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Sunrise Electronic Technology Skycut Series Manual

V with corel draw plugin
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Chapter 3 is for those owners wanting to perform print and cut (contour cut) applications.
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© 2018-2023
Sunrise Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Skycut Series V with Corel Draw Plugin

March 16, 2023
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  • Page 1: Skycut Series V With Corel Draw Plugin

    Skycut Series V with Corel Draw Plugin March 16, 2023 Do NOT read this entire manual… unless you want to. • At the start of Chapters 1 - 3 are short sections with references to find what you need plus some important reminders.

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents SKYCUT SERIES V WITH COREL DRAW PLUGIN ........... 1 1. INTRODUCTION AND SETTING UP ......................4 1.00 Q ...................... 4 UICK EFERENCE FOR HAPTER 1.01 S ..............................4 UPPORT 1.02 S ..........................4 AFETY AND ARNINGS 1.03 W ..............................
  • Page 3 2.01.4 Adjust the Speed, Force, and Number of Passes Based on the Material and Shapes ..... 38 2.01.5 Perform Test Cuts! ......................... 38 2.01.6 Keep the Cutting Mat Clean and Sticky ..................38 2.01.7 Don’t Get Frustrated, Get Help! ...................... 38 2.02 C ........................

  • Page 4: Introduction And Setting Up

    1. Introduction and Setting Up 1.00 Quick Reference for This Chapter • How to download and set up the Corel Draw plugin: Section 1.11 • How to set up communication between a computer and Skycut: Section 1.13 • How to use the control panel: Sections 1.10 and 1.15 •...

  • Page 5: Warranty

    • DO NOT cut any materials that have staples or other embellishments attached. • DO NOT touch the cutter with a magnet. It is safe, however, to cut magnetic materials, such as those used on refrigerators and car exteriors. • DO NOT allow any liquids to spill into the cutter.

  • Page 6: Parts Of The Skycut

    Description Image Quantity Power cable USB Cable 60° Blade(blue cap) 45° Blade(red cap) Blade Holder Test Pen and 1 Refill 1 set Cutting Mat 1.06 Parts of the Skycut Front Cutting Strip Alignment Marker (lt. gray) Pinch Wheel Control Panel Right End Cap Left...

  • Page 7: Right Side

    • Alignment Markers: indicate to the user the available positions for the pinch wheels • Blade Carriage: moves the Blade Holder Seat left and right • Blade Holder Seat or Jaw: holds the blade holder, test pen, and other accessories •...

  • Page 8: Accessories

    • Pinch Wheels (4 on 24” model): grip the mat or material so that the grit shafts beneath will feed the mat or material in and out during cutting Note: Newer models no longer have a single lever. • Pinch Wheel Lever: raises and lowers the pinch wheels •...

  • Page 9: Test Pen

    Remove these two screws from left-side end cap • Align the holes in the sides of the table with the holes in the end caps. Note in the following photos how the flat part of the table is on the outside: Flat part is on the outside These are the screws that are inserted through the holes in the...

  • Page 10: Blade Installation

     The 45° capped blade is suited for cutting thinner materials such as paper, all cardstock types, heat transfer vinyl, and wall/auto/decal vinyl.  The 60° blue capped blade is a much longer blade and is well-suited for cutting thicker materials, such as gum paste, craft plastic, craft foam, and rhinestone template material.

  • Page 11: Preparing And Caring For The Cutting Mat

    Material Perfect Length Too Long Too Short • When conducting a test cut, be sure to check your mat (or the top of a backing sheet) for cut lines after the test. You should be able to set the length to get clean cuts but with only fine lines or no lines in the mat or backing sheet.

  • Page 12: Pinch Wheels

     With most repositionable adhesives, you can control the tackiness based on the amount applied. Thus, always add a little bit at a time. As mentioned above, if you add too much, just apply a layer or two of cotton fibers by pressing with a bath towel. •...

  • Page 13: Pinch Wheel Locations

    Lever is in down position. This is recommended for Lever is in up position. Do most cutting. NOT use this position except with certain materials. Note: These two photos ONLY apply to the single pinch wheel lever model. 1.09.2 Pinch Wheel Locations •...

  • Page 14: Set Screen

    Repeat last cut. While cutting, this icon and function changes to Pause. Open and cut PLT files from an Change settings inserted USB flash drive Refer to 1.10.1 Set the desired speed and force. Stop and cancel the current cut Execute a test cut using current speed and force settings Toggle the speed for moving the head and...

  • Page 15: Installing The Corel Draw Plugin

    1.11 Installing the Corel Draw Plugin • Go to the following link to download the Corel Draw Plugin: 2019 or older: https://sky-cut.com/page89?product_id=65 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IdDgduWd6WU3V-04Jz2cfEhn9lrXfSG5/view?usp=sharing • After saving to your computer, extract the zip and right click on the exe file and select Run as administrator.

  • Page 16: Cut And Set Functions

    • Open Corel Draw and you will see the following new icons available above the document area: Add mark  The Cut and Set functions are covered in the following Section 1.12. Refer to Sections 3.04 and 3.06 for Add mark instructions. 1.12 Cut and Set Functions 1.12.1 Cut Icon •...

  • Page 17: Set Icon

    1. Select Send File 4. Send now to the Skycut to cut 3. Name of loaded .plt file 2. Click Open file and browse to select an existing .plt file Status bar 1.12.2 Set Icon • When you click the Set icon , the following window opens.

  • Page 18: Usb Connection

    • The following sections present what steps are required for each type of connection. If you run into connectivity issues, please contact your dealer. 1.13.1 USB Connection • Plug the small square end of the USB cable into the right end cap of the Skycut. Plug the USB end into an available USB port on your computer.
  • Page 19 • What you’ll need:  Name of your home/office network  The password for your network • Carefully complete the following steps: (1) On the Skycut’s control panel, select Set and then select Wifi. The Wifi screen will appear: Click on Scan Click on Wifi (2) Click on the Scan button and a list of the available networks will appear.
  • Page 20 Password will display here Switch to numbers Switch to punctuation Delete last character Toggle to switch between uppercase and lowercase letters Click OK when done (4) To enter the password, use the following tips if you are unfamiliar with this type of screen: ...

  • Page 21: Wireless Stand-Alone

    Write down this Network name IP Address Click on Apply Success! Wait will be displayed for several minutes (8) If instead of receiving a Connected OK display, you see Password err, again verify the network you selected and the password you entered. If it continues to fail to connect, confirm the IP Address you entered.

  • Page 22: Usb Flash Drive

    A. The Skycut has never been set up wirelessly to a network. B. The Skycut has previously been connected to a wireless network. A. The Skycut has never been set up wirelessly to a network • Power on the Skycut and wait for the light to come on. •...
  • Page 23 Click on the Cut tab Click on Save to file • A save window will open where you can browse to find your flash drive and enter a name for saving the file as a PLT. • The cut window will update indicating the drive letter and file name for the saved file: Where file has been saved •...
  • Page 24 Press Open File Set up repeats, refer to Section 1.15.1 (1) Double tap on USB DISK and a screen will open showing any folders and PLT files on the flash drive. Double tap a folder to open it, as needed. Drag the scroll bar on the right to see more files: Double tap here Drag here to scroll (2) Once you have located the PLT file you want to cut, double tap the name.

  • Page 25: Test Draw Shapes

    (3) If you wish to cut repeats of the file, select Array Set and a screen will open where you can then select the number of rows and columns of repeats, along with the spacing between the repeats. Refer to Section 1.15.1.
  • Page 26 • Before installing the test pen, make sure the pen will write by scribbling on scrap paper. Note that you will probably need to remove a tiny bit of wax on the end of the pen nib. Then follow these steps: ...
  • Page 27 Change the Speed to ~ 8 Change the Force to ~30 • In Corel Draw, hold your mouse down on the Polygon tool (left side panel) and select Common Shapes: Hold mouse down on this icon Select Common Shapes • At the top, open the shape menu and select the arrow which points to the right: Click here to open Common Shapes menu...

  • Page 28: Additional Control Panel Settings

    • Click the Cut icon and the following window opens: Click Yes if you have several shapes in Click No if you want all shapes the document and you only want to cut in the document to cut certain ones you have pre-selected ...

  • Page 29: Advanced Settings

    1.15.1 Advanced Settings • The optional settings in the Advanced Settings screen are: Set up rows & columns of repeats Display (X,Y) location of cutting head Separate Cut Speed from Up Turn on if you want cutting head Speed to move to the far right when cutter is powered on Option to change directions on up/down keys...
  • Page 30 Relative Location Absolute Location As arrow keys are tapped, all locations Press here to reset will update Relative Location Speed control for arrows buttons is located here when Show Point is on. Press to toggle to slow speed when needed: ...
  • Page 31 • Up Speed is how fast the blade travels while in the “up” position, such as when it is moving from the origin to the location of the first shape to cut or when moving from one cut shape to begin cutting another. When turned off, Up Speed will match the SPEED set for cutting.

  • Page 32: General Settings

    • Scale is used is used to input the sizing calibration. Refer to Section 2.08. 1.15.2 General Settings • The optional settings in the General Settings screen are: Set preferred lighting intensity Select blackout time for screens and end-of-cut alarm Select inches or millimeters Select preferred language for control panel...

  • Page 33: Sys Information

    • Unit allows you to choose either inches or mm for settings such as Show Point and the Spacing setting under Array. • Language allows you to choose from multiple languages to be used throughout the control panel display screens: 1.15.3 Sys Information •...

  • Page 34: Maintenance

     If you ever need to change which software is in use with your Skycut, press and hold SOFT for two seconds and release. The following screen will open: Software options BAUD setting based on software selected  To use a different software program to cut to the Skycut, press inside the appropriate circle. The Baud Rate indicator will automatically change if needed.
  • Page 35  Post-It Notes: (1) for setting blade/tool tip height above a material (2) for draw and cut applications  Old Fluffy Bath Towel: (1) to dry a washed mat (2) to apply an invisible layer of lint onto an overly- sticky mat ...

  • Page 36: Cutting

    2. Cutting 2.00 Quick Reference for this Chapter • How to properly mount the blade holder: Section 2.01.3 • Understanding Knife Offset and Close: Section 2.03.3 and Section 2.03.4 • How to set a very precise origin: Section 2.05.1 • Checklist before cutting: Section 2.07 •...
  • Page 37 Top and bottom Rim of blade holder is resting parts are the clamp on the blade holder seat • The Blade Height is the distance from the tip of the blade to the top of the material you are about to cut. Thus, in the photo above, you can see that there are several millimeters of Blade Height which is important for two reasons: ...

  • Page 38: Adjust The Speed, Force, And Number Of Passes Based On The Material And Shapes

    2.01.4 Adjust the Speed, Force, and Number of Passes Based on the Material and Shapes • Using correct cut settings is equally important as the type of blade, blade length, and blade height. Refer to Section 2.03 for details about each setting. 2.01.5 Perform Test Cuts! •...

  • Page 39: Controlling Where Shapes Will Cut

    Click No and all three shapes will be sent to cut  Pre-select which shapes you wish to cut and answer Yes after you click on the Cut icon Click Yes and only the green square will be sent to cut ...
  • Page 40 • In all three situations, the project will cut upside down, with respect to the cutter, and aligned with where the blade tip is located over the material before cutting (also referred to as the Origin): Dashed rectangle indicates the bounding box around the three shapes indicates where blade is positioned over the material...

  • Page 41: Controlling The Cut Order

    2. Rotate by entering -90° (clockwise): (Corel Draw will automatically change -90° to 270°) Where the shape After rotating clockwise cuts on the material indicates where pen tip was positioned The cut begins here  It’s a personal choice which of the two options you choose to use. 2.02.3 Controlling the Cut Order •...

  • Page 42: Cut Settings

    2.03 Cut Settings 2.03.1 Force • Force (also called Pressure) ranges from 1 to 160 where the maximum of 160 represents ~2000g of cutting force. If it is set too low, the material cannot be cut. In fact, it is recommended that the minimum setting is always ~15 or higher.

  • Page 43: Close (Aka Overcut)

    • If you set the Knife Offset to 0 when cutting with a blade, corners will be rounded. On the other hand, if it is set too high, bubbles will be cut on sharp corners: Offset is too low: Offset is too high: bubbles corners are rounded appear at the corners •...

  • Page 44: Passes

    2.03.5 Passes • The Passes setting causes each individual path to be cut the set number of passes before the blade moves to the next path to cut. This is better than just repeating the entire cut as each repeated pass is cut with the blade held down throughout the repeated passes, resulting in cleaner cutting.

  • Page 45: Presets

    • IMPORTANT: The Open recut option will be disabled whenever the Skycut is first powered on. Thus, make a mental note (or, even better, put a Post-It note on your cutter) to turn this option on when using multiple passes. 2.04 Presets •...
  • Page 46 New preset name will display here Switch to numbers Switch to punctuation Delete last character Toggle to switch between uppercase and lowercase letters Click OK when done  You will now see the name of your new preset and you can press Save to add it to the saved presets with the FORCE and SPEED you set.

  • Page 47: Setting The Origin Before Cutting

    Select Preset Select Rename to Select Load to change edit the name Speed and Force to these settings 2.05 Setting the Origin before Cutting • Before you cut, you should check to see where the blade tip is located in relation to the material so that the shapes will cut in the appropriate location.

  • Page 48: Setting An Origin Using The Camera

    2.05.1 Setting an Origin Using the Camera • In the event you need to set an extremely precise origin, the Skycut’s built-in camera can be used: (1) Go to Section 3.03 and perform the camera calibration. (2) Choose where you want the origin to be set. You’ll need an “origin target” to use when the camera takes a photo.

  • Page 49: Other Cut Setting Functions

    (7) Use the arrow buttons to move the red + as close as possible to the center of the origin target: (8) Press OK. At this point the blue dashed + should be centered with the origin target: (9) Press the Home icon to return to the Main Screen. The head should move so that the blade holder is now located over the origin target and you can proceed with the cutting process.

  • Page 50: Mirror

     to start will cause the blade holder to return to the origin after cutting.  to end will cause the blade holder to advance forward to the end of the cut project.  to left will cause the blade holder to move to the left of the cut project. ...

  • Page 51: Important Checklist Before You Cut

    2.07 Important Checklist Before You Cut! • Do you have your material on the mat and the mat inserted into the Skycut? (Note: materials with a backing sheet, such as vinyl and iron-on transfer do not require a mat for cutting) •...
  • Page 52  Test pen  Ruler  Calculator (or access to the Internet) • In Corel Draw, add a square using the Rectangle tool (left side panel). Resize the shape to dimensions that will be easy to remember, such as 250 mm x 250 mm (or perhaps 10” x 10”, if working in inches). •...
  • Page 53 • Draw the square again and measure to verify the square is now 250 mm x 250 mm. • Once you have your calibration set, please record these values in your “little black book” in case you ever need to reset your Skycut to default settings or install a firmware update.

  • Page 54: Test Cutting Flow Chart For The Skycut

    2.09 Test Cutting Flow Chart for the Skycut • Select a small test shape. You can use the built-in test on the Skycut. However, a shape w ith an internal path, such as a ring, works better as it allows you to more easily check to see if the blade is cutting into the backing sheet or cutting mat. •...

  • Page 55: Settings Form For Cutting Materials

    2.10 Settings Form for Cutting Materials Material Brand or Blade Material Blade Force Speed Other Comments Source Offset Passes © 2009- 2023 Sandy McCauley, All Rights Reserved...

  • Page 56: Suggested Settings For Various Materials

    2.11 Suggested Settings for Various Materials IMPORTANT: These settings should be used for the initial test cut only. Adjustments may be necessary based on the condition of the blade, variations in the material, humidity, condition of the cutting mat, blade tip height, etc.
  • Page 57 Material Type Material Brand/Source Blade Passes Force Speed Other Comments Tracing Paper Helix Vellum Paper Vinyl - Heat Transfer Siser EasySubli - with the mat Cut on the mat Siser Glitter - Gold - No cutting 2 passes makes it easier to weed, also slight Vinyl - Heat Transfer 35-40 scratch cut in the backing layer...

  • Page 58: Print And Cut (Contour Cut)

    3. Print And Cut (Contour Cut) 3.00 Quick Reference for Chapter 3 • How to calibrate the camera: Section 3.03 • How to set up a contour cut: Section 3.04 • How to adjust the camera calibration: Section 3.05.1 • How to use other registration mark settings: Section 3.06 •...

  • Page 59: What Is Apnc Calibration

    A custom shape is cut around the printed image. 3.02 What is a PNC Calibration? • In order to get precise PNC results, you must calibrate the camera. This is nothing more than letting the Skycut know how far away the camera lens is located relative to the tip of the blade. Because the camera is manually installed inside the blade carriage, the distance from the camera’s center to the tip of the blade will vary from one Skycut to the next.
  • Page 60 This is where photo will be displayed Two different screens based Magnify photo by 300% on Align versus Adjust Retake photo Align is normal mode Change brightness of LED light Adjust is calibrate mode Update blue dashed + alignment (6) Press Adjust to switch to calibrate mode. Press and hold the OK button for several seconds until it and the arrows around it turn red: 1.
  • Page 61 Tap your finger here Blue dashed + Red + (8) Tap your finger near the middle of the drawn test shape. This will move the red + to that location: Red + is now much closer to the middle of the test shape Blue dashed + is also much closer to the middle of the test...

  • Page 62: Performing Apnc From Corel Draw

    (10) Once the alignment is in place and the arrows have turned back to their original color, press the Home button and then press Stop on the Main Screen to save the calibration and conclude the process: Press Stop 3.04 Performing a PNC from Corel Draw 3.04.1 Summary of Steps •...
  • Page 63 Click here to open menu of standard page sizes Or change the page dimensions directly here (3) For a sample project, add two arrows to the Page using the same method as presented in Section 1.14. Arrows are excellent shapes to use because: ...
  • Page 64 Set to Four Mark Set MarkSize to 10 mm Set MarkSpace to 5 mm  In other applications, alternative settings can be used. Please refer to Section 3.06. (6) After clicking on OK, a new RegMark layer is created: Four reg marks now surround the arrows New RegMark layer (7) Proceed to print the project.

  • Page 65: Inaccurate Cuts

     Note that there’s an extra little line next to the reg mark to indicate which one should be at the bottom right corner, where you will align the blade tip before beginning the cut: Extra line indicates which reg mark is lower right ...

  • Page 66: Tweaking The Calibration Values

    (2) Are the initial cut shapes accurate but, as the cut progresses, the shapes become more and more off? That's called drifting and is unrelated to the calibration. There are various factors which can cause drifting as covered in Section 3.05.3. 3.05.1 Tweaking the Calibration Values •...

  • Page 67: Inaccurate Tracings

    Use these buttons to adjust the Δx and Δy offsets to new values • Once the values are set, press the Home button to return to the Main Screen. Test again to verify the cut line is better aligned with the printed shape. If the cut line didn’t move far enough, try 0.3 mm instead. If the cut line overshot, back off to 0.1 mm instead.

  • Page 68: Registration Mark Settings

     Make sure the bottom of the mat isn’t sticky and the pinch wheels and grit shafts are clean and not sticky. Clean with a lint-free cloth and a small amount of isopropyl alcohol or Un-Du. 3.06 Registration Mark Settings •...
  • Page 69 Page Box corners will be Page Box can be scanned as registration resized, as desired marks NOTE: This Page Box WILL both be used for scanning corner marks and will be cut out. If you wish for the Page Box to NOT be cut, change its stroke color to red: Select the Page Box and right click on color Page Box will serve as...

  • Page 70: Appendix A Troubleshooting Faq's

    Appendix A Troubleshooting FAQ’s A1 Communication Issues I cannot get the Skycut to power on. • Make sure the power cable is securely plugged into the Skycut’s port on the left side and securely plugged into a wall socket or a power strip. •...

  • Page 71: A2 Operating Issues

    • Try a different USB port on your computer. • Try a different USB cable. ____________________ A2 Operating Issues The control panel isn’t responding very well. • Press control panel icons with your finger and not your fingernail. You can also use a black rubber stylus.

  • Page 72: A3 Cutting/Drawing Issues

    ____________________ I’m trying to do a PNC application and the camera can’t read the marks. • Make sure you have calibrated the Skycut’s camera. The procedure is covered in Section 3.03. • On the control panel, go to Set>Camera and press Set. Make sure the Auto PNC option is marked. •...
  • Page 73 ____________________ When drawing with the test pen), I have extra lines being drawn. • Make sure you raise the pen in the blade holder seat on the Skycut before tightening the screw. The blade holder seat needs to be able to drop the tool down when it reaches the spot to start the shape. Otherwise, the tool tip will be dragging across the material from the origin to where the shape will begin and then back to the origin at the end of the “cut”.
  • Page 74 • If you are cutting vinyl without a cutting mat, check the cutting strip to make sure it is still in good condition. ____________________ I have the outside edges of my chipboard completely taped but I’m not getting clean cuts, even after lots of passes.
  • Page 75 • Do not use more force than is needed. If the cardstock is cutting through about 90% of the cut, then increase Passes. Some cardstocks do better with a second pass at a lower force. ____________________ I calibrated the camera for print and cut but every cut is off by the same amount. •...

  • Page 76: Appendix B Activating Commands

    Appendix B Activating Commands • This section shows you how to activate commands in order to add certain functions to the control panel. • Go to Set>Advance settings>System Mode and press the cmd… button: Press cmd… • The following screen opens. Press Input: Press Input •...
  • Page 77 • Enter the required Input code according to the following:  021: Activate Mark Set  020: Deactivate Mark Set  031: Activate Passes Set  030: Deactivate Passes Set • After entering the Input code you need, click on OK and the Input screen will return. The word RUN will now be highlighted and you can press it.

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