Old CAMM 1-PNC 1000A Plotter acting quirky

[Mark OKC]

I've had this 20" plotter since '94 and it started making a different noise when cutting when the blade returned in the direction of the control panel.
At first it was just the different noise and it still cut okay, but then gradually it would mess up with the cut, as far as alignment of letters, sometimes skipping and not having correct spacing between letters.

Then it got even worse and when it would return to cut the inside of a letter, such as an 'O' or 'A' etc, it would cut it in the wrong place, away from where it should be. The 'different sound' it made when returning toward the control panel was even worse sounding than before.

Then as luck would have it, I got an order for an exceptionally large amount of small lettering for interior signs, and it turned into a lengthy nightmare just to finish the job, since I had to piece it together due to improper spacing between words. It also wasted a lot of vinyl.

Another vinyl guy said that it could be corrupted software so I used another old computer that had the Flexicut on it, but it did the same thing. Then I noticed how the parallel cord was at an angle against the wall, bent into a 90 degree and thought maybe one of the wires had lost good connection.
After ordering a new 6' cable ($25 + shipping) it started cutting okay again on some small jobs and I thought my problem was solved.

But tonight when I made a run of 4' in length, it did okay except for the last of the letters to be cut, then progressively got worse, until finally I was cutting one letter at a time just to be able to finish the job and manage to get paid.

So I'm thinking that once it warms up that possibly some internal electronic part is failing....beats me. I do have the original instruction book that came with it but don't have the software floppies for Flexicut. Do the dongle keys fail after so long a time?

Any suggestions would truly be appreciated as I simply don't have the money this time of year to buy another plotter, although I've certainly got my money's worth out of this one. It's been a great machine.

 

[OldPaint]

take off the cover(over center of rollers)there is a small flat electric wire that travels with the head....and is connected to the body....i had one got chewed a little, made machine act up....got a new wire....you may not be able to....as its age....or it could just be lose connection, check bearings underneath and where the wire goes for moving the cutter head you gota realize that machine was made in 1984-88

 

[Mark OKC]

I might take a look at that wire again Old Paint. I took that cover off before and noticed how it'd rubbed some of the paint off the one area in the center, so I put a piece of vinyl over it, thinking it might do some good to keep it from wearing out in the future. I'll check it again for loose connections, etc.

I took the cover off near the end with the control panel too but failed to see anything that was obviously burned up. It was pretty dirty though so I cleaned the circuits the best I could with a Q-tip. Have yet to take the bottom off of it; it looked like it might be complicated to do so without screwing up things.

Ideally, I'd rather just get a another Roland plotter but a 24" one next time, even a good used, because it's always been hard to get the 20" vinyl anyway.
However, it's been hard times for a while and I'm not so sure they'll get any better. My business has really dropped off. I thought I was sitting on a gold mine when I first got the plotter. I used to hand letter everything. But I even saw how there's something similar that they're pushing off on housewives on late night infomercials. It's a little gadget to cut out stickers and lettering. I think it runs off of discs rather than being linked to a computer.

 

[OldPaint]

i got 2 PNC-1100's sittin. i got a CX-300 for all my work and luv it.....24" rolands are plentiful....PNC-960, PNC-950 ...now these are not the same as a CM/CX-24. the old PNC machines are the PRO model....