My Summa really bugs me...

[eahicks]

Have a Summa S2 160 T series. Don't get me wrong, it's a great plotter, most of the time. But having one issue that annoys me to no end, and sometimes screws up the job at hand.

So let's say I have something I'm cutting that's 48" long. When I send the job, it will begin cutting. Somewhere during the cut (usually near the end of the cut length) it will decide "HEY! I need an extra 3 feet of vinyl rolled out, because, ya know, there's only like another foot left of this job". So it will pause the cut, feed out another 3 feet (or more I've seen!) of vinyl, then return back to where it was cutting, and finish the job. After I cut off the completed job, then I have 3 feet of extra slack hanging off the back that I have to roooolllll back up to put the roll away.
Where this has been a big problem is when I cut a job that's, let's say, 48" long. And I have a roll of vinyl, still on the core, that I know is 60" long. PLENTY of vinyl right? WRONG. When It gets halfway, and it does it's thing I just described, then the end of the roll and the core jams up in the back of the plotter and the job is ruined.

Does anyone know how to STOP this plotter from pausing to feed all this useless extra vinyl, and simply cut in the allotted length? I have since learned to take the vinyl off the core IF it's a short run like the second scenario described. But still this is annoying even on a full roll, and takes extra time cutting a job when it thinks it has to stop and feed out WAY more than it even needs for the job.

 

[Christian @ Visual Graphx]

I believe that is the combo of paneling and the prefeed settings. I'll look at my machines to verify the setting

 

[ColoPrinthead]

I have been working with a Summa for the first time over the last year and share you annoyance with the behavior. I have an old S120 D series.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

It's a setting that makes sure there is enough slack so it doesn't tug on the roll. Since that will mess up your cut too. It's a catch 20/20. I have turned it off then forgot to feed out the material and it happened. I have the older model, so I am not sure where the setting is on the new one.

 

[Robert Gruner]

Have a Summa S2 160 T series. Don't get me wrong, it's a great plotter, most of the time. But having one issue that annoys me to no end, and sometimes screws up the job at hand.

So let's say I have something I'm cutting that's 48" long. When I send the job, it will begin cutting. Somewhere during the cut (usually near the end of the cut length) it will decide "HEY! I need an extra 3 feet of vinyl rolled out, because, ya know, there's only like another foot left of this job". So it will pause the cut, feed out another 3 feet (or more I've seen!) of vinyl, then return back to where it was cutting, and finish the job. After I cut off the completed job, then I have 3 feet of extra slack hanging off the back that I have to roooolllll back up to put the roll away.
Where this has been a big problem is when I cut a job that's, let's say, 48" long. And I have a roll of vinyl, still on the core, that I know is 60" long. PLENTY of vinyl right? WRONG. When It gets halfway, and it does it's thing I just described, then the end of the roll and the core jams up in the back of the plotter and the job is ruined.

Does anyone know how to STOP this plotter from pausing to feed all this useless extra vinyl, and simply cut in the allotted length? I have since learned to take the vinyl off the core IF it's a short run like the second scenario described. But still this is annoying even on a full roll, and takes extra time cutting a job when it thinks it has to stop and feed out WAY more than it even needs for the job.

My suggestion would be to turn “paneling” on or deactivate autoload.

 

[PHILJOHNSON]

Good afternoon,

You could turn autoload off as suggested, however you would then need to manually unwind enough media on the back to avoid getting an x-axis error if the cutter has to "tug" the media off of the roll. In most cases turning autoload off causes more harm than good.

Feel free to send me a PM or an email to philj@airmark.com if you want to discuss this in more detail.

Best regards,

Phil Johnson
Airmark Corporation
(800)527-7778, ext 112
philj@airmark.com

 

[d fleming]

Or you could turn autoload off and slow your cut rate down so it doesn't snatch on the roll at 40 miles and hour and makes more precise cuts;-)