FC9000/cutting master5/Corel

[iconicSR2026]

Hi all,

I'm having issues with my plotter (fc9000) not being consistent.

Context -- I set up a file (in Corel using cutting master 5 plugin) -- printed and plotted this file twice successfully.
I go print up another 3 batches ... Now my plotter WILL NOT successfully find the register marks.
I didn't change anything at all.
I put a blue box around the original file to better help me precisely line up each time ...again worked perfectly the first 2 times.
What changed? am I supposed to re-poll size every time? am i not supposed to at all?

Mind you i still cannot for the life of me get the barcoding system to work at all. My material is skewing no matter what i do. i feel like i made the worst mistake with getting this plotter.

Any help at all is appreciated.

 

[iconicSR2026]

have the black bock with white targets because someone suggested to try it. no other reason. I hadn't successfully gotten it to register anything till i tried that.

 

[ReproElectroProspero]

It looks like you're using high intensity prismatic media. the incredible reflectivity is known to cause issues with many plotters - this isn't the fault of the FC9000 necessarily. the sensor is likely getting overwhelmed by the amount of light being reflected back at it. it's quite likely that you successfully cut two batches because the sensor was operating on the very edge of its tolerance threshold. Slight variations in ambient light, media curl, or similar could be the difference between it working and it failing.

first thing to try is to make sure your media read / sensor settings are correct for your media. for this kind of reflective stuff, you can't use the normal/default settings. change your media read to ISM (intelligent scan mode): CP FAQ VIDEO PRINT AND CUT SETTING SPEED OF THE REGISTRATION MARK SCAN | Graphtec America, Inc

the other thing you can try (i do this all the time) is putting some matte tape over the reg marks so the reflect less light back at the sensor. this is quick and easy - and so long as you don't use 100% opaque tape, the machine should still read the reg marks just fine.

regarding your other questions:

• yes, you need to re-poll every time in most cases when not using barcoding/continuous feed. the machine has no way of knowing you loaded the same size as last time.
• the barcoding system is a pain...I've not set it up yet but I do know that it requires an active datalink server, updated firmware, additional lead edge space, etc. imho not worth it without a ton of volume
• for your skew - set the outermost pinch rollers to strong/normal pressure. set all inner pinch rollers to weak/low pressure. If inner rollers are strong, they fight the outer rollers effectively "bowing" stiff material, causing it to skew left or right.

 

[TJPrinter]

It looks like you're using high intensity prismatic media. the incredible reflectivity is known to cause issues with many plotters - this isn't the fault of the FC9000 necessarily. the sensor is likely getting overwhelmed by the amount of light being reflected back at it. it's quite likely that you successfully cut two batches because the sensor was operating on the very edge of its tolerance threshold. Slight variations in ambient light, media curl, or similar could be the difference between it working and it failing.

Not sure if this would apply to the FC9000, but on my Summa cutter, I have to place yellow transparent film over the OPOS when using highly reflective material. It changes the properties of the light to allow the marks to be differentiated from the reflective background.

 

[iconicSR2026]

It looks like you're using high intensity prismatic media. the incredible reflectivity is known to cause issues with many plotters - this isn't the fault of the FC9000 necessarily. the sensor is likely getting overwhelmed by the amount of light being reflected back at it. it's quite likely that you successfully cut two batches because the sensor was operating on the very edge of its tolerance threshold. Slight variations in ambient light, media curl, or similar could be the difference between it working and it failing.

first thing to try is to make sure your media read / sensor settings are correct for your media. for this kind of reflective stuff, you can't use the normal/default settings. change your media read to ISM (intelligent scan mode): CP FAQ VIDEO PRINT AND CUT SETTING SPEED OF THE REGISTRATION MARK SCAN | Graphtec America, Inc

the other thing you can try (i do this all the time) is putting some matte tape over the reg marks so the reflect less light back at the sensor. this is quick and easy - and so long as you don't use 100% opaque tape, the machine should still read the reg marks just fine.

regarding your other questions:

• yes, you need to re-poll every time in most cases when not using barcoding/continuous feed. the machine has no way of knowing you loaded the same size as last time.
• the barcoding system is a pain...I've not set it up yet but I do know that it requires an active datalink server, updated firmware, additional lead edge space, etc. imho not worth it without a ton of volume
• for your skew - set the outermost pinch rollers to strong/normal pressure. set all inner pinch rollers to weak/low pressure. If inner rollers are strong, they fight the outer rollers effectively "bowing" stiff material, causing it to skew left or right.

i have scotch taped it for the matte effect and i have slowed down the sensor speed. but it's still trying to register the reflective ...idk strips/columns?... on the material itself as the register marks.

i guess my real question when it comes to repolling is --will it mess up my register mark alignment if its slightly different from what i had originally created? or am i not creating the file correctly? from everything ive read and seen .. I'm making my art board size just slightly bigger than my project ... so if my project is a 32" width I'm giving 1 1/2 between it and the register marks making my total area around 33 1/2 ... but when i read my 52" material with 1 1/2 away from the lead edges making the poll size around 50" more or less it seems to mess up my readings. is that not the correct way to set up artwork with register marks?

i can't seem to find any real in depth instructions on anything regarding my plotter. everything is very vague and im just grasping at straws at this point.

 

[iconicSR2026]

Not sure if this would apply to the FC9000, but on my Summa cutter, I have to place yellow transparent film over the OPOS when using highly reflective material. It changes the properties of the light to allow the marks to be differentiated from the reflective background.

i will try that, my mimaki has a red light and registers reflective better. i guess i hadn't thought to cover the light itself because the biggest selling points the dealer gave us (head honchos) was it read reflective. no mention of needing to dull the material or tamper with the scanner itself. .. imagine my surprise when i saw it has a white light. and all the manuals/tutorials kept stating to keep in mind i may need to cover the marks / mattify them and that it may not real all materials.