Gerber P2C™ 1600 User`s Manual
Contents
1. 2 23 2610 AOI SETUP ae ain ana Makam aka san 2 23 2 6 11 LCD CONTRAST rU 2 23 Table of Contents TOC iii Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 3 GENERAL INFORMATION 3 1 3 1 MAINTENANCE amp CLEANINQG accanto inn onn ka 3 1 CLEANING THE DRIVE SYSTEM 3 1 9 52 CLEANING RIE SENSOR Snar rioa anne She ah bbs ba 3 2 3 2 OPERATING VOLTAGE CONVERSION 3 3 2d e Wr 3 1 4 INTERFACE E S 4 1 penes 4 1 42 RS232 INTERFACE NOTES mena ena akan 4 1 4 2 1 SY STEM SEN Pa ak katak 4 1 42 2 SERIAL INTERFACE CONNECTOR ON THE CUTIEIS esa ma 4 2 A23 AVAILABLE SERIAL SIGNALS 4 2 USBINTERFAGE NOTES aa 4 3 4 3 c Q 4 3 4 3 2 INSTALLING THE USB SOFTWARE UNDER 5 4 3 4 3 3 INSTALLING THE USB SOFTWARE FOR YOUR MACINTOSH 4 4 4 5 1 PARALLEL INTERFACE CONNECTOR ON CUTER 4 5 5 MEDIA CERTIFICATION os cssassencxsnasonsssasnenssenssensnsncisnassncsonevanenenssenenones 1 Table of Contents TOC iv Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS kk aka2. in DM PL only IN HP GL AND HP GL 2 ONLY FIGURE 2 3 FLOWCHART SHOWING FACTORY PRESET MENU SETTINGS Operation Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 3 1 KNIFE PRESSURE The KNIFE PRESSURE submenu is used to set or modify the cutting pressure of the knife The default knife pressure value is 120 grams The knife pressure can be set between 0 and 400 grams The knife pressure value is set in 5 gram increments The active knife pressure value is marked with an asterisk on the LCD Knife pressure setup is explained in detail in section 1 7 1 2 3 2 KNIFE OFFSET The KNIFE OFFSET submenu is used to set or modify the distance between the tip of the knife and the axis The default knife offset value is 45 mm The value can be set between 0 and 1 Make sure that the selected knife offset value is appropriate for the knife being used Some fine tuning may be necessary because of the knife s mechanical tolerances To verify the knife offset a test can be cut by pressing the 1 key If the offset value is set too low the rectangles will not close If the offset value is set too high the rectangles will be distorted The offset test is illustrated below 2 3 3 POUNCING PRESSURE The POUNCING PRESSURE submenu is used to set or modify the amount of pressure exerted upon the pouncing tool The default pouncing pressure value is 120 grams The pouncing pressure can be set between 0 and 400
3. cutting or plotting media 3 Install a knife or pen 4 Press the key until INTERNAL TESTS is displayed Press the 9 jogging key S Press the Q Or QD jogging key until the desired internal plot is displayed 6 To perform the plot press the 41 To exit this menu and go to another menu press the key until the desired menu is Press the key to exit all menus and return the cutter to online status FIGURE 2 4 INTERNAL TESTS SUBMENUS Operation 2 18 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 5 1 CUT BORDER CUT BORDER is used cut the border of the media area as defined during the load sequence This function can be used to verify the exact cutting area 2 5 2 MENU PLOT MENU PLOT produces a hard copy of the present cutter configuration i e the parameter settings in the USER CONFIG submenus described in Section 2 3 The plot is organised by menu categories to show the current values for the various USER CONFIG 1 24 configurations To run this plot load a sheet of plotting paper and install a pen NOTE It is strongly recommended that a MENU PLOT be plotted each time the cutter configuration is altered The resulting plot should be kept with the cutter documentation in order to provide other users with details about the unit s actual configurations 2 5 3 CONFIDENCE CUT The CONFIDENCE cut performs an electrical and mechanical test of the cutter to make sure that th
4. 2 15 2412 APGE ORIGIN 2 15 DANS MEDIA SENSOR a ai mia aa SDA 2 16 244 2 16 10 TOOL COM m 2 16 2410 LOADCON W ie bae ka katakan 2 16 2AN FEX CUT 2 17 210 MRE EA dh iu C 2 17 Table of Contents TOC ii Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 5 INTERNALTEST MENY ba 2 18 2 5 1 CUTBORDER Lost sont au tne tee Ku 2 19 25 2 MENU PE bae 2 19 259 CONFIDENCE CUT i aieiai aiii 2 19 254 DIN GUA ES 2 19 203 mc 2 20 2560 CAUBRATION OPOS 2 20 427 OPOS SENI NE aa Anna aa ana ena na ae anta 2 20 25 9 SYS IEM TESIS OUR REORUM 2 20 28 SYSTEM TESTS ec Un 2 21 2 6 1 LANGUAGE e M P 2 2 262 ROM REVISION MEE 2 2 o ei kw c cc Ct 2 2 2 044 OPICAL SENSOR oa ma mata eka 2 22 209 SENSOR 2 22 2 005 CANBRANON onani Erba EXE 2 22 Mo cp 2 22 20 0 RAM anna ka weal 2 23 20 9 INSTALL
5. Operation 2 6 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual When the cutter is online but has not been selected by the host computer the following conditions must be met The cutter must be powered ON Media must be loaded For detailed media loading instructions see Section 1 8 The proper tool must be installed The cutter must be connected to the host computer via a USB RS 232 C link or a parallel interface The cutter must be configured for the scheduled operation To put the cutter offline press the 5 1 Pressing any of these keys will suspend the current cutting plotting operation until the cutter is again put online 2 2 2 LOCAL OPERATION Local operation is only possible while the cutter is offline Local operation means that the cutter is operated directly by the operator via instructions entered on the control panel gt To work in local operation mode proceed as follows If the cutter is still online press the v key once to select offline To move the carriage left or right press the Or jogging key To scroll the media forwards towards you or backwards away from you press the Q Or QD jogging key Press the key to move the tool head up or down Press the v key to end local mode and put the cutter online again Operation 2 7 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 3 THE USER CONFIG MENU The USER CONFIG uration menu gives access to different submenus tha
6. General Information 1 14 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual USA EUROPE MAKE SURE THIS IS CONNECTED TO A KNOWN EARTH MAKE SURE THIS IS CONNECTED TO A F KNOWN EARTH x FIGURE 1 3 EARTH CONNECTION AN IMPORTANT OPERATIONAL TIP Your cutter must only be used with a power outlet that is properly grounded to earth Use of an unearthed outlet exposes the operator to the risk of electric shock and will also lead to malfunctioning of the cutter 1 6 2 POWER UP PROCEDURE To power up the cutter proceed as follows Be sure the cutter is securely attached to its stand Plug one end of the AC power cord into the AC power cord receptacle on the cutter s rear panel Plug the other end of the AC power cord into the wall socket Press the I side of the ON OFF rocker switch on the rear panel to switch the cutter ON The message INSERT MEDIA is displayed on the LCD if no media is loaded and the pinch rollers are in the up position General Information 1 15 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 7 INSTALLATION OF A KNIFE PEN OR POUNCING TOOL 1 7 1 KNIFE INSTALLATION A SAFETY WARNING Your cutter uses razor sharp knives The knife blades may cause serious personal injuries if handled without proper care Use extreme care when operating the cutter and when installing removing or handling the knife To set up your cutter for knife operation proceed as follows
7. The YYYY value is the cuttable width of the media as measured by the cutter Note when the media length displayed is zero 0 the default media length will be used Press 4 to confirm the length and the cutter will start shuffling the vinyl in order to establish a track on the vinyl The cutter is now ready to receive a file General Information 1 27 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual The cutter has been selected by the computer However if you pressed HI the default media length is displayed An XXXX value appears 2000mm is the default value The default values can be changed by pressing the 10 C10 100 and 100 jogging keys Press lt to confirm the length and the cutter will start shuffling the vinyl in order to set a track on the vinyl The cutter is now ready to receive a file The cutter has been selected by the computer When the built in media sensors detect the end of the roll the message END OF MEDIA will be displayed The display will show the actual length of the loaded media If that length is sufficient press 1 to ACCEPT If not press 2 to ABORT and the media will automatically return to its origin 4 CAUTION When you accept the loaded area in sheet mode the cutter will clip the sign to be cut in case of insufficient media Compare the loaded media with the area needed for the sign General Information 1 28 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual
8. SECTION 2 2 OPERATION 2 1 THE CONTROL PANEL Figure 2 1 shows the control panel of the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters The main functions of the liquid crystal display LCD and the control panel keys are explained in the following paragraphs 9 FIGURE 2 1 CONTROL PANEL GERBER P2C 1600 Operation 2 1 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 1 1 THE LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY The 32 character liquid crystal display LCD consists of two lines of 16 characters each The LCD provides cutter status information during operations and displays menu options for the configuration of the cutter The contrast of the LCD can be adjusted from the control panel in order to ensure optimum readability under varying lighting conditions Instructions for adjusting the LCD contrast are given in Section 2 6 11 The various menu and submenu items are always presented in a loop When the last item in the menu is displayed pressing the appropriate key will automatically take you back to the first item in the same menu or submenu Next to the status messages and or menu options displayed on the LCD arrow symbols representing the M D gt and jogging keys and the 41 key will tell you what keys press go to the next menu item top line of the display or to the next value for a given submenu item bottom line of the display 2 1 2 THE RESET LOAD KEY The key RESET LOAD
9. Vinyl Types A wide range of vinyl types has been evaluated and tested on the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters When using duly certified media operation in accordance with the functional specifications of the model is warranted Gerber should certify other media before use to ensure performance in compliance with specifications See Appendix A for a full list of all Gerber duly certified media suitable for friction drive operation Plotting Paper Bond paper 120 g m recommended General Information 1 5 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 2 3 KNIFE PEN AND POUNCING TOOL The Gerber P2C cutters are supplied with two standard knife blades for vinyl media and a black fibre tip pen Too Medium requires andad knife holder amp fluorescent vin material eae ai TABLE 1 3 GERBER P2C 1600 KNIVES PENS AND POUNCING TOOLS To order replacement knives pens and or pouncing tools contact your local dealer guoting the part numbers listed in table 1 9 The Gerber P2C cutters will only perform according to specifications if genuine Gerber knife pen or pouncing tool is installed Do not replace the standard knife pen or pouncing tool with products from other manufacturers 1 2 4 INTERFACE 232 C ond Centronics parallel interface Mating connector USB series B plug Serial I O Port connector DB 9P Mating connector DB 9S Byte format 8 data bits 2 stop bits no parity Baud rate 38400 19200 9600
10. is used to move the origin initiate a load sequence reset the cutter abort the cut in progress or recut the last file When the key RESET LOAD is pressed the cutter goes offline suspends all operations in progress and displays the RESET LOAD menu Press the key until SET ORIGIN LOAD RESET ABORT SPECIAL LOAD or RECUT is displayed To confirm RESET ABORT or RECUT press the i key ENTER To execute the SET ORIGIN instruction move the knife origin using the M c and c jogging keys and then press the lt key ENTER to confirm the new origin position Press the 1 or 2 key to initiate a load sequence for a ROLL or SHEET respectively Press the lt key ENTER to initiate the SPECIAL LOAD instruction Then position the knife tip directly over the origin marker using the jogging keys The cutter will return to ONLINE status should any of these instructions be terminated The SET ORIGIN instruction is used to move the knife origin The LOAD instruction is used to initiate a load sequence The RESET instruction performs a complete reset of the cutter The ABORT instruction simply cancels the cut in progress Aborting a cut will not reset the cutter parameters the parameters that had been selected for the cut remain in effect Operation 2 2 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual The SPECIAL LOAD instruction is used to initiate registration of the OPOS markers just before a contour cut is begun See the section OPO
11. media expansion or contraction may occur as a result of temperature variations To improve the dimensional stability of media allow it to acclimate to the current environmental conditions for at least 24 hours prior to use 1 2 9 ELECTRICAL Main Supply 48 62 Hz single phase Nominal line Min Max line Fuse 2 100 V AC 89 108 V AC 1 25 A Slo Blo 120 V AC 108 130 V AC 1 25 A Slo Blo 220 V AC 197 238 V AC 0 6 A Slo Blo 240 V AC 216 260 V AC 0 6 A Slo Blo TABLE 1 8 GERBER P2C 1600 ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS General Information 1 8 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 3 CUTTER ACCESSORIES AND CONSUMABLES The following is an overview of the accessories and consumables available for the various Gerber P2C 1600 models UsersManud Serial Interface consisting of 9 pin to 9 pin cable 9 pin to 8 pin DIN Converter blades set of 10 Pouncing tool Sandblast knife holder TABLE 1 9 GERBER P2C 1600 ACCESSORIES AND CONSUMABLES General Information 1 9 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 4 REAR PANEL COMPONENTS In order to get acquainted with your Gerber P2C 1600 cutter read the following descriptions of the rear panel components Figure 1 1 shows the location of the main components FIGURE 1 1 GERBER P2C 1600 REAR VIEW FOR PRACTICAL REASONS ILLUSTRATIONS RELATE TO A SMALLER CUTTER MODEL THE P2C 1600 CUTTERS DIFFER
12. 2 1 1 THE LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY abu 2 2 2 152 IHE RESETLOAD KEY 2 2 THE ONHUNE KEY ER 2 3 THEMENU KEY Lebat bat naa A aa maa 2 3 Slee THE ENIER KEY ccc 2 5 2 145 Whe LAND 2 KEYS Ie mena A AA 2 5 207 oranie nat Hei pd tM oec ELEM HOCH ADI 2 5 218 THE FOOL UP DOWN KEY bae 2 5 Xe MEER Qe A qe CETT 2 5 22 NORMAL OPERA Ne aa 2 6 224 ONLINE ANDO FR EINE so fete ioo esr eie cand ee tedio seda 2 6 222 am dv tu taba 2 7 23 IHEUSER CONAG MENU aa 2 8 2 3 1 Ne PRESSURE ski maa 2 10 29 2 di iz c 2 10 POUNCING PRESSURE nan aan 2 10 234 aa 2 10 239 OVERCU e 2 11 25305 POUNCING GAP ana AAA A O 2 11 OVO EM SF IUR ea N 2 11 24 SYSTEM SET UP bo oo sm abi 2 12 2 4 1 me ez Ue m 2 12 242 Na Ra 2 12 EMULATE d vara i Roi dra MA 2 12 QT Tes 2 13 245 2 13 240 ADDRESSING ab ba aa 2 13 47 t 2 13 DAD PARI 2 14 ZU JENA MS uM enia ema 2 14 2 410 DMPC ERRORS 5 oM DIEI aa aan 2 15 Eee Pena asa
13. 2 4 SYSTEM SETUP Refer to Figure 2 3 2 4 CONCATENATION The CONCATENATION feature increases the speed and cut quality when high resolution data is being cut However when changing back to normal characters concatenation should be deactivated by setting the parameter to 0 The active concatenation value is marked with an asterisk the LCD 2 4 2 SMOOTHING The SMOOTHING feature applies to graphics that have curves made up of many short vectors SMOOTHING smoothes the vectors to achieve a more rounded appearance SMOOTHING is set to OFF by default 2 4 3 EMULATE The EMULATE submenu is used to select the cutter s active cutting plotting language The Gerber P2C 1600 cutters support DM PL HP GL and HP GL 2 The active plotting language is marked with an asterisk on the LCD NOTE The cutter s active cutting plotting language MUST match the active cutting plotting language set in the cutting software Always select a language that is supported by the host computer s cutting software Whenever possible select the DM PL menu option which sets the active cutting plotting language to Houston Instrument Digital Microprocessor Plotting Language DM PL This selection will allow the cutter to operate with DM PL based cutting plotting software This language having special command extensions for cutting normally gives superior cutting performance Select the HP GL menu option to set the active cutting plotting la
14. 4800 2400 bps Parallel 1 O Port connector Centronics female Mating connector Centronics male TABLE 1 4 GERBER P2C 1600 INTERFACE SPECIFICATIONS General Information 1 6 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 2 5 FIRMWARE Languages DM PL HP GL and HP GL 2 with selectable origin 7475 HP 7580 7585 Supported character sets Standard ASCII Supported fonts Sans serif single stroke amp medium ROM based plots Confidence plot DIN plot TABLE 1 5 GERBER P2C 1600 FIRMWARE 1 2 6 PERFORMANCE Specifications for cutting on 0 05 mm 0 0025 wax backed vinyl having a total media thickness not greater than 0 25 mm 0 010 32 ips M 2 whichever is greater whichever is greater O to 400 gr O to 400 gr O to 400 gr O to 400 gr Excludes differences due to media expansion stretching etc TABLE 1 6 GERBER P2C 1600 PERFORMANCE 1 2 7 CERTIFICATIONS CE Certificate FCC Class A Complies with UL 1950 CSA 950 General Information 1 7 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 2 8 ENVIRONMENTAL CUTTER WITHOUT MEDIA Operating Temperature 15 to 35 59 to 95 F Storage temperature 30 to 70 C 22 to 158 F Relative humidity 35 85 non con 35 85 non con densing densing TABLE 1 7 GERBER P2C 1600 ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS IMPORTANT HINT The use of dimensionally stable media is an essential prerequisite to obtaining high cut quality Additionally
15. ONLY IN WIDTH AND NUMBER OF PINCH ROLLERS General Information 1 10 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual USB Port This interface is based on the standards specified Universal Serial Bus Specifications Revision 1 1 It provides high speed serial bi directional communication between the host computer and the cutter 2 RS 232 C Port This DB 9P connector provides bidirectional communication between the host computer and the cutter 3 Parallel Port This 36 pin Centronics connector provides unidirectional communication between the host computer and the cutter The cutter can receive but not transmit data via this port Note Only one of the above three interfaces can be active at any one time The first port that receives data will be the active interface until the cutter is reset 4 Power switch This rocker switch turns the cutter on and off To switch the power ON press the side of the rocker switch To switch the power OFF press the side of the rocker switch 5 Power Entry Module The fuse box the voltage select board and the AC power cord receptacle are located in the power entry module The power up procedure is explained in detail in Section 1 6 For information about the conversion of the cutter s operating voltage see Section 3 2 6 Media Guides The two guides keep the roll in place laterally as the media is pulled free The guides also keep the media flan
16. grams The pouncing pressure value is set in 5 gram increments The active pouncing pressure value is marked with an asterisk on the LCD Pouncing pressure setup is explained in detail in section 1 7 3 2 3 4 VELOCITY The VELOCITY submenu is used to set or modify the velocity of the tool The default velocity is 800 mm s 20 ips The velocity can be set between 50 mm s 2 ips and 1000 mm s 40 ips Operation 2 10 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 3 5 OVERCUT The OVERCUT submenu enables you to establish an overcut to facilitate weeding The default overcut value is 1 The overcut setting can be disabled 20 or set to any value between O off and 10 One unit is about 0 1 mm or 0 004 The current overcut value is marked with an asterisk k on the LCD 2 3 6 POUNCING GAP The pouncing gap submenu is used to set or modify the distance between the pounced holes Pouncing gap only applies when the machine is in pounce mode The default pouncing gap is 1 mm The value can be set between 0 and 50 mm The current pouncing gap value is marked with an asterisk on the LCD 2 3 7 SYSTEM SETUP The SYSTEM SETUP submenu includes menu items normally needed only during initial setup when the cutter is made to communicate with the computer and software Press the lt key to access the different submenu items which are explained in section 2 4 Operation 2 11 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual
17. in the shape of inverted triangles have been provided on the head guide The center low pressure roller is used to enhance media routing and keep the vinyl flat Ideally this roller should be positioned halfway between the two edge rollers but always over one of the drive sleeves The center low pressure roller s can be in the raised position on the Gerber P2C D1600 cutters when media narrower than 600 mm is being cut 1 8 2 FEEDING AND POSITIONING MEDIA The following load procedure has been found to be very reliable Adhere to these step by step instructions when loading media Toload media proceed as follows 1 Raise the pinch rollers by lowering the pinch roller lever located at the back of the cutter FIGURE 1 8 MEDIA POSITIONING 2 When working with roll media proceed by inserting a media flange at each end of the roll and then tighten the thumbscrews until the media roll is firmly gripped between the flanges Make sure the flanges are firmly General Information 1 22 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual pressed against the roll Place the flanges on the media support rollers at the rear of the cutter 3 Position the flanges on the support rollers at the rear of the cutter Slide the two media guides under the media roll so that each flange rests in the groove in the guide In this position the media roll and guides can be shifted left and right Feed the media from the rear of the cutter P
18. mau aka Page GERBER 1600 REAR VIEW 1 10 GERBER P2C 1600 FRONT VIEW 1 12 ON ea san aa etna tbi Od ala 1 15 BLADEINSERMON 1 16 BLADE ee ah 1 17 SETTING KNIPE DER TE reip ERE EE HAE a Kena aa 1 17 KNIFE DEPT TEST PAMERN o E EEE EA E 1 18 MEDIA PON Ne AE a 1 22 FEEDING ROLL MEDIA USING MEDIA FLANGES ritik 1 23 FEEDING ROLL MEDIA WITHOUT USING MEDIA 1 24 PINGCHROLLERPOSINONIN G ama d 1 24 GERBER 1600 CON 2 1 GERBER 1600 CONFIGURATION SUBMENUS dit abah mekah 2 4 FLOWCHART SHOWING FACTORY PRESET MENU 2 9 INTERNAL TESTS SUB MENU en ae OR Ee Cop 2 18 CLEANING COP HE DRIVE SLEEVES aa cise o 3 2 LOCATON OFTHE SENSORS sa ae 3 2 POWER ENI MODULE aa aii 3 3 Ba ENE eis aiiis Page GERBER P2C1600 CUTIER SPECIFIC ANIONS ranah tiain 1 4 GERBER P2C 1600 MEDIA SPECIFICATIONS eka mbak Ee ete a 1 4 GERBER P2C 1600 KNIVES PENS AND POUNCING TOOLS 1 6 GERBER P2C 1600 INTERFACE 4556 mma 1 6 GERBER P2 1600 RII VP
19. modify the baud rate for RS 232 C serial communication between the cutter and the host computer The baud rate can be set to any of the following values 2400 4800 9600 19200 or 38400 bps The default baud rate is 9600 bps The active baud rate value is marked with an asterisk on the LCD NOTE The cutter s baud rate setting MUST match the host computer s baud rate setting Operation 2 13 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 4 8 PARITY The PARITY submenu is used to set or modify the byte format and parity type for RS 232 C serial communication between the cutter and the host computer The default parity setting is bit 8 0 8 data bits no parity the 8th bit being a low bit The parity can be set to any of the following values LCD information Parity setting Remarks BIT 8 0 8 data bits no parit bit 8 low 0 BIT8 1 8 data bits parit bit 8 high 1 EVEN 7 data bits 1 parity bit ODD data bits 1 parity bit parity bit odd The active parity setting is marked with an asterisk on the LCD NOTE The cutter s parity setting MUST match the host computer s parity setting 2 4 9 RTS DTR The RTS DTR submenu controls the Request To Send RIS and Data Terminal Ready DTR signals for the cutter s RS 232 C serial communications interface for hardware handshaking RIS DIR can be set to TOGGLE hardware handshaking or HIGH software handshaking The RTS DTR default val
20. until the message USER CONFIG 1 appears on The display Press the QD jogging key until KNIFE PRESSURE is displayed Press the c Or 2 key to modify the knife pressure Press the 41 key to apply the new setting Press the 1 key to perform a knife depth test as illustrated in figure 1 7 X FIGURE 1 7 KNIFE DEPTH TEST PATTERN The knife depth is set correctly when the test pattern is visible on the front side of the media backing but not on the back In general you should increase the knife depth and knife pressure when using thicker types of vinyl NOTE As the ideal knife pressure and depth settings depend on the thickness and type of media to be cut adjusting the pressure and depth of the knife will require some practice In general the pressure should be increased when cutting thicker types of vinyl Thinner vinyl usually requires lower knife pressure settings General Information 1 18 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters CAUTION After setting the cutting depth and or knife pressure perform a thorough visual check of the knife blade which can be seen protruding from the knife holder Then perform a knife depth test cut on a scrap of vinyl DO NOT OPERATE THE CUTTER if the knife blade cuts through the media backing as this will seriously damage the knife and the cutter s rubber cutting strip CAUTION For most vinyl cutting operations the tip of the blade should be barely visible at the bo
21. 1 Insert the knife blade into the knife holder as shown in Figure 1 4 adjustment knob FIGURE 1 4 BLADE INSERTION 2 Set the knife blade length to zero by aligning the blade tip with the tip of the holder An easy way of performing this is by holding the knife holder against your fingertip and gradually increasing the blade length by turning the adjustment knob until you feel the knife tip touching your fingertip 3 Extend the tip of the blade according to the distance required for the desired cutting media t as shown in Figure 1 5 The blade should only extend beyond the knife holder sufficiently far to cut completely through the film layer while not piercing the backing which would put the cutting strip at risk of being damaged General Information 1 16 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual FILM BACKING FIGURE 1 5 BLADE LENGTH ADJUSTMENT 4 Tum the cutting depth adjustment screw clockwise to increase the cutting depth Turning the screw counterclockwise will decrease the cutting depth FIGURE 1 6 SETTING KNIFE DEPTH 5 Toinstall the knife into the tool carriage Loosen the clamp screw 2 and place the knife holder in the clamp 1 Be sure that the knife holder is completely seated in the clamp Tighten the clamp screw 6 Set the knife pressure as follows General Information 1 17 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual Press the E MENU key
22. Gerber P2C 1600 User s Manual IMPORTANT Before you begin Please complete the attached Warranty Registration Card and return it to Gerber today or go through the online registration at http www gspinc products registration index html Failure to register may result in delayed responses to your warranty and service inquiries FCC NOTICE Warning Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment Note This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated a commercial environment This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause harmful interference to radio communications Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense RS 232 shielded cables must be used with this unit to ensure compliance with the Class A FCC limits This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES 003 Cet appareil num rique de la classe A est conforme la norme NMB 003 du Canada NOTICE Gerber r
23. S for more information about contour cutting The RECUT instruction recuts the last file sent to the cutter provided that it fit in the buffer When using the multiple recut function the different copies will be cut in a way that minimizes media waste The distance between the copies can be changed See Section 2 4 18 2 1 3 THE ONLINE KEY v The key ONLINE toggles the cutter between online and offline operation When the key is pressed the selected mode ONLINE or OFFLINE is displayed on the LCD Selecting OFFLINE suspends all operations in progress Pressing the v key while the cutter is offline will return the cutter to online status and the suspended operation will resume While the cutter is offline the following operations can be performed e Press the Or 2 jogging key to move the tool carriage to the left or right Press the M or 9 jogging key to scroll the media forward towards you or backward away from you Scrolling the media is useful when it comes time to manually cut the graphic from the rest of the media Press the key TOOL UP DOWN to raise or lower the active tool The tool is raised automatically if it is not moved for approximately eight seconds 2 1 4 THE MENU KEY The E key MENU is used to select a menu Pressing the E key will cause the cutter to go offline and suspend all operations in progress Pressing the key repeatedly will display the different menus one at a time A
24. USER MANUAL iieri tamat pemalas ima EE 1 3 4E e 9 Em 1 4 121 CUTER een 1 4 25 MEDIA santan agak mama 1 4 1 23 KNIFE PEN AND POUNCING TOOL laa 1 6 mo MINE eC 1 6 I LR rc ey L2 JERECOBRIMADIGOE Te L27 WERMPICA IONS EE 1 7 er ENVIRONMENTAL M PES 1 8 29 AE an Ni an 1 8 1 3 CUTTER ACCESSORIES AND 1 9 14 REAR PANEL unitati mi ene 1 10 1 5 FRONT PANEL CONTROIS 1 12 1 5 POWERING UP THE CU Ea 1 14 61 BAR NE rr a 1 14 1 7 INSTALLATION OF A KNIFE PEN OR POUNCING TOOL 1 16 TA KNIFEEINSTALEAMON aan e uid 1 16 LAZ PENINSJALLATON bo aa ana 1 19 1 7 3 INSTALLATION OF IHE POUNCING TOOL 1 20 1 8 TEINS MA ma 1 21 POSTONING THE PINCH ROLLERS Le masa 1 21 1 8 2 FEEDING AND POSITIONING MEDIA memang 1 22 1 9 MEDIA LOAD PROCEDURE sooise sisa 1 26 Table of Contents TOC i Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual i e e pel 1 1 2 OPERATION TTD NS 2 1 2 THE CONTROL PANEL sk aan 2 1
25. according to the operation in progress their use is displayed on the LCD as appropriate 2 1 7 THE JOGGING KEYS amp 2 Use of the jogging keys varies according to the operation in progress For example when working in the USER CONFIG menu the Or jogging key is used to select the new user number and the Or jogging key is used to go the previous or next menu item 2 1 8 THE TOOL UP DOWN KEY VA The RA key TOOL UP DOWN is used while the cutter is offline to raise or lower the tool Pressing the key once will lower the tool onto the media Pressing the REA key again will raise the tool If the tool is not moved for approximately eight seconds it will be raised automatically 2 1 9 THE TOOL SELECT KEY Us The ug key TOOL SELECT is used to select knife pen or pouncing operation To temporarily change the tool press the Ug key then press the Or joggin key until the desired tool appears on the second line of the LCD Press the key to confirm the tool An asterisk CK appears next to the selected tool When the cutter is powered on the next time the default tool will be selected See Section 2 4 4 for information about setting up the default tool Operation 2 5 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 2 NORMAL OPERATION The term normal operation covers online operation offline operation and local operation i e the three types of operation for actual cutting or plotting They are explained in
26. alibration test must be performed Calibration determines and records the exact distance between the knife tip and the sensor Press the lt key to perform the test Then follow the instructions on the LCD 2 5 7 OPOS SETTINGS The OPOS SETTINGS sub menu is used to change the different OPOS parameters Press the lt key to change the parameters Then use the or M jogging key to scroll through the different parameters Change the values with the or jogging key The different OPOS parameters are explained in the special section about OPOS 2 5 8 SYSTEM TESTS The SYSTEM TESTS submenu includes settings that are occasionally needed to adjust the cutting process Press the HI key to access the different submenu items Section 2 6 below further explains SYSTEM TESTS Operation 2 20 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 6 SYSTEM TESTS The SYSTEM TESTS submenu consists of a special set of procedures that are required for normal cutter operation Field service personnel however will occasionally use the SYSTEM TESTS menu When in SYSTEM TESTS the cutter is fully operational and performs as described in this manual 2 6 1 LANGUAGE The MENU LANGUAGE submenu is used to set or modify the dialogue language on the LCD Press the M or 9 jogging key until the desired language is displayed on the LCD Press lt to apply the new setting The information on the LCD can be displayed in English French German Spanish I
27. bora Yt e aed eva tb 1 7 GERBER P2C 1000 PERFORMANCES es anatomi ee 1 7 GERBER P2C 1600 ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS 1 8 GERBER 1600 ELECTRICAL SPE CI CANON detenta ver et hei etd eas 1 8 GERBER P2C 1600 ACCESSORIES AND CONSUMABLES ci 1 9 Table of Contents TOC v Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual SECTION 1 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1 1 INTRODUCTION The Gerber P2C M Series family of cutters has been designed to produce computer generated graphic designs on cut sheet or roll vinyl media By replacing the knife with a fiber tip pen these cutters can also be used to produce inexpensive previews of new graphic designs on paper This manual is a reference guide for installing and operating the Gerber P2C 1600 cutter This cutter model features a drag knife and can handle media widths from 170 mm up to 1620 mm 4 63 8 General Information 1 1 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 1 1 PRODUCT FEATURES The following are the main features of the Gerber P2C 1600 cutter e Variable media widths e User selectable DM PL HP GL and HP GL 2 software languages Interchangeable pen for producing preview plots of sign designs on paper e Adjustable knife pressure and offset settings controlled by microprocessor e Communication with host computer via USB rev 1 1 standard serial RS 32 C or Centronics parallel interface 12 control panel e Metric or E
28. duced pressure FLEX CUT offers The advantage of cutting completely through the material while at the same time allowing the material to stay together by means of small media bridges MODE 1 is the quickest mode but is less precise because the pressure changes during the cutting MODE 2 is considerably slower than Mode 1 but at the same time it offers greater precision because the cutter stops at every change of pressure Pressing the 1 key will activate the configuration menu which allows you to set the cutting pressure and cut length 1 CUT LENGTH This parameter determines the length that will be cut with full pressure By pressing the 1 key the FLEX CUT test pattern will be cut 2 FLEX CUT LENGTH This parameter determines the length that will be cut with reduced or no pressure By pressing the 1 key the FLEX CUT pattern will be cut 3 FLEX PRESSURE This parameter determines the pressure of the FLEX CUT LENGTH By pressing the key the FLEX CUT test pattern is cut 2 4 18 RECUT OFFSET The RECUT OFFSET submenu is used to set or modify the distance between graphics when making multiple recuts The distance can be set between 0 and 255 The default recut offset value 6 0 mm The active recut offset value is marked with an asterisk on the LCD Operation 2 17 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 5 INTERNAL TESTS MENU gt To access an internal cut proceed as follows 1 Power on the cutter 2
29. e cable specifications are USB Series A 4 for the computer side and USB Series B 4 for the cutter side 4 3 2 INSTALLING THE USB SOFTWARE UNDER WINDOWS 1 Verify that your software will support a USB driver The computer should be using either the WIN98 or WIN2000 operating system 2 Plug the cable connector securely into the cutter s USB interface connector Plug the other end of the cable into the computer s USB interface connector 3 The computer should find the new USB device and ask for the driver Insert the Gerber Cutter CD Manuals and Drivers CD ROM in your CD ROM drive and follow the instructions on the screen 4 The device driver will be installed 5 Restart the computer Next to the cutter s USB connector is a small light emitting diode LED that will either be on blinking or off If the LED is off then the cutter and the computer are not communicating and all connections must be re examined Interface 4 3 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 4 3 3 INSTALLING THE USB SOFTWARE FOR YOUR MACINTOSH Minimum requirements e Macintosh OS 8 5 or higher Macintosh with USB connection Plug the cable connector securely into the cutter s USB interface connector Plug the other end of the cable into the Mac s USB interface connector Insert the Gerber Cutter CD Manuals and Drivers CD ROM into your Mac s CD ROM drive Double click the USB Install Driver icon This will automatically install the driv
30. e cutter is fully operational A sheet of media at least A3 A size should be used for this plot 2 5 4 DIN CUT The DIN CUT performs an electrical and mechanical test of the cutter to check cut quality It also provides the user with feedback on knife setting knife pressure knife offset and cutting depth This cut is always run as a DIN portrait A size image regardless of the actual size of the loaded media If the loaded media is smaller than DIN A4 A size part of the outer box will be clipped not cut This cut is always executed in the sequence prescribed by the ISO DIN standard Operation 2 19 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 5 5 CAL MEDIA CALIBRATION MEDIA is used to calibrate the sensitivity of the Optical Positioning System OPOS sensor This calibration is normally done at the factory Run this test when the cutter fails to read the markers on a certain type of media First print a black square measuring at least 4x4cm on the media that will be used Be sure to use the same ink that will be used when creating the registration markers Leave an area of blank media around the square that extends out at least 4cm in each direction Press the 4 key to perform the test Then follow the instructions on the LCD 2 5 6 CAL OPOS CALIBRATION OPOS is used to calibrate the Optical Positioning System OPOS This calibration is normally done at the factory When the system is no longer working precisely a c
31. ed with accumulated residue from the media This situation may affect traction as the media will tend to slip between the pinch rollers and the drive sleeves Toclean the drive sleeves proceed as follows ila First disable the sensors through the cutter s control panel or by simply covering them up see 2 4 14 Media Sensor 2 Put the cutter into local operation mode see Section 2 2 2 Local operation will allow you to use the control panel s jogging keys even when no media is loaded Remove the backing from a piece of vinyl Place the vinyl between a pinch roller and drive sleeve with the tacky side down Raise the pinch roller lever to lower the pinch rollers See Figure 3 1 below 4 Use the M and Q jogging keys to move the piece of vinyl back and forth several times until all residue is removed from the drive sleeves 5 Lower the pinch roller lever and remove the piece of vinyl 6 Repeat steps 3 through 5 for the other drive sleeves 7 Setthe cutter s power switch to OFF Maintenance and Cleaning 3 1 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual PINCH ROLLER VINYL STRIP DRIVE SLEEVE TACKY SIDE ON BOTTOM FIGURE 3 1 CLEANING OF THE DRIVE SLEEVES 3 1 2 CLEANING THE SENSORS After a while the sensors may become dirty with accumulated residue from the media that may cause the cutter to malfunction clean the sensor area proceed as follows 1 The sensors are located on the right s
32. er and the Gerber PortMapper utility Restart the computer once installation is complete Next to the cutter s USB connector is a small light emitting diode LED that will either be on blinking or off If the LED is off then the cutter and the computer are not communicating and all connections must be re examined If your software only supports moder or printer port connectivity e g MacCut use the USB Gerber PortMapper utility to create an emulation of the printer or modem port Select USB GerberCutter Port from within the list of available serial ports Then select Create Modem or Create Printer Port Close the USB Gerber PortRemapper and save the settings Interface 4 4 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 4 3 4 PARALLEL INTERFACE CONNECTOR ON CUTTER The use of a shielded parallel cable is required Parallel Interface Connector Data Strobe 9 Ground X 2 ata 3 1 2 1 4 2 5 4 23 7 0 2 5 6 18 IPosiivesv 36 Not Connected 3 4 o Buy Ground 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3 32 33 34 35 36 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Interface 4 5 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual APPENDIX A 5 MEDIA CERTIFICATION Types of media A wide range of vinyl types has been evaluated and extensively tested on the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters Only duly certified media should be used ensure opera
33. eserves the right to modify the information contained in this User Manual at any time without prior notice Unauthorized copying modification distribution or display is prohibited All rights reserved All queries comments or suggestions concerning this and other Gerber manuals should be directed to Gerber Scientific Products 83 Gerber Road South Windsor CT 06074 USA 860 643 1515 Customer Service 800 222 7446 Technical Support 800 828 5406 860 644 697 1 Fax 800 227 6228 860 871 3862 www gspinc com Copyright 2005 Gerber Scientific International Inc TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS GERBER EDGE EDGE and Gerber Scientific Products are registered trademarks and Gerber P2C and FastFacts are trademarks of Gerber Scientific Products Scotchcal Scotchlite Controltac Comply and Panaflex are trademarks of the 3M Corporation DM PL and Houston Instrument are trademarks of Summagraphics Corporation HP GL is a trademark of Hewlett Packard Company IBM PC IBM PC XT and IBM AT are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp Macintosh Macintosh Plus Macintosh SE and Macintosh Il are trademarks of Apple Computer Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual TABLE OF CONTENTS on an mmm Page zw e nan E Da 1 1 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1 1 INIRODUCTION acetates aa beb 1 1 15151 PRODUCT FEATURES ee tea salad hua da anak ama 1 2 1 1 2 GERBER 1600
34. further detail in the following paragraphs 2 2 1 ONLINE AND OFFLINE Online and offline are two important concepts when using the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters The cutter is online only when the following message is displayed on the LCD This display message should be read as follows 800 mm s velocity 120g knife pressure pen pressure or pouncing pressure K knife operation K pen operation P 45 mm knife offset ONLINE cutter is ready to receive data current user configuration In all other cases the cutter is offline When online the cutter can be addressed by the host computer which means that the cutter will execute cutting or plotting instructions issued by the host computers application software The host computer will first issue SELECT sequence to the online cutter and the message will be displayed on the LCD The asterisk indicates that the host is in communication with the cutter i e the cutter is now selected by the computer When the cutter is online and ready to receive instructions from the host computer it will remain deselected until actual instructions from the computer are received When the cutter is online but has not been selected by the host computer the message HE is displayed on the LCD without the asterisk For normal cutting operations the cutter MUST be online so that it can receive instructions from the host computer and the cutting plotting software
35. ges in place laterally when the flanges are being used to hold the roll 7 Media The media flanges ensure proper routing of the media roll 8 Media Support Rollers Rotating rollers that support the media roll General Information 1 11 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 5 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS In order to get acquainted with your Gerber P2C 1600 cutter read the following descriptions of the front panel controls and components Figure 1 2 shows the location of the main components FIGURE 1 2 GERBER P2C 1600 FRONT VIEW Pinch roller lever This lever is used to raise and lower the pinch rollers during media loading media loading is discussed in Section 1 8 2 Media Drive Sleeves The media drive sleeves move the media only when the pinch rollers are in the down position The following table lists the number of media drive sleeves installed on the Gerber P2C cutter Number of sleeves D1600 SL Short sleeve 3 Tool Carriage The tool carriage holds the knife holder the pouncing tool or the pen General Information 1 12 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual Control Panel The control panel includes 12 keys which can be used to control cutter activity including remote mode for computer control local mode for manual operation and menu mode Each control panel function is explained in Section 2 1 Display The 2x16 character display informs the user of
36. hat the media follows a straight path from the roll to the cutting area This can be accomplished by sliding the media guides left and right as needed along the media support rollers 5 The pinch rollers should be positioned over the drive sleeves and about 3 to 15 mm 1 to 0 6 in from the edges of the media LAN PINCH ROLLER FIGURE 1 11 PINCH ROLLER POSITIONING 6 Raise the pinch roller lever to lower the rollers onto the media and drive sleeves The tool carriage will automatically begin moving left and right to sense the usable media width General Information 1 24 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual NOTE It is not necessary to pull the media manually from the roll The cutter will unroll the media automatically during the load sequence 7 The positioning and routing of sheet material is identical to that of roll media 8 The cutter is now ready for the actual load procedure which may be controlled from the control panel General Information 1 25 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 9 MEDIA LOAD PROCEDURE SAFE OPERATION Do not place any objects in front of or behind the cutter that could interfere with cutter operation Make sure the media is free to move forward and back Keep hands hair clothing and jewelry away from moving parts Turn the power on The following message will appear on the LCD screen The cutter will automatically start executing a minimal l
37. he cutter to IBM IBM compatible Apple and Apple compatible host computers General Information 1 3 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 2 SPECIFICATIONS 1 2 1 CUTTER with standard stand with stand 1010 40 with stand 2260 89 1 65 29 1 Bere with stand 740 without stand 45 4 kg with stand 100 kg 220 5 Ibs TABLE 1 1 GERBER P2C 1600 CUTTER SPECIFICATIONS 1 2 2 MEDIA D1600 SL mm inch Width 170 to 1620 6 7 to 63 8 Maximum cutting width 1575 62 Min margin Cows E Rear margin Sensor on 42 1 7 Sensor off 30 1 2 Tracking 0 1mm up to 12 m vinyl lt 760mm 0 1mm up to 4 m vinyl gt 760mm Performance 0 004 up to 39 feet vinyl lt 30 0 004 up to 13 feet vinyl 307 Media 0 05mm to 0 25mm Up to 0 8mm with optional sandblast knife Thickness 0 002 to 0 01 Up to 0 03 with optional sandblast knife for positioning of the pinch rollers see section 1 8 C Media lengths greater than 12 m 39 feet can be handled but compliance with specifications is not guaranteed will be dependent on media type media size and other parameters Media lengths greater than 4 m 13 feet can be handled but compliance with specifications is not guaranteed will be dependent on media type media size and other parameters TABLE 1 2 GERBER P2C 1600 MEDIA SPECIFICATIONS General Information 1 4 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual
38. he screw 3 To configure the machine for pouncing operation press the 9 key Selecting pouncing operation disables the knife offset correction and changes the tip pressure from knife pressure to pouncing pressure General Information 1 20 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 8 LOADING MEDIA The following procedures apply primarily when roll media is being used When using a long sheet roll the sheet up so that it resembles a media roll The rolled sheet can then be aligned in the cutter in the same way as a media roll When using short sheets alignment is not as important If the sheet is cut off perpendicularly it can be aligned to the front border 1 8 1 POSITIONING THE PINCH ROLLERS The pinch rollers exert downward force on the drive sleeves This pressure creates traction that allows the cut sheet or roll media to be moved along the X axis forward backward Proper movement of the media will only occur if the pinch rollers are correctly positioned over the drive sleeves The pinch rollers are raised and lowered simultaneously by means of the pinch roller lever located on the right side of the cutter next to the control panel The rollers must be raised before media can be loaded into the cutter When raised the pinch rollers can be moved manually left and right along the pinch roller shaft This way they can be easily positioned in a detent click position The cutter should not be used unless all needed pinch ro
39. ide of the cutter one on the front platen and another on the rear platen FIGURE 3 2 LOCATION OF THE SENSORS 2 Wiping the sensors periodically with a cotton swab should suffice to keep them clean Maintenance and Cleaning 3 2 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 3 2 OPERATING VOLTAGE CONVERSION The power entry module cover shows four possible AC voltage settings 100 V 120 V 220 V and 240 V The hole with the pin indicates the cutter s active voltage setting If this setting does not match the voltage supplied to your site you must change the voltage BEFORE powering on the cutter When changing the voltage setting you will also have to change the fuses as appropriate for the voltage To change the fuse s remove the fuse s from the fuse box behind the cover plate of the power entry module For 100 or 120 V AC operation use only a 1 25 A For 220 or 240 V AC operation use only 0 6 A NOTE Always make sure that you are using the correct fuses for your voltage selection cover 100 Vo 120 Vo 220 s 240 voltage select board TE FIGURE 3 3 POWER ENTRY MODULE Maintenance and Cleaning 3 3 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual SECTION 4 4 INTERFACE 4 1 INTRODUCTION This section describes the signal connections for communication between your cutter and the host computer When connecting the cutter t
40. indicates that one of the lines should measure 100 mm but manual measurement indicates 105 mm then 105 mm can be entered for that particular line by which the system will be calibrated 2 6 7 RS232 TEST The RS232 TEST verifies the cutter s RS 232 C serial communications transmit data receive data and hardware handshaking circuits This test does not require that a pen knife or media be loaded Torun the RS 232 C test proceed as follows 1 Unplug the RS 232 C data cable from the rear panel of the cutter 2 Use a loopback test cable to connect pin 2 of the cutter s data connector to pin 3 connect pin 7 to pin 8 3 With RS232 TEST displayed press the ENTER key The cutter will start transmitting and receiving data at all available baud rates and parity settings The length of the transmissions will vary because of the different baud rates used The unit then checks the hardware handshake lines 4 Upon completion of the test remove the loopback test cable from the cutter rear panel RS 232 C connector 5 Reattach the RS 232 C data cable to connector Operation 2 22 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 6 8 RAM TEST This test completely checks the RAM bit for The cutter will not respond when this test is in progress After this test is complete power the cutter off and then back on 2 6 9 INSTALL MENU The INSTALL MENU procedure restores the factory defined menu settings in all four USER CONFIG men
41. is marked with an asterisk on the LCD 2 4 15 TOOL COMMAND TOOL COMMAND used to determine whether the DM PL and HP GL pen knife select commands the and SP commands respectively are ignored or accepted When the TOOL COMMAND option is set to ACCEPT the P or SP commands will change the selected tool in the cutter according to the suffix that follows the pen knife command When a P2 command is sent the cutter s LCD will prompt the user with the following message INSERT When the TOOL COMMAND option is set to IGNORE the pen knife commands are ignored The default setting is ACCEPT The active setting is marked with an asterisk on the LCD 2 4 16 LOAD ON W CMD The LOAD ON W CMD submenu will only be displayed if the PLOT LANGUAGE is set to DM PL See Paragraph 2 4 4 When receiving the DM PL Window command W command LOAD ON W CMD determines whether media is loaded apart from the scaling function In addition to scaling the W command is very useful when cutting long signs Media loading will go more smoothly with the W command because sufficient media will be pulled from the roll at once Then even when AUTOLOAD is off there is no need to unroll the media manually Operation 2 16 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 4 17 FLEX CUT FLEX CUT can be set to OFF Mode 1 or Mode 2 When set to Modes 1 or 2 the cutter will alternately cut one length with full pressure and one length with re
42. llers are secured in a detent to ensure optimum media traction When the pinch rollers are raised the message LOWER CAM ROLLERS is displayed on the LCD E CAUTION Always make sure that the pinch rollers are in the fully raised position before sliding them left or right The pinch rollers MUST be positioned correctly and lowered onto the media before an automatic load sequence will be initiated Make sure that the pinch rollers are positioned directly above the drive sleeves The left pinch roller should be positioned in a detent click position The right pinch roller should be positioned somewhere along the wide drive sleeve which has detents only at its extreme right and left ends The drive drum will move the media only when the pinch rollers are lowered onto the sleeves General Information 1 21 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual Before lowering the pinch rollers carefully check the position of the rollers in relation to the drive sleeves When the pinch rollers are DOWN they must run over the sleeves in order to ensure proper media traction It is very important that the left and right edges of the media always rest on sleeves Position the pinch rollers so that they are to 15 mm 0 1 to 0 6 in from the edge of the media On the Gerber P2C 1600 cutter two three or more sleeves may be partly or fully covered depending on the media width used To ensure correct positioning of the pinch rollers reference marks
43. nglish units User addressable resolution 0 1 mm 0 025 mm 0 001 or 0 005 e Menu mode for selecting the cutter s power up operating configuration Convenient 2 line 16 character liquid crystal display LCD Extensive internal test routines e Wide variety of cutting speeds in metric or English units Up to four separate user configurations that are stored in non volatile memory e Media support system for automatic loading of media with optional shuffling to guarantee tracking of longer signs Automatic media pull from roll e Media sensing e Simple origin adjustment to any location Concatenation and curve smoothing to obtain better cut quality e Multiple recut feature e Knife depth and offset tests Overcut for easy weeding e OPOS 2 0 functionality General Information 1 2 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 1 2 GERBER P2C 1600 USER MANUAL This user manual provides the following information Ful technical specifications for the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters and compatible media A complete description of the main components of the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters Step by step instructions for knife and pen installation and media loading Instructions for online and local mode operations Instructions for USER CONFIGURATION and INTERNAL TESTS operations Maintenance and cleaning instructions Information about the USB RS 232 C and Centronics interface cables used to connect t
44. nguage to Hewlett Packard Graphics Language The cutter will emulate an HP model 758XB plotter with selectable origin see 2 4 12 Operation 2 12 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 244 TOOL The TOOL submenu is used to select the default tool at power up Select PEN to configure the cutter for plotting operations Select DRAG KNIFE to configure the cutter for cutting operations Select POUNCING TOOL to configure the cutter for pouncing operations To temporarily select a tool other than the default tool see section 2 1 9 2 4 5 MENU UNITS The MENU UNITS submenu allows English or metric menu units to be selected for DM PL operations Menu units in HP GL amp HP GL 2 are always in metric English units are the default setting for models sold in the US Metric units are the default setting for models sold in Europe The setting for the active menu units is marked with an asterisk on the LCD 2 4 6 ADDRESSING The ADDRESSING submenu is used to select the cutter s default DM PL user addressable resolution The user adaressoble resolution can be set to 0 025 mm or 0 1 mm when using metric menu units or 0 001 or 0 005 when using English menu units The default addressing resolution is 0 025 mm metric 0 001 English In HP GL amp HP GL 2 the addressing is fixed at 0 025 mm The active resolution value is marked with an asterisk k on the LCD 2 4 7 BAUD RATE The BAUD RATE submenu is used set or
45. o the host computer always proceed as follows Refer the documentation provided with your cutting plotting software and check the recommended cabling specifications 2 If the documentation does not contain specific cabling instructions use the Gerber cable specifications recommended for your computer The Gerber P2C 1600 cutters come equipped with serial parallel and USB connectors If more than one port is connected at the same time the port that receives data first stay active and the others will be deactivated The deactivated ports can only be reactivated by restarting the cutter Connecting more than one of the three communication cables to the cutter at a time can result in communication errors 4 2 RS232 INTERFACE NOTES 4 2 1 SYSTEM SETUP This section explains the process of configuring the serial port on your computer so that it will communicate with the cutter This method applies only if serial not USB or Parallel is the chosen means of communication and requires that the computer is running the WIN95 or newer operating system Tosetup your system proceed as follows 1 Press the Start Button and select Settings followed by Control Panel Press on the System icon and select the Device Manager tab Select the port that is connected to the cutter and click on the Properties button Select the Port Settings tab to set the port settings Interface 4 1 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User
46. oading procedure consisting of A media width measurement A 45 test Alength of media is unwound equal to the width measured between the pinch rollers When the cutter indicates that it is ONLINE it is ready to receive a file When receiving a cut file the cutter will automatically pull from the roll length of media equal to the width of the pinch rollers Media is then pulled successively from the roll in increments equal to the width of the rollers IMPORTANT Tracking of longer signs is only guaranteed when the full load procedure is performed Proceed as follows to complete the full load procedure Press the key and the following message will appear on the LCD screen General Information 1 26 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual Press the key again and the following message will appear on the LCD screen Press the 1 key to load media from a roll Press the 2 key to load media in sheet form If sheet is selected and the sensors are enabled then the sheet is automatically loaded If roll is selected the following display will appear on the LCD Using the S 2 HD and 9 jogging keys the knife i e the origin can be repositioned to any location Press the 41 key to confirm the selected point of origin The media length needed for a task can be entered by pressing the Q and jogging keys The XXXX value is the media length as defined with the p and 2 jogging keys
47. osition the left edge of the media on the leftmost drive sleeve and then check to see whether the right edge of the media is positioned over the wide drive sleeve If it is the left pinch roller can be positioned in the detent above the leftmost sleeve Then the right pinch roller can be positioned somewhere over the wide drive sleeve according to the media width The right pinch roller can be located anywhere between the two outer detent positions above the long drive sleeve This flexibility allows a variety of media widths to be accommodated Should the above procedure fail to work because the media is too narrow to reach the long drive sleeve try positioning the media edge over the second drive sleeve in from the left Then position the right media edge somewhere on the wide drive sleeve Repeat this process if the media is still found to be too narrow by locating the media edge over the third drive sleeve in from the left Adjust the right edge of the media as described above Follow the same general procedure when loading media on the wider models of the Gerber P2C cutters which have been provided with additional sleeves If necessary continue to reposition the media until both edges are positioned over a drive sleeve FIGURE 1 9 FEEDING ROLL MEDIA USING MEDIA FLANGES General Information 1 23 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual FIGURE 1 10 FEEDING ROLL MEDIA WITHOUT USING MEDIA FLANGES 4 sure t
48. s Manual 2 Ihe cutter s default settings are as follows 9600 see 2 3 8 Data Bits 8 Parity None see 2 3 9 Stop Bits 2 Flow Control Hardware 4 2 2 SERIAL INTERFACE CONNECTOR ON THE CUTTER RS 232C Serial Interface Connector 2 Signal Description Signal ground 4 2 3 AVAILABLE SERIAL SISNALS If you are making your own cable only a few of the cutter s pins will actually need to be connected to the host computer To ensure optimal results the cable length should not exceed 4 8 m 16 feet It should be taken into account that your computer or cutting sofrware may also require additional loopback connections at the host computer s end of the data cable Connect the computer s Transmit Data pin to pin 2 on the cutter Connect the computer s Receive Data RXD pin to pin 3 on the cutter For hardware handshaking connect the computer s Clear To Send CTS pin to pin 4 or pin 7 on the cutter Connect the computer s Request To Send RTS pin to pin 8 on the cutter Connect the computer s ground GND pin to pin 5 on the cutter Interface 4 2 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 4 3 USB INTERFACE NOTES 4 3 1 USB SPECIFICATIONS The cutter s built in USB interface is based on the standards specified in Universal Serial Bus Specifications Revision 1 1 The cable length should be 5 meters or less The adaptable connector type is USB Series B Th
49. s the menu options are on a loop pressing the E key when the last option is displayed will automatically return you to the first option The different menus are illustrated in Figure 2 2 Operation 2 3 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual FIGURE 2 2 GERBER P2C 1600 CONFIGURATION SUBMENUS Press the 9 jogging key to select a menu by scrolling through the different options Press the v key ONLINE to exit the menus and resume the previous online operation Under normal conditions the cutter is online it may then be selected by the host computer for a cutting or plotting operation or deselected by the host computer Pressing the v Or key will cause the cutter to go offline in order to initiate another operation The contents of the different menus are summarized in Table 2 1 DESCRIPTION USER CONFIG 1 4 Selects a given active cutter configuration from one of the four sets of configuration parameters stored in The cutter s memory INTERNAL TEST Activates one of the resident cutting plots provided for informational purposes TABLE 2 1 CONTENTS OF THE GERBER P2C 1600 MENUS Operation 2 4 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 1 5 THE ENTER KEY lt The lt key ENTER is used to select the item currently displayed on the LCD 2 1 6 THE 1 AND 2 KEYS 1 2 The use of the 1 and 2 keys varies
50. t allow you to configure the cutter s operating parameters Access to some of the submenus will be determined by the plotting language being used Four different user configurations can be saved The selected configuration number is displayed on the LCD next to the USER CONFIG message These four USER CONFIG 1 gt 4 menus are maintained independently To select another configuration number proceed as follows Power on the cutter 2 Press the key until USER CONFIG 1 gt 4 is displayed 3 Press the c Or E key until the desired configuration number is displayed next to USER CONFIG NOTE Before altering any of the items in the USER CONFIG menu make sure that you have previously selected the correct configuration number in the USER CONFIG 1 gt 4 menu Figure 2 3 shows the USER CONFIG submenus To select and alter a configuration parameter proceed as follows ls Power on the cutter 2 Pressthe key until USER CONFIG 1 gt 4 is displayed 3 Press the D Or Gre key until the desired submenu is displayed on the first line of the LCD 4 Press the c or 9 jogging key until the desired value is displayed on the second line 5 Press the HI key to confirm the selection An asterisk will be displayed next to the new setting An k is always displayed next to the active value Operation 2 8 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual DRAG BALLPOINT POUNCING KNIFE OR PEN TOOL
51. talian or Dutch 2 6 2 ROM REVISION Press the HI key to view information about the cutter s ROM revision This information is often helpful to technicians when diagnosing problems over the telephone 2 6 3 SERVICE PLOT The SERVICE PLOT provides information about the cutter which is helpful when requesting service The SERVICE PLOT is always plotted at the same size and should be performed with a pen on paper The plot shows the cutter s model number the revision numbers of the installed Read Only Memory ROM circuits the selected baud rate the resolution and the buffer memory size CAUTION The following test procedures are normally restricted to Gerber Field Service Personnel Operation 2 21 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 6 4 OPTICAL SENSOR OPTICAL SENSOR is used to check whether or not the OPOS sensor is functioning properly If the sensor is positioned over black media the sensor output should be High above 1500 If the sensor is positioned over white media the sensor output should be low below 400 2 6 5 SENSOR SETUP SENSOR SETUP is used check whether or not the front and rear media sensors are functioning properly and whether the switching levels of these sensors are set correctly 2 6 6 CALIBRATE X Y CALIBRATE X Y cuts two perpendicular lines in the media The user then measures these lines manually and the results entered through the control panel For example if the LCD
52. terisk on the LCD 2 4 12 HP GL ORIGIN The HP GL ORIGIN submenu will only be displayed if the PLOT LANGUAGE is set to HP GL See Paragraph 2 4 4 The HP GL ORIGIN submenu is used to set the origin in the center see HP GL 758x or the bottom right corner see HP GL 7475 of the loaded media The HP GL ORIGIN option can be set to RIGHT FRONT or CENTER If the cut is found to be incomplete and is wholly located in the upper left corner of the media then change the HP GL ORIGIN setting to RIGHT FRONT If the cut is found to be incomplete and is wholly located in the lower right corner of the media then change the HP GL ORIGIN setting to CENTER The active setting is marked with an asterisk on the LCD Operation 2 15 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 4 13 MEDIA SENSOR The MEDIA SENSOR submenu is used to activate or deactivate the media sensors The sensors detect the presence and absence of media to prevent damage to the cutting strip and knife tip The active setting is marked with an asterisk on the LCD 2 4 14 AUTOLOAD The AUTOLOAD option allows the user to control how vinyl is pulled from the roll When AUTOLOAD is ON the cutter will automatically unroll the vinyl as needed When AUTOLOAD is OFF the user should manually unroll sufficient vinyl before beginning to cut The default AUTOLOAD setting is ON The best results and performance are guaranteed when using this setting The active setting
53. the current status of the cutting process or actions that need to be taken Sensors The sensors detect the absence of media to prevent the knife from damaging the cutting strip When the cutter is turned on the sensors cause the media to move all the way to the front edge of the platen Pinch rollers The pinch rollers one at each side exert downward force through the media and onto the media sleeves This squeezing between the pinch rollers and media sleeves is what allows the cutter to accurately advance and retract the media The D1600 Pro SL is equipped with two low pressure rollers in the middle to keep vinyl media flat Cutting strip This reddish brown strip prevents damage to the knife tip when the cutter is running and no media has been loaded Because cutting is done on the cutting strip it is essential that it remain intact Manual slitting knife When the cutter is done cutting a graphic move the media forward by pressing the key Use the manual slitting knife to cut the finished graphic free from the media roll Leave the loaded media in place ready for the next cut job Stand A stand comes standard with the Gerber P2C 1600 cutter General Information 1 13 Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 6 POWERING UP THE CUTTER 1 6 1 EARTHING GROUNDING SAFETY WARNING An insulated earth conductor must be installed as part of the branch circuit that supplies power to the wall outlet to which
54. the cutter is connected The earth conductor must have the same size insulation material and thickness as the earthed and unearthed branch circuit supply conductors but the insulating sheath should be green or green with yellow striping The earth conductor described above must be earthed at electrical distribution board or if power is supplied by a separate system at the power supply transformer motor generator set The wall sockets into which the cutter is plugged must be of the earthed type The earth conductors serving said wall sockets must be properly connected to earth CAUTION Before plugging in the cutter s power cord to a power source make sure the cutter is set to the correct operating voltage 100 V 120 V 220 V or 240 V AC see section 3 2 See Table 1 8 for the minimum and maximum operating voltages for the different voltage ratings To check the operating voltage setting locate the power entry module shown in Figure 1 1 on the cutter s rear panel The power entry module shows four possible voltage settings 100 V 120 V 220 V and 240 V A pin next to one of the voltage settings indicates the voltage setting currently selected for the cutter If this setting does not match the voltage supplied your site you will have to change the voltage setting prior to powering up the cutter For information about the conversion of the cutter s operating voltage and the exact fuse ratings see Section 3 2
55. tion in compliance with the functional specifications of the Gerber P2C cutters as listed in Section 1 of the User s Manual Please consult your local Gerber representative for a list of certified media Appendix 1 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual GERBER SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS CONTACT INFORMATION Gerber Scientific Products 83 Gerber Road South Windsor CT 06074 USA 860 643 1515 Customer Service 800 222 7446 Technical Support 800 828 5406 860 644 6971 Fax 800 227 6228 860 871 3862 www gspinc com Appendix A 2 P78212A Rev B
56. ttom of the knife holder If the tip of the blade is clearly visible the knife s cutting depth will probably need to be adjusted To prevent damage to the cutter check the depth of the blade tip and the quality of the cut whenever loading a different type of vinyl into the cutter 1 7 2 PEN INSTALLATION The Gerber P2C 1600 cutters can also accommodate a pen After replacing the knife with pen the cutter can be used as a plotter to draw draft plots of new or existing designs on paper General Information To install the pen proceed as follows Loosen the clamp screw and swinging the clamp arm back refer to Fig 1 6 Remove the knife holder or pouncing tool Install the pen close the clamp arm and tighten the screw To configure the cutter for pen operation press the 8 key Selecting pen operation disables the knife offset correction and changes the tip pressure from knife pressure to pen pressure A small P for Pen will be displayed in the upper right corner of the LCD User s Manual Gerber P2C 1600 Cutters User s Manual 1 7 3 INSTALLATION OF THE POUNCING TOOL The Gerber P2C 1600 cutters can also be operated as pouncers by replacing the knife with a pouncing tool To install the pouncing tool proceed as follows 1 Loosen the clamp screw and swing the clamp arm back Remove the knife holder or pen refer to Fig 1 6 2 Install the pouncing tool close the clamp arm and tighten t
57. ue is TOGGLE The active handshake setting is marked with an asterisk on the LCD Operation 2 14 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual 2 4 10 DM PL ERRORS The DM PL ERRORS submenu is used to determine whether or not different DM PL errors such as illegal plot commands invalid parameter ranges or communication errors will be displayed on the LCD This menu will only be displayed if PLOT LANGUAGE is set to DM PL The DM PL ERRORS submenu can be set to REPORTED or IGNORED This feature is activated by selecting REPORTED and is normally used only when attempting to debug a communication link between the cutter and the host computer After the communication link has been debugged select IGNORED to disable the feature The active setting is marked with an asterisk on the LCD 2 4 11 HP GL ERRORS The HP GL ERRORS submenu is used to determine whether or not different HP GL errors such as illegal plot commands invalid parameter ranges or communication errors will be displayed on the LCD This menu will only be displayed if PLOT LANGUAGE is set to HP GL See Paragraph 2 4 3 The HP GL ERRORS submenu can be set to REPORTED or IGNORED The feature is activated by selecting REPORTED and is normally used only when attempting to debug a communication link between the cutter and the host computer After the communication link has been debugged select IGNORED to disable the feature The active setting is marked with an as
58. us This procedure can be performed without a tool or media 2 6 10 COIL SETUP This procedure is used to calibrate the knife and pen pressures and to set the knife and pen landings After calibration the values are saved in the system s non volatile RAM A tension gauge of 100 gr and 500 gr is required to execute this test The desired pressure appears in the upper line of the display The bottom line of The display indicates the value that has to be sent to the head in order to reach the desired pressure this value is between 0 and 127 2 6 11 LCD CONTRAST The LCD CONTRAST submenu is used to adjust the contrast or intensity of the liquid crystal display on the control panel Press the Or jogging key to increase or decrease the contrast then press lt 4 to apply the new setting Operation 2 23 Gerber P2C M 1600 Cutters User s Manual SECTION 3 3 GENERAL INFORMATION 3 1 MAINTENANCE amp CLEANING The Gerber P2C 1600 cutters have a number of sliding surfaces made of smooth metals and plastics They are virtually friction free and require no lubrication They will however collect dust and lint that may affect the performance of the cutter Keep the cutter as clean as possible by using a dust cover When necessary clean the unit with soft cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol or mild detergent Do not use abrasives 3 1 1 CLEANING THE DRIVE SYSTEM With time the sleeves of the drive drum may become clogg
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