Need Help set cut start location

I think if you draw the box using nodes rather than a rectangle tool, it will cut in order of being drawn. Not 100% on this though, as the cutting software can "optimize" the paths for faster cut times.

 

You are a newbie to cutters. Why do you think it will be important to command the cutter which vector to start from when it cuts a square?

Every curve has a vector which is the start/end vector. You can set which vector is the start vector in your sign software when creating the file. You can also control curve direction in the sign software. These are not controls of the cutter itself, but the software creating the file.

As far as I know Onyx's cutting module has no control for setting the start point for a curve.

 

Probably you can do this using Cutting Master 4

 

I can report this will work with a graphtec fc8600 and corel x6 and cutting master 2. The option (if it hasn't changed) to not optimize order is called 'set priority' and needs to be set to none.
You can also layer out more than one sticker and tell it which order it needs to be cut in.
Never got onyx to work on mine, so I can't confirm functionality there. I'm sure the 9000 series will do this, as far as I know they both use hpgl and gpgl only.

 

But I didn't understand the reason of cutting with specific direction. Clockwise either counterclockwise. Can you please explain?

 

I also don't see how the start position and direction can make a difference if the cutter is set up correctly, would be able to tell were it started and ended after it has finished cutting.

 

Now makes sense. The truth is I haven't tried on the Graphtec but I am curious to check it. On CNC this is possible be setting start point and also direction reverse or not but cnc uses gcode. Using HPGL and GPGL on Graphtec i dont know but i will test it

 

Did you try setting start point to Corel for example?

 

Have you tried feeding the printed material into the cutter upside down and telling CutServer to rotate cut cut by 180 degrees and then doing the cut?
I think it should reverse the order to cut similar to how you are describing your wishes above.

Other question, which Fotoba cutter are/were you using for this job?

 

You have an option of cutting layers, or colors in order. So you could theoretically have -

B red c blue d black a pink and tell it to cut those colors in order and then send however many copies you want. It'll achieve what you want. A bit more effort in initial setup... But still not too bad.

 

If you want to use Cutting Master 4 you have to use Corel or Illustrator

 

I use illustrator. But onyx can do the same thing.

I believe the free graphtec studio software that comes with the graphtec can also do it... All software generally let's you pick which tool and cut order for different stroke colors.

It's more of a crude way to do what you want, but it does accomplish it. The paid version of graphtec studio (500) says it allows you to set cut order, but I haven't tried it so I can't confirm it works or not.

 

You're cutting all the way through the material? That's the problem. Roll cutters aren't made to do that. And when you do need to cut all the way through, you need to use the perf cut feature which cuts essentially a dotted line so you can punch out the decal afterwards.

That said, after over a decade of watching Onyx cut our decals, I am certain that it follows the start point and loop direction that comes from the design software.

 

Okay, but after you have laminated the print, the end result is correctly oriented again on the roll, so not exactly what I suggested testing.
You may need to pass the job through the laminator a second time on high speed with the rollers up just to reverse the winding of the print. You want the Graphtec to cut the last thing printed first. The barcode should end in "B" not "T".
This would flip the orientation of the cuts and may solve your issue.

However, since these are just rectangles I would still be using the Fotoba for this... it's what it was designed for: High volume X axis cutting.
It should be able to cut the entire 30m roll in ~5 minutes from the artwork size you've described, and then maybe another 10 feeding them back through for the "Y" cuts. What part of the process do you refer to as 'labour intensive'? (Not trying to be a d*** here... asking an honest question).
We just bought a DigiTrim 64 for this use alone and it's so much faster and more reliable than trying to do this with our Graphtec which as mentioned by UncleBun should really be using the perforated cut feature or the job will inevitably jam.