. Crosshairs are ﬁrst plotted using conditions 1 and read by the sensor. A second set of adjustment crosshairs is plotted using conditions 2. The difference between the two is input to adjust the position.

Load a medium into the cutting plotter.

Set both cutter pen conditions 1 and 2 to the same “Pen” (refer to “3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions”), and load a pen in the cutting plotter.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Step

Adjusting the Registration-mark Reading Sensor (2)

Step

ADJ X= 0.0

Medium feed

direction

Crosshairs first plotted

Adjustment crosshairs

Distance adjustment Y

Distance adjustment X

AUTO REG. MARK

Page 60

4 – 18

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key. The following menu is displayed.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the cutter pen to the position for plotting of the crosshairs, and then press the (ENTER) key. The crosshairs are plotted and the following is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key. The sensor scans the crosshairs and overwrites them.

Measure the offset of the crosshairs in the X-axis, and enter the distance adjustment. Using the crosshairs that were plotted ﬁrst as the point of reference, enter the actual amount of the offset between these crosshairs and the adjustment crosshairs that were plotted after the ﬁrst crosshairs were read by the sensor. (For example, for the ﬁgure shown above, since there is an offset in both the –X and –Y directions, enter the [X= –**mm] and [Y= –**mm] corrective values.)

Use the or key to move the cursor to the digit to be entered, use the or key to increase or decrease the values (or display/don’t display “-” for the space to the right of “=”), and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. If there is no offset, simply press the (ENTER) key. The Y-axis distanceadjustment input is then displayed and should be set in the same way. To cancel the selection(s), press the

(NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

MARK SENSOR ADJ2

MARK ADJ2 SCAN

PRESS ENTER KEY

ADJ X= 0.0

Page 61

4 – 19

If the registration marks are at pre-determined positions on the medium, they can be scanned automatically.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto-scan mode setting.

Press the or key to select “ON” or “OFF,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. T o cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Setting the Registration-mark Auto-scan mode

Step

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Registration-mark pattern 2

Move the pen tip within this area

Point 2Point 4

Point 1 (the desired Origin Point)

Point 2

Point 4

Point 3

Point 1

(the desired Origin Point)

Point 3

Move the pen tip within this area

When ON was selected

100mm

Registration-mark pattern 1

Medium feed direction

Point 2Point 4

Registration-mark pattern 2

Move the pen tip within this area

Point 1 (the desired Origin Point)

Point 2Point 4

Point 3

Point 1

(the desired Origin Point)

Point 3

Move the pen tip within this area

When OFF was selected

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK AUTO SCAN

AUTO SCAN ON

Page 62

4 – 20

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

There may be instances when the registration-mark sensor does not function correctly, depending on how it is moved. If this happens, adjusting the sensitivity will enable the sensor to perform detection correctly in most cases.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Auto Reg. Mark submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Mark Sensor sensitivity setting.

Use the or key to increase or decrease the setting within the range of “-5” to “5,” and then press the

(ENTER) key to conﬁrm. A positive value increases the sensitivity, but makes the cutting plotter more susceptible to other inﬂuences and less able to withstand noise. A negative value decreases the sensitivity, but makes the cutting plotter less susceptible to other inﬂuences and more able to withstand noise. T o cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

Adjusting the Sensitivity of the Registration-Mark Sensor

Step

AUTO REG. MARK

MARK SENSOR ADJ

MARK SENSOR 0

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4 – 21

4.7 Clearing the Buffer Memory

This function deletes the data sent to the cutting plotter. It is used to abort cutting while it is in progress.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Stop the transmission of data from the computer if this is in progress.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the clear-buffer-memory menu.

Press the or key to select “YES” or “NO,” and then press the (ENTER) key. To cancel the selection, select “NO” and press the (ENTER) key, or press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

CLEAR BUFFER

CLEAR <YES>

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4 – 22

4.8 Aligning the Coordinate Axes

This function is used to compensate for any offset in the origin or angular deviation in the coordinate axes that occurs when a medium plotted in another plotter is loaded or when a previously plotted medium is reloaded. This function enables the cutting of outlines plotted using a different plotter, or drawings previously plotted to be recut. Plotting the origin and X-axis line bef ore the coordinate axes are aligned makes it easier to adjust the axes. Plot the origin and X-axis line within the plotting area to enable settings to be speciﬁed even if the X-axis and origin are positioned at an angle. If the origin and X-axis line are plotted near the boundaries of the plotting area, the settings may lie outside the plotting area, making it impossible to align the axes.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the axis-alignment menu.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the cutter pen to alignment point 1 (the origin on the previously plotted medium). The coordinates displayed here indicate the distance from the current origin point.

Press the (ENTER) key to set the new origin, and use this as the center of rotation for the X-axis.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

Offset between plotted medium and

cutting-plotter X/Y-axis and origin

X/Y-axis and origin offset corrected

Axis alignment

Origin

Alignment point 1 (Origin on previously plotted medium)

Cutting-plotter reference point

Reloaded medium already plotted

Alignment point 2

Drawing reference points

New origin

AXIS ALIGNMENT

PT1 0, 0

Page 65

4 – 23

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the cutter pen to alignment point 2 (an y point on

the X-axis for the previously plotted medium). The coordinates displayed here indicate the distance from

alignment point 1.

Press the (ENTER) key to calculate the X-axis angle of inclination and align the axes.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

After the axes are aligned, the settings will be reset if any of the following are performed.

• Speciﬁcation of a new origin

• Loading of a new medium

• Setting of the axis rotation

PT2 0, 0

CHECKPOINT

Page 66

4 – 24

4.9 Distance Adjustment

This function corrects any deviation in the length of cut or the plotted line segments, which occurs depending on the medium being used. The adjustment value for the deviation is speciﬁed as a percentage of the total distance. For example, a setting of 0.05% adjusts a distance of 2 m (2,000 mm) by +1 mm (2000 x

0.05% = 1 mm), to become 2,001 mm. Eight different cutter-pen condition-setting areas can be set on or off separately, allowing different settings to be made in order to suit the medium used.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the distance adjustment menu. The numbers “1” to “8” indicate the cutter-pen condition-setting areas, and those that are set on are indicated with the symbol to the left.

Use the or key to move the cursor to select the required condition-setting area. Press the or key to display or not display the symbol, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel, press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Select the condition-setting area to be set to “ON” (refer to “Selecting Cutter-Pen- Condition Setting Areas” on page 3-6).

Either press the (ENTER) key or use the key to move the cursor to the far right, and then press the key to display the following menu.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

DISTANCE ADJUST

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

5 15U 0 20 30 1

X= 0.00%Y= 0.00%

Page 67

4 – 25

Select “X” or “Y” using the or key. Use the or key to increase or decrease the setting within

the range of “-2.00%” to “+2.00%,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. If the condition-setting

area is set for TANGENTIAL mode, the TANGENTIAL-mode setting will be displayed. Press (ENTER)

again. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Step

This setting is retained in the memory even when the power is turned off.

CHECKPOINT

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4 – 26

4.10 Setting the PAGE LENGTH

This function sets the length of each page when long-axis cutting or plotting is performed using a roll medium. This should be set for long-axis cutting or plotting exceeding 5 m in length. The default setting is “5000 mm.“

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the page-length menu.

Use the or key to move the cursor to the digit to be changed. Use the and keys to increase or decrease the setting, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

• This setting is retained in the memory even when the power is turned off.

• The cutting plotter’s distance precision is guaranteed for page-feed lengths of up to 5 meters, provided that the following conditions are satisﬁed (CE3000-60/120). Long-axis cutting over 5 meters is possible for lengths of up to 50 meters in the feeding direction. Guaranteed precision conditions:

–The cutting plotter is mounted on its stand. –Graphtec-speciﬁed ﬁlm is used with the stipulated set-

ting conditions. Film: 3M plastic-backed ﬁlm Setting conditions: Cutter speed, 30 cm/s max; Quality, 1

• In the case of long-axis cutting, be particularly careful when loading color adhesive-backed ﬁlm. If the ﬁlm is loaded at even a slight angle, the ﬁlm may come loose from the rollers that hold it in place.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

PAGE LENGTH

L=05000mm

CHECKPOINT

CAUTION

Page 69

4 – 27

4.11 Setting the Cutting/Plotting Area

This function allows the area in which cutting/plotting will be performed to be speciﬁed, thereby preventing cutting/plotting outside the speciﬁed area. This function enables more efﬁcient use of the ﬁlm through the speciﬁcation of uncut portions of a ﬁlm that have already been cut, to avoid the previously cut areas. Note that setting of the cutting/plotting area also repositions the origin point in accordance with the movement of the cutting area.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the plotting-area menu.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the pen to the lower-left setting position, and then press the (ENTER) key. The coordinates of the lower-left position set are displayed. To make the default setting, press the (ORIGIN) key.

Once the lower-left position has been set, the coordinates for the upper-right position are displayed. Set these coordinates in the same way as for the lower-left position.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

Lower-left setting position

Upper-right setting position

Cutting/plotting in this area only

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

PLOT AREA

LL 0, 0

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4 – 28

4.12 Expanding the Cutting/Plotting Area

This function allows the width of the cutting/plotting area to be extended by 9.5 mm on both sides, for a total increase of 19 mm, enabling cutting to be performed up to the area in which the pinch rollers are positioned.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the plotting-area width-setting menu.

Press the or key to select “ON” or “OFF,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

If the settings are not changed, press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode. If the settings are changed, the media-type selection menu is displayed.

For details on the media loading and selection procedures, refer to “2.3 Loading the Medium.”

The following message is displa y ed if the lo wer-left and upper-right settings are not separated by a distance of at least 5 mm. If this message appears, reset the lowerleft and upper-right positions.

Step

CHECKPOINT

WRONG PLOT AREA

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

EXPAND

EXPAND OFF

ROLL2 PRESS ENTR

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4 – 29

4.13 Rotating the Coordinate Axes

This function allows the cutting/plotting origin and coordinate axes to be rotated as shown below.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the coordinate-axis rotation-setting menu.

Press the or key to select “ON” or “OFF,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

This setting is retained in the memory even when the power is turned off. When ON is selected for ROTATE, MIRROR is set to OFF.

New origin

When axiscoordinate rotation is “off”

When axis-coordinate rotation is “on”

Origin

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

ROTATE

ROTATE OFF

CHECKPOINT

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4 – 30

4.14 Mirroring

This function allows the cutting/plotting origin and coordinate axes to be changed, as shown below.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Mirror setting.

Press the or key to select “ON” or “OFF,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

• This setting is retained in the memory even when the power is turned off.

• When ON is selected for MIRROR, RO TATE (coordinateaxis rotation) is set to OFF.

• Auto mark reading cannot be performed when MIRROR is set to ON.

The origin when MIRROR is “on”

The origin when MIRROR is “off”

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

MIRROR

MIRROR OFF

CHECKPOINT

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4.15 Cutting/Plotting Using the Buffer Memory (COPY Function)

This function is used to make duplicate copies of cutting or plotting data that has been sent from the computer and is retained in the cutting plotter’s internal memory.

Send the data to be copied to the cutting plotter, and cut or plot the data once.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to move the pen to the starting position for cutting or plotting.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the copy-setting menu.

Use the or key to select the desired number of copies, and then press the

(ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key.

The cutting/plotting operation starts for the number of copies selected.

To make further copies, replace the medium and repeat steps 2 to 6.

Step

Origin Copy origin

(Initial position for plotting copy)

1st

copy

2nd

copy

3rd

copy

4th copy

5th copy

6th copy

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

COPY

COPY COUNT 1

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4 – 32

If the data to be copied does not ﬁt within the cutting/plotting area, the following message is displayed in step 5.

Use the , , , and (POSITION) keys to change the initial copying position or load a medium with an area of sufﬁcient size to ﬁt the copied data.

• If the initial cutting/plotting position was moved from the original origin, the new origin will also apply during the copying operation. To prevent wasteful use of the medium, the initial cutting/plotting position for the data should be as close as possible to the origin.

• If the cutting plotter receives another set of data during the copying operation, the operation will not be properly completed because the initial data is cleared during the operation. Do not send new data to the cutting plotter while copying is in progress.

• If new data is sent to the cutting plotter more than 10 seconds after the initial cutting data is sent, the original data will be cleared from the internal memory.

• Copying will not be possible if data exceeding 2 Mbytes is sent to the cutting plotter, as the data will cause the buffer memory to overﬂow.

CANNOT COPY

CHECKPOINT

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4.16 Sorting Settings

This function sorts and cuts or plots the cutting/plotting data stored in the buffer memory to minimize the amount of medium feed required. This is useful for data requiring a large number of movements on the drawing with the pen raised. If the data received has been sor ted using the application software, sorting the data using the cutting plotter may require additional time. Turning this function off may speed up the process.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the sorting setting menu.

Press the or key to select “ON” or “OFF,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

• This setting is retained in the memory even when the power is turned off.

• If data for which the cutting/plotting sequence has been set using the application software is received, the cutting/plotting sequence may be changed if this function is set to “ON.” The function should be set to “OFF” in this case.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

SORT

SORT OFF

CHECKPOINT

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4.17 Interface Settings

The interface conditions must be set if the RS-232C serial interface is used, to ensure that the data-transfer rate (baud rate), data length, and parity settings for the cutting plotter match those set in the application software or computer operating system. This section describes the interface conditions for the cutting plotter. For details on how to set the conditions for your application or computer operation system, refer to the manual provided with the application or operating system.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the interface-condition setting menu.

The current settings are displayed (from left): transfer rate (baud rate), parity, data length, and handshaking mode. The baud rate can be set to “19200,” “9600,” “4800,” “2400,” “1200,” “600,” or “300.” The parity can be set to “N” (None), “E” (Even parity), or “O” (Odd parity). The data length can be set to 7 or 8 bits. The handshaking mode can be set to “H” (hard-wired handshaking) or “X” (Xon/ Xoff handshaking). “E” (ENQ/ACK handshaking) can also be selected when the command mode is set to HP-GL. All of these interface conditions must be set to match the corresponding settings in the application software and the computer operating system. The parameter that can be changed is displayed immediately to the right of the mark. Use the or key to select the parameter to be changed, and use the

or key to select the setting details. Press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm.

To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

RS-232C

9600 N 8 H

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4.18 Setting the Format of Data to be Received

Before data is sent from the computer, the format (command mode) of data sent by the application software must be checked. The cutting plotter accepts two data formats (command modes): GP-GL and HPGL commands. Set the command mode to suit the application used.

■Setting the Command Mode

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the command-setting menu.

Press the or key to select “GP-GL” or “HP-GL,” and then press the

(ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

If “GP-GL” is selected, set the STEP SIZE. If “HP-GL” is selected, set the ORIGIN POINT. If a command different from that set previously is selected, the PAUSE mode is automatically canceled after STEP SIZE (GP-GL) or ORIGIN POINT (HPGL) is set.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

COMMAND

COMMAND GP-GL

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■ Setting the STEP SIZE

If the GP-GL command mode is set, the minimum unit of distance that the pen can travel can be changed to one of four settings: 0.01 mm, 0.025 mm, 0.05 mm, or 0.1 mm. The default setting is 0.1 mm, so change this setting if your application speciﬁes a different step size.

Set the command setting to “GP-GL.”

Press the (ENTER) key to display the step-size setting menu.

Press the or key to select “0.100 mm,” “0.050 mm,” “0.025 mm,” or “0.010 mm,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

■ Setting the ORIGIN POINT

If the HP-GL command mode is set, the origin point can be set to the lower left or center. The default setting is the lower left, so change this setting if your application speciﬁes a different origin position.

Set the command setting to “HP-GL.”

Press the (ENTER) key to display the origin-point setting.

Press the or key to select “L.L. (LOWER LEFT)” or “CENTER,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

COMMAND GP-GL

STEP SIZE 0.100mm

COMMAND HP-GL

ORIGIN PT L.L.

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4.19 Blade Wear Detection (When Blade Wear Setup is On)

This function calculates the total cutting distance of the cutter blade to indicate when it requires replacement. This should be used purely as a guide, as the actual cutter-blade wear will vary depending on the material cut and the cutting conditions (e.g., force) used. The pen setting areas are grouped together, and the total distances are calculated for each group. Eight groups can be managed, and they initially correspond to the pen setting areas, so that group 1 corresponds to setting area 1, group 2 corresponds to setting area 2, and so on. If tw o or more setting areas are combined in a single group, the total calculated distance for that group will be the sum of the individual area values. It is also possible to include weighting factors f or each setting area to correspond to the different wear rates for different materials and cutting conditions. For example, if setting areas 1, 2, and 3 are combined into one group with respective total distances of A, B, and C, and the respective factors are 0.7, 1.2, and 1.0, the total distance for this group will be A x 0.7 + B x 1.2 + C x 1.0. Wear detection can be switched on or off using the special function settings (see “Enabling/Disabling Wear Detection” on page 5-3). When disabled, it is not displayed on the PAUSE menu. If the power is turned off while cutting is in progress, the cutting distance for that operation is not included in wear-detection calculations.

■ Checking the Wear Rate

Check to conﬁrm that the cutting plotter is in READY mode (displaying the current pen settings).

Press the (NEXT) key to display the wear-rate menu for the group to which the above setting area belongs.

The wear rate is shown as 0% for a new pen, and 100% when the total distance exceeds the maximum distance for the cutter blade. Press the (PREV.) key to return to READY mode.

The following message is displayed in READY mode if the wear rate exceeds 100% for the group to which the current setting area belongs.

This indication should be used as a guide for cutter-blade replacement. This display reverts to the normal READY-mode display when the (PREV.) key is pressed, but it will reappear when the power is turned on again or if a setting area is selected again for a group with a wear rate exceeding 100%. Always zero the total distance displa y after replacing a cutter b lade (see “Clearing the Total Distance (Wear Rate)”). The display above will disappear, and the distance calculation will restart from zero.

Step

1 PEN 23 30 2

BLADE WEAR 60%

EXCEEDS 100%

Page 80

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■Setting Wear-Rate Groups

This registers setting areas in groups.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the wear-rate setting submenu.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the wear-rate group setting.

The number on the left is the group number, and the numbers to the right of this indicate the setting areas belonging to it, separated by spaces. The display above indicates setting areas 1, 2, 4, and 5, belonging to group 1. Use the or key to move the cursor to the group number or setting-area number to be set. Pressing the or key at the group-number position increases or decreases the number, and pressing the or key at the setting- area number position displays or doesn’t display the number. Select the required group number, display the setting-area numbers to be registered, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. Each setting area can only be registered in one group. To register a setting area in another group, it must ﬁrst be removed from the group in which it is registered. Initially, setting area 1 is set to group 1, setting area 2 to group 2, and so on, so setting areas must be removed from one group before being registered in another. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

BLADE WEAR SETUP

SET BLADE GROUP

GROUP 1 12 45

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■ Setting Wear-Rate Factors

This sets factors corresponding to the differences in wear rates due to different materials and cutting conditions.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the wear-rate setting submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the wear-rate factor setting.

Use the or key to increase or decrease the setting-area number, and use the or key to increase or decrease the factor value. The factor can be set to between 0.10 and 1.00 in 0.10 intervals, and between 1.00 and 2.50 in 0.25 intervals. Once the wear-rate factor is set, press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

■ Clearing the Total Distance (Wear Rate)

Always zero the total-distance display when a cutter blade has been replaced. This starts the total-distance calculation from zero.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Step

BLADE WEAR SETUP

FACTOR

COND 1 1.00

BLADE WEAR SETUP

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4 – 40

Press the (ENTER) key to display the wear-rate setting submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or

(PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the wear-rate clear menu.

The number to the right of “CLEAR GROUP” is the group number. Use the or key to increase or decrease the group number, and press the or key to select “YES” or “NO.” Select “YES” for the group number to be cleared, and press the (ENTER) key to clear the total distance. To cancel the selection(s), press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

CLEAR GROUP

CLEAR GROUP1<YES>

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4.20 Raising and Lowering the Pen

This function raises and lowers the pen.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to lower the pen, and press the (ENTER) key again to raise it.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

PEN UP/DOWN

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4.21 TEST Mode

The cutting plotter has three test modes: “Condition print (COND. PAT.)” for the printing of setting details, “Dump mode” for checking data transfers from the computer, and “Cutting force test cutting (PRESS

TEST CUT)” for performing ﬁve test cuts. These should be used to check the various settings and to check for problems.

■Condition-List Printing

This function prints out the setting details currently in use.

Mount a plotting pen in the pen carriage, and set the conditions to suit the pen used (e.g., force, pen speed settings).

Load an A4-size or larger medium.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the test-mode submenu.

Press the (ENTER) key to start printing the condition list.

Step

The pen carriage begins moving as soon as this function is set. Keep your hands and other objects away from the cutting plotter’s moving parts.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

TEST

COND. PAT.

CAUTION

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■ Dump Mode

This function checks whether data is sent correctly from the computer. If the output data does not match the program after the dump list has been output, check the transfer conditions and connections.

Mount a plotting pen in the pen carriage, and set the conditions to suit the pen used (e.g., force, pen speed settings).

Load an A4-size or larger medium.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the test-mode submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to switch to dump mode.

When data is sent to the cutting plotter in this mode, a dump list is printed out. To exit the dump mode, turn on the power again.

Step

The dump list is printed out as ASCII character codes. Characters without codes will be printed as small 2-digit ﬁgures. Output data for READ-type commands will be output as dummy data, except for cutting-plotter status output.

The pen carriage begins moving as soon as this function is set. Keep your hands and other objects away from the cutting plotter’s moving parts.

TEST MODE

DUMP

CHAR DUMP MODE

CHECKPOINT

CAUTION

Page 86

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■ Cutting Force Test Cutting

The cutting force can be changed in one-step increments from its current setting (in the range -2 to +2) to enable ﬁve test cuts to be performed. Test cutting can be performed after selecting the TOOL (cutter b lade) and specifying the cutter-blade length, OFFSET, FORCE, SPEED, and QUALITY settings to ensure that the selected cutting conditions actually produce the desired cutting results. Check how far the blade cuts into the ﬁlm and how the corners are being cut. If the cutting results are not satisfactory, reset the cutterpen conditions and repeat the test cutting until the optimal settings are achieved. Test cutting will be carried out according to the conditions currently set for the cutter-pen.

Mount a cutter pen in the pen carriage, and specify cutting conditions suitable for the mounted cutter pen (see “3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions.”)

Load a sheet of ﬁlm for cutting.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the Test Mode submenu, and then press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

To change the cutting conditions, press the (COND.) key to display the conditions setting menu. When you exit the conditions setting menu, the display retur ns to the menu shown in Step 5. For more infor mation on the conditions setting menu, see “3.3 Setting the Cutter-Pen Conditions.”

Step

TEST MODE

PRESS TEST CUT

Page 87

4 – 45

With the menu shown in Step 5 displayed, press the (ENTER) key to start test cutting. Five test cuts will be performed in the range from “-2” to “+2”, with the current FORCE as “0.” Test cutting will be per- formed from the current pen position.

Adjust the OFFSET value to suit the type and thickness of the ﬁlm being used, and ﬁnely adjust the ﬁnish of each corner. For the FORCE value setting, make your selection from the ﬁve test cuts. In test cutting, adjust the blade length so that the backing sheet is only slightly scored.

When test cutting has been completed, the pen carriage moves to the standby position and the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to return the pen carriage to its previous position and to switch the cutting plotter to READY mode.

Upon completion of ﬁne adjustment, send actual cutting data to the cutting plotter for cutting.

Step

The pen carriage begins moving as soon as this function is set. Keep your hands and other objects away from the cutting plotter’s moving parts.

210-1-2FORCE

Medium feed direciton

PRESS ENTER KEY

CAUTION

Page 88

4 – 46

4.22 Setting the PEN UP SPEED

This function sets the travel speed of the pen when it is raised. It can be speciﬁed independently of the cutting SPEED function. When the PEN UP SPEED is high, the pen travels faster when it is raised, thereby reducing the overall cutting time. Your cutting plotter comes with its PEN UP SPEED set to AUTO, which selects the same speed as the cutting SPEED function (pen lowered). Note that if long-axis cutting of a medium is performed with a high PEN UP SPEED setting, the medium is susceptible to jamming.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the pen-up-speed menu.

Use the or key to select the value to be set, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm.

“AUTO” “10” “20” “30” “45” cm/s

To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

This setting is retained in the internal memory even when the power is turned off.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

PEN UP SPEED

UP SPEED = AUTO

CHECKPOINT

Page 89

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4.23 Setting the OFFSET FORCE (Initial Cutting Force)

This function speciﬁes the cutting force to be applied during initial blade control for checking the cutterblade direction at the start of operation. This is used to control the rotation of the cutter-blade tip during initial blade control when thick media is cut, and is therefore not necessary to specify for media of regular thickness. The initial setting is “4.” Increasing this setting increases the cutting force.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the offset-force setting menu.

Use the or key to select the value to be set, and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm.

“1” to “31”

To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

This setting is retained in the internal memory even when the power is turned off.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET FORCE 4

CHECKPOINT

Page 90

4 – 48

4.24 Setting the OFFSET ANGLE

This function sets the reference value used to adjust the cutter-blade offset angle to correspond to the displacement of the traveling angle as deﬁned by the coordinate movement data received. The cutter blade is controlled above the angle speciﬁed. Setting a high value will reduce the total cutting time, but the corners of drawings cut will become rounded and may not be cut precisely. The initial setting is “30.”

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the offset-angle setting menu.

Use the or key to select the required value within the range of “0” to “60,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the

(NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

This setting is retained in the internal memory even when the power is turned off.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

OFFSET ANGLE

OFFSET ANGLE 30

CHECKPOINT

Page 91

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4.25 Setting the STEP PASS

Reducing this setting increases image quality by enabling smooth cutter-blade tip control when arcs are cut. The STEP PASS setting speci ﬁed is used as the unit for blade tip control, with blade tip control omitted for any data below the STEP PASS setting. If the STEP PASS setting is too high, the image cut may not be faithfully reproduced. Normally, the STEP PASS setting should be set to “1.”

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the step-pass setting menu.

Use the or key to select the required value within the range of “0” to “20,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the

(NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

This setting is retained in the internal memory even when the power is turned off.

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

STEP PASS

STEP PASS 1

CHECKPOINT

Page 92

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4.26 Setting the Initial Down Force

The initial down-force setting is useful when TANGENTIAL mode is selected (f or the cutting of thic k media). With thick ﬁlm, additional time is required for the cutter blade to penetrate the ﬁlm fully, even when the necessary cutting force is applied. The cutting operation starts before the cutter blade has fully penetrated the ﬁlm, causing uncut sections to be left. When the initial down force is speciﬁed, this force is used as the cut- ting force immediately after lowering of the pen when TANGENTIAL mode is selected, enabling the cutter blade to penetrate the medium rapidly. (If the cutting force is 25 and the initial down force is 4, for example, the cutting force applied immediately after lowering of the pen will be 29.) Set the initial down force to suit the type of ﬁlm used by performing test cuts.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the initial-cutting-force setting menu.

Use the or key to select the required value within the range of “0” to “20,” and then press the (ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the

(NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

INIT.DOWN FORCE

INIT.DOWN F. 0

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4.27 Setting the LENGTH UNIT

This function speciﬁes the units for coordinates displayed in millimeters or inches.

Press the (PAUSE) key to switch to PAUSE mode.

Press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key until the following menu is displayed.

Press the (ENTER) key to display the length-unit menu.

Press the or key to select “mm” or “inch,” and then press the

(ENTER) key to conﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Press the (PAUSE) key to cancel PAUSE mode.

Step

FEED

MOVE TO R. MARK

AUTO PRE FEED

TANGENTIAL

AUTO REG. MARK

CLEAR BUFFER

AXIS ALIGNMENT

DISTANCE ADJUST

PAGE LENGTH

PLOT AREA

EXPAND

ROTATE

MIRROR

COPY

SORT

RS-232C

COMMAND

BLADE WEAR SETUP

PEN UP/DOWN

TEST MODE

PEN UP SPEED

OFFSET FORCE

OFFSET ANGLE

STEP PASS

INIT. DOWN FORCE

LENGTH UNIT

*: Option

LENGTH UNIT

LENGTH UNIT mm

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Page 95

Setting and Using the Special Functions

5.1 Description of Special Functions A.....................................5-2

5.2 Setting Special Functions A...................................................5-4

5.3 Description of Special Functions B.....................................5-4

5.4 Setting Special Functions B...................................................5-5

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5.1 Description of Special Functions A

The cutting plotter is provided with the special functions described below. These functions are speciﬁed only in special situations, and are not normally used.

■ Enabling/Disabling the “:” and “;” Commands (when the COMMAND setting is GP-GL)

This function enables or disables the “:” and “;” commands when the COMMAND setting is GP-GL. If the ﬁrst part of the data is lost, these commands may be having an adverse effect. In this case, set this func-

tion to DISABLED (the default setting is ENABLED).

■ Moving the Pen While Raised or Lowered in Response to the “W” Command (when the

COMMAND setting is GP-GL)

This function selects whether, upon receipt of the “W” command for the drawing of arcs, the cutting plotter moves the pen to the speciﬁed starting position, raised or in the pen status (raised or lowered) that was in effect immediately prior to receipt of the “W” command. When PEN DOWN is selected, the pen is moved to the starting position for the drawing of arcs in the pen status (raised or lowered) that was in effect immediately prior to receipt of the “W” command. When PEN UP is selected, the pen is moved to the starting position for the drawing of arcs in the raised status. This setting is only effective if a cutter blade has been selected in the cutter-pen settings. (The default setting is PEN UP.)

■ Model ID Response (when the COMMAND setting is HP-GL)

This function sets the response to the “OI” command when the COMMAND setting is HP-GL. When 7550 is set, the “OI” command response is 7550. When 7586 is set, the “OI” command response is 7586. (The default setting is 7550.)

■ SETTING PRIORITY

This function sets whether the cutting plotter places priority on the cutting conditions speciﬁed through command input from the computer or through manual settings (on the cutting-plotter control panel). When MANUAL is selected, cutting is performed using the cutting conditions set at the control panel, and cutting conditions sent from the computer are ignored. When PROGRAM is selected, cutting is performed using the cutting conditions speciﬁed in a received cutting-condition command. If no commands are received, cutting is performed using the cutting conditions set at the control panel. (The default setting is MANUAL.)

■ Blade-Tip Initial Position Setting

The cutter blade is placed on the medium to orient it after the power is turned on or the cutter-pen conditions are set. This is referred to as “initializing” the cutter blade. This function sets the “Blade-Tip Initial Position” for this operation. When 2 mm BELOW is selected, initial blade control is performed at a position 2 mm below the cutting start position. When OUTSIDE is selected, initial blade control is performed outside of the effective cutting/plotting area. (The default setting is 2 mm BELOW.)

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■ Enabling/Disabling PEN UP MOVE

This function sets whether the pen will travel to each point speciﬁed or only from the initially speciﬁed point to the last speciﬁed point when consecutive commands are received specifying pen movement while it is raised. When ON is selected, the pen travels consecutively to each coordinate speciﬁed by the data received. When OFF is selected, the pen travels directly from the initially speciﬁed point to the last speciﬁed point. (The default setting is OFF.)

■ Enabling/Disabling the Media Sensors

This function sets the media sensors that detect the size of the medium in the feed direction. When ON is selected, the feed-direction media sensors are enabled. When OFF is selected, the feed-direction media sensors are disabled. (The default setting is ON.)

■ Enabling/Disabling the Home Sensors

This function sets the home sensors that detect the width of the medium. When ON is selected, the home sensors are enabled. When OFF is selected, the home sensors are disabled. (The default setting is ON.)

■ Setting the PARALLEL I/F Mode

Parallel (Centronics-compatible) interfaces have various timing methods for their signal lines. If the signal timings do not match, data cannot be received accurately via the Centronics-compatible parallel interface. This function allows the timing of the Centronics-compatible parallel interface to be changed by selecting one of four different modes (1 through 4). (The default setting is 1.)

■ Circle-Command Resolution Setting (when the COMMAND setting is HP-GL)

This function sets whether the resolution is automatically set or ﬁxed at a constant 5 degrees when a cutting-plotter circle command is output while the COMMAND setting is HP-GL. (The default setting is Auto.)

■ Enabling/Disabling Blade Wear Detection

When ON is selected, the blade wear-detection setting is enabled and the blade wear-detection setting menu is displayed in the PAUSE menu. When OFF is selected, the blade wear-detection setting is disabled, and the blade wear-detection setting menu is removed from the PAUSE menu and is not displayed. For details on wear detection, refer to see “4.19 Blade Wear Detection.” (The default setting is OFF.)

If the media or home sensors have been disabled (set to OFF), be sure to specify the cutting/plotting area (see “4.11 Setting the Cutting/Plotting Area”). If the cutting/plotting area is not speciﬁed, the cutting mat may be damaged.

CAUTION

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5.2 Setting Special Functions A

Turn on the cutting plotter while holding down the key. The menus for setting the special functions are displayed.

Scroll up or down to select the required menu using the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Select the setting details using the or key, and press the (ENTER) key to register the setting. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key. The next menu is displayed.

Once all the settings have been made, turn off the cutting plotter.

5.3 Description of Special Functions B

These functions are speciﬁed only in the special situations described below, and are not normally used.

■ Display Language Setting (MENU LANGUAGE SELECTION)

This function sets the language used on the display. One of six languages can be selected: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or Japanese.

Step

":", ";" ENABLED

"W" PEN DOWN

PRIORITY MANUAL

INIT.B 2mm

UP MODE OFF

MEDIA ON

HOME ON

PARALLEL I/F 1

B.W.S. OFF

In GP-GL command mode

MODEL 7550

PRIORITY MANUAL

INIT.B 2mm

UP MODE OFF

MEDIA ON

HOME ON

PARALLEL I/F 1

CIRCLE AUTO

B.W.S. OFF

In HP-GL command mode

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5.4 Setting Special Functions B

Turn the cutting plotter on while holding down the (ENTER) and (ORIGIN) keys simultaneously. The special functions B setting menu is displayed.

Use the or key to select the desired display language , and then press the (ENTER) ke y to con- ﬁrm. To cancel the selection, press the (NEXT) or (PREV.) key.

Once all the settings have been made, turn off the cutting plotter.

Step

DISPLAY ENGLISH

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