victor bogdanov
Active Member
I get this on my 5 year old fc 8600 from time to time, easiest fix is unplug and plug back in the USB cable
This is like asking me if I turned it off and back on again. I guess you didn't read the entire thread (I don't blame you.) It has pretty much been determined that the USB port on the plotter is dead. Serial connection was my only hope and it required a proprietary cable that Graphtec no longer sells. Had to build the cable, but it works again.I get this on my 5 year old fc 8600 from time to time, easiest fix is unplug and plug back in the USB cable
This is like asking me if I turned it off and back on again. I guess you didn't read the entire thread (I don't blame you.) It has pretty much been determined that the USB port on the plotter is dead. Serial connection was my only hope and it required a proprietary cable that Graphtec no longer sells. Had to build the cable, but it works again.
Well that's a bummer. Although I'm pretty sure if I do enough searching, I will find a bunch of people that hate and a bunch of people that love each of the three brands I mentioned. I don't hate my Graphtec, but it's got its share of issues, so I don't really love it either. I'm intrigued by the tangential cutting of the Summa because my Graphtec has always struggled with small text and I've never been able to resolve it. I do get a fair number of jobs that call for cutting pretty small text. It's pretty much a crapshoot no matter which one I go with, though, isn't it? I guess I always thought Summa was pretty much the Cadillac of plotters...I've owned a summa s2 t series for a couple of years along with graphtecs and roland, I hate the summa, plastic pinch roller handle broke off within a year, summa knows this is so issue but won't do anything about other than sell you another plastic handle.
The blades are overpriced and every other blade is a dud, super hard to get the t blades dialed in.
Let summa know about the blade duds and they delete my reviews and ignore emails about blade problems.
Just ranting wish I never bought the summa, graphtec all the way
Well that's a bummer. Although I'm pretty sure if I do enough searching, I will find a bunch of people that hate and a bunch of people that love each of the three brands I mentioned. I don't hate my Graphtec, but it's got its share of issues, so I don't really love it either. I'm intrigued by the tangential cutting of the Summa because my Graphtec has always struggled with small text and I've never been able to resolve it. I do get a fair number of jobs that call for cutting pretty small text. It's pretty much a crapshoot no matter which one I go with, though, isn't it? I guess I always thought Summa was pretty much the Cadillac of plotters...
How does this help? I don't doubt it, I just can't imagine the plastic on such a small part having more give, but I suppose it would introduce a lot more flex and deflection than a metal holder.
Quick question, do you use it for all cutting, or just swap it out for smaller text?
Thought I'd update everyone on the current status of my plotter...IT LIVES AGAIN!!!
I ordered a solderless DB25 and DB9 connector from Amazon, cut up an existing serial cable, and today I made the Graphtec-specific serial cable according to the pin diagram I was sent by the tech. Hooked my cable up to the Keyspan adapter, and voilà! Cutting Master 4 sees the plotter and sends jobs just fine. I did have to go in and change the port number for the Keyspan adapter in device manager, and I had to change the flow control to "hardware" (which seemed to be the default setting in CM4), but it works! Honestly, I'm a little shocked. I really didn't figure it would work and especially not on the first try of making the custom cable. I had read some reviews about pins not being assigned properly on these Chinese solderless connectors. I guess I got lucky.
All that said, I'm still going to pull the trigger on the Summa tomorrow. I can't afford to have the Graphtec die on me again, and especially not when I have a big cutting job in the shop. I was lucky this time and didn't have much cutting work in when it stopped working. I'd hate to have to scramble to get a new plotter in here on short notice, and it's really only a matter of time before this thing REALLY buys the farm. At least now I can either keep it as a functioning backup or sell it for more money than I could if it was just a parts machine. Also, I simply can't pass up the great deal on the Summa. I really think with Covid going on right now, that may be part of the reason for the great deal and I likely won't be offered such a great deal down the road. I was quoted $5995 with free delivery/install/training on the Summa S2-T140, $5795 for a Graphtec FC9000-140 (free delivery but no free install or training), and $5515 + $495 install/training for a Roland CAMM-1 GR-540. The Summa is by far the best deal.
Thanks to everyone that offered advice and assistance on this issue. Glad it's finally solved!
Thought I'd update everyone on the current status of my plotter...IT LIVES AGAIN!!!
I ordered a solderless DB25 and DB9 connector from Amazon, cut up an existing serial cable, and today I made the Graphtec-specific serial cable according to the pin diagram I was sent by the tech. Hooked my cable up to the Keyspan adapter, and voilà! Cutting Master 4 sees the plotter and sends jobs just fine. I did have to go in and change the port number for the Keyspan adapter in device manager, and I had to change the flow control to "hardware" (which seemed to be the default setting in CM4), but it works! Honestly, I'm a little shocked. I really didn't figure it would work and especially not on the first try of making the custom cable. I had read some reviews about pins not being assigned properly on these Chinese solderless connectors. I guess I got lucky.
All that said, I'm still going to pull the trigger on the Summa tomorrow. I can't afford to have the Graphtec die on me again, and especially not when I have a big cutting job in the shop. I was lucky this time and didn't have much cutting work in when it stopped working. I'd hate to have to scramble to get a new plotter in here on short notice, and it's really only a matter of time before this thing REALLY buys the farm. At least now I can either keep it as a functioning backup or sell it for more money than I could if it was just a parts machine. Also, I simply can't pass up the great deal on the Summa. I really think with Covid going on right now, that may be part of the reason for the great deal and I likely won't be offered such a great deal down the road. I was quoted $5995 with free delivery/install/training on the Summa S2-T140, $5795 for a Graphtec FC9000-140 (free delivery but no free install or training), and $5515 + $495 install/training for a Roland CAMM-1 GR-540. The Summa is by far the best deal.
Thanks to everyone that offered advice and assistance on this issue. Glad it's finally solved!
\
You certainly don't have to solder the connections. In fact, you can run to a radio shack and pick up a terminal and strip 6" worth of cable jacket to get a clear view of all the wires. Get a multimeter and check continuity as you go. Buy a little box to mount the terminal in when your done.