Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
Related Manuals for US Cutter MH-721
Summary of Contents for US Cutter MH-721
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Page 2: Table Of Contents
Contents Welcome ................................... 3 Cutter Parts ..................................4 Front View ..................................4 Detail of Carriage Arm ..............................5 Right Side View ................................5 Left Side View ................................6 Back View ..................................6 Detail of Pinch Roller (Back View) ..........................7 Control Panel .................................. - Page 3 Specifications ................................34 Troubleshooting ................................. 35 - 2 -...
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Page 4: Welcome
If you have any questions along the way, we have provided a few locations to go to get those questions answered. You can post on the US Cutter forums at forum.uscutter.com, submit a request for support on the support website at support.uscutter.com, or call customer service at 425-481-3555. -
Page 5: Cutter Parts
Cutter Parts Before you start cutting, you should familiarize yourself with the cutter and its basic parts and functions: Front View Control Panel Used to provide input directly to the cutter. Covered in detail in the “Control Panel” (page 8) section of this manual. Carriage Arm Holds the Blade (or Pen) Carriage. -
Page 6: Detail Of Carriage Arm
Detail of Carriage Arm Blade Carriage Slot Holds the Blade Carriage in (Back Slot) place. Pen Carriage Slot Holds the Pen Carriage in (Front Slot) place. Locking Knob Allows access to the Blade/Pen Carriage Slots for exchanging/replacing Carriages. Right Side View USB Cable Port Used to connect a USB cable from the cutter to... -
Page 7: Left Side View
Left Side View Power Cable Port Used to connect a power cable from the cutter to a wall outlet or surge protector. Power Switch Main power switch for turning the power of the cutter on(1) or off(0). Fuse Cartridge Allows access to the fuse inside of the cutter. -
Page 8: Detail Of Pinch Roller (Back View)
Detail of Pinch Roller (Back View) Pinch Roller Tension Adjusts the tension of how tightly Knobs the pinch roller is held to the feed roller below. Pinch Roller Release Allows you to release Pinch Rollers Lever (either so they can be moved from side to side or to allow media to be easily fed below them) by pulling up on the Release Levers. -
Page 9: Control Panel
Control Panel Main Screen The main screen of the cutter allows you to set the main settings of the cutter including the cutting speed and cutting force options. It also allows you to cut a test pattern or check the amount of force that is currently set. -
Page 10: Offline/Pause Screen
Offline/Pause Screen Offline mode is used to reposition the cutting material and blade so that a new starting position can be set for the next design. Offline mode can also be accessed while the cutter is in operation and will pause the current cutting process. -
Page 11: Setup Screen
Setup Screen The Setup screen allows you to adjust some of the more technical settings of the cutter. For most users, these settings should not be changed. Reset Button Resets the cutter by setting the Baud rate back to 9600, clearing the memory of the machine, and setting the origin of the carriage arm to its rightmost position. -
Page 12: Redraw Screen
Redraw Screen Redraw mode will allow you to repeat simple cuts that have recently been sent to the cutter. Reset Button Resets the cutter by setting the Baud rate back to 9600, clearing the memory of the machine, and setting the origin of the carriage arm to its rightmost position. Offline/Pause Exits Redraw mode and returns to Setup mode. -
Page 13: Setting Up
Setting up If you are setting up for the first time please take a moment to refer to the Packaging Guide to take account off all the included components and accessories. For help with Stand Assembly, please refer to the included instructions. Selecting a Location for Your Cutter The first step to setting up your cutter is finding a good location for the machine. - Page 14 your cutter and computer then you may wish to verify that the correct COM port is being used in your software setup (see Finding Your COM Port on the next page), but for most users the COM port will be COM1. If Using the USB Cable to connect your cutter to a Computer: You will need to install drivers for the USB connection to work properly.
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Page 15: Installing Signblazer Software
-Finding Your COM Port First navigate to the Device Manager by following the below instructions for your operating system: Windows 95/98/Me Users: Click Start, then select Settings -> Control Panel. Select Device Manager. Windows 2000/XP Users: Click Start, Then Right-click “My Computer” then select Properties. Select the Hardware tab. -
Page 16: Installing The Pen Carriage
Make sure that your Baud Rate option is set to 9600. Do not change the, Data Bits, Stop Bits, or Parity options. Make sure the Flow Control option is set to “Hardware”. Installing the Pen Carriage Most new users will benefit from practice “cutting” with the supplied pen carriage until they are comfortable with normal operations of the cutter and cutting software. - Page 17 To Replace the pen or spring inside of the Pen Carriage: Unscrew the top cap from the Pen carriage. Remove the top cap, the pen and the spring. Replace the pen and/or spring as necessary. Slide the spring onto the pen from the top and insert it back into the pen carriage. Replace the carriage cap and screw into place.
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Page 18: Installing A New Blade
Once you are familiar with the cutter and its basic functions, install the blade carriage. Installing a New Blade Unscrew the Set Brass Ring Remove the Insert the Screw the Adjust the Adjust the cap from the on Blade protective blade into cap back carriage cap... -
Page 19: Replacing A Worn Blade
Replacing a Worn Blade First remove the blade carriage from the carriage arm, Unscrew the cap of Press up on the the blade carriage release button (located on the bottom of the blade carriage) to raise the blade and remove it. Follow the remaining steps from “Installing a New Blade”... -
Page 20: Preparing For Cutting
Preparing for Cutting If you are going to cut from a scrap or single sheet instead of a roll, then skip the next step on placing a vinyl roll. All other steps will be the same. Place the roll on top of the stand rollers. Release the Pinch Rollers by pulling up on the Pinch Roller Release Levers. - Page 21 Feed the vinyl underneath the pinch rollers (if working from a single sheet instead of a roll, the vinyl can also be feed from the front). Adjust the pinch rollers so there is one roller located on each side of the vinyl (and, on models with 3 or more rollers, one roller near the center).
- Page 22 Leave a gap of between ½”-1 ½” from the edge of the roller and the edge of the vinyl on both sides. Engage the Pinch Rollers by pushing down on the Pinch Roller Release Levers. If the cutter is not already on, turn it on now - 21 -...
- Page 23 If you would like to change the position of where the cut will be made: Press the button to enter offline mode. Adjust the vinyl to where you want to make your cut to start by using the Up and Down Arrow Keys on the Control Panel.
- Page 24 Now press the Origin button to tell the cutter that this is the location where you would like the cut to begin. When choosing a starting location for your design, remember that the process will start in the bottom right area of the design.
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Page 25: Step By Step Instructions
Step By Step Instructions Starting SignBlazer Open the SignBlazer Software (The Default location will be in the Programs Folder under “SignBlazer Elements for USCutter”). Navigate to this folder and select “SignBlazer Elements for USCutter”. SignBlazer will attempt to download update files. - 24 -... - Page 26 When it fails, cancel the update process (By Pressing the Cancel button on the error window and then OK on the confirmation window) and the program will start regularly. To override the update process in the future, refer to the Troubleshooting listing titled “When starting the SignBlazer Software it fails to find updates”, located in the Troubleshooting section of the manual (starting on 35).
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Page 27: Making A Simple Cut In Signblazer
Now SignBlazer is open and you are looking at the main SignBlazer screen. Making a Simple Cut in SignBlazer You can create images from scratch using the various tools in SignBlazer. For this tutorial, we will be drawing a simple square just to show the steps of making a cut from SignBlazer. Select the Square tool at the top of the window. - Page 28 Now draw a square by clicking first in the main And then moving the mouse to determine the size window… of the square desired, and clicking a second time. Now to cut this simple shape from the cutter: Select Cutter from the top selection menu. This will take you to the cutter screen of SignBlazer Elements where you can see a representation of how your cut will be made when sent to the cutter as well as various cutter options.
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Page 29: Importing
Since this is a simple cut, no adjustments need to be made here. We can tell the software we are ready to cut by pressing the cut button in the top selection menu… and then pressing “Cut Tile” in the Cut Tile window: When you are finished, you can go back to the main SignBlazer screen by pressing the Finish button in the top selection menu. - Page 30 You can import to SignBlazer one of two ways: Using the Clipboard You can import from the clipboard by first copying or cutting an image opened from another software program, and then placing it into SignBlazer by selecting Clipboard Paste from the Edit drop down menu. Images imported via Clipboard Paste may not retain the same dimensions that they held in another software program.
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Page 31: Cutting From An Imported File
Then Select the image to import, And select the OK button. If you are having trouble locating your file, make sure that the file type is selected from the “List Files of Type” menu, or that “All Graphic Files” is selected. Cutting From an Imported File If the file imported is already a vector image then it is now ready to cut or be further edited within SignBlazer. -
Page 32: Converting A Raster Image To Vector Image
If the image imported is a raster image then a few more steps will need to be taken to get the file ready for cutting. Converting a Raster Image to Vector Image The difficulty of converting a raster image to a vector image will vary greatly depending on the amount of contrast in the image. - Page 33 The “Convert Image to monochrome” window will appear. Now you can adjust the Threshold Level slider. Where you place the slider will determine how much of the image will be included in the monochrome conversion (which is to become the image that will be cut). Anything darker than the level set on the Threshold slider will be included in the cut and anything lighter will not.
- Page 34 And press the OK button on the Vectorise Image window. You are now left with 1 monochrome image and 1 vectorized image. This may be difficult to see as they are probably layered directly on top of one another. If you grab one image and drag it you will see the other image left behind.
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Page 35: Specifications
Specifications Maximum Paper Feed Width MH365(12 inch model) - 14.3 inches (365mm) MH721(25 inch model) - 28.3 inches (720mm) MH871(33 inch model) - 34.2 inches (870mm) MH1351(50 inch model) - 53.1 inches (1350mm) Maximum Cutting Width MH365(12 inch model) - 10.8 inches (275mm) MH721(24 inch model) - 24.8 inches (630mm) MH871(33 inch model) - 30.7 inches (780mm) MH1351(50 inch model) - 49.6 inches (1260mm) -
Page 36: Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Problem Solution The cutter is unresponsive to Communication issues can arise if the cutter was powered on while communications from the the software is trying to send data to the cutter. Exiting the cutter computer and software. screen of SignBlazer and returning to the main SignBlazer screen may resolve this issue. - Page 37 After the first cut is made, After a cut is made, you will need to reset the origin of the cutter. subsequent cuts are made over If the origin is not set again, the first origin will remain in the the top of the original, or vinyl cutter and the cutter will return to this position before making any is fed backwards until it loses...
- Page 39 H (x1) - Right Roller Arm J(x1) - Right Column C(x3) - Bolt B(x3) - Bolt Cap Attaching the Right Roller Arm to the outer side of the Right Column (outer side will have a curved edge and will have larger hole openings) G(x1) -Left Roller Arm K(x1) - Left Column...
- Page 40 Assembled right side (roller arm, column) D(x4) - Long Screw M(x1) - Foot Attaching a Foot on the right side Assembled left side (roller arm, column) D(x4) - Long Screw M(x1) - Foot Attaching a Foot on the left side...
- Page 41 Assembled right side (roller arm, column, foot) I(x1) - Center Crossbeam A(x2) - Short Screw F(x2) - Screw Sleeve E(x2) - Screw Sleeve Cap Adding the Center Crossbeam to the right side (Some larger models will have more than one Center Crossbeam.
- Page 42 Completed stand L(x2) - Rollers Adding the Rollers Completed stand with rollers MH series Cutter Adding the Cutter to the completed Stand...