Need Help SUMMA S2 T160 DIECUT STICKERS.

[Devin]

Just picked up a new Summa S2 T160 with OPOS-CAM. Upgraded from an old vinyl express Q160.

Does anyone here use a Summa for custom die cut stickers?

I've previously used a Graphtec FC8600 that had dual positioning for perf cuts. I don't see anything like this on the Summa. The manual recommends NOT cutting through the backer completely, and states that the flexcut feature is for simple rectangular shapes only.

Trying to cut out custom shape die cut stickers.

Just got the machine installed at the shop and haven't had the chance to fully dive into testing and setup. Running Flexisign cloud for rip, but also have Summa software winplot/cutter control and illustrator plugin.

Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated before I hop into figuring this machine out.



Thanks!

 

[Saturn]

Hey Devin! I'm going through the same thing with a T75 I just picked up about a week ago.

I think the only reason it mentions not cutting through the backing is if it were unintentional, or if you weren't aware that it would decrease the time between blade and cut-strip replacement. As far as I was able to tell, the Summa is the ideal machine for doing what you describe.

There are a few quirks in getting Winplot and the cutter to do what I want, but I feel like I've mostly sorted them out, so if you come up against something specific feel free to shoot me a message directly as it's all still fresh in my head too... =p

Mechanically, making sure the blade is a proper depth and not nicked are key. Setting FlexCut beyond that is relatively simple trial and error.

 

[UpstateDecalShop]

Just picked up a new Summa S2 T160 with OPOS-CAM. Upgraded from an old vinyl express Q160.

Does anyone here use a Summa for custom die cut stickers?

I've previously used a Graphtec FC8600 that had dual positioning for perf cuts. I don't see anything like this on the Summa. The manual recommends NOT cutting through the backer completely, and states that the flexcut feature is for simple rectangular shapes only.

Trying to cut out custom shape die cut stickers.

Just got the machine installed at the shop and haven't had the chance to fully dive into testing and setup. Running Flexisign cloud for rip, but also have Summa software winplot/cutter control and illustrator plugin.

Any advice or insight is greatly appreciated before I hop into figuring this machine out.



Thanks!

My brother has this same machine, I went to help him solve this exact issue. It will not do it. We run the FC8600 here as well. The Summa can only do rectangular shapes. we could not even get it to properly diecut a circle. I explained to the rep that they need to be more clear to customers when selling these machines.

 

[AF]

Here are the facts regarding the S2T:

1. You can flex cut any shape
2. Only flex cutting rectangles causes less wear and tear to the blade and cutting strip than cutting angles and curves.
3. Accuracy can suffer if flex cutting complex shapes, particularly on wide media.
4. Flex cutting rectangles cause much more wear to the cutting strip than simply contour cutting
5. Winplot is easy to configure for flex cutting. In winplot, select the vector you want to flex cut and change its color layer to red. When sending job, check box to flex cut red lines.
6. Airmark has blades and cutting strips in stock.
7. Use an outfeed table when flex cutting. Keep panel sizes small enough to fit on the outfeed table. Do not use the media take-up with flex cutting to avoid head strikes (some medias are okay)

 

[TomK]

My brother has this same machine, I went to help him solve this exact issue. It will not do it. We run the FC8600 here as well. The Summa can only do rectangular shapes. we could not even get it to properly diecut a circle. I explained to the rep that they need to be more clear to customers when selling these machines.

Sounds like you have a broken machine or two. I use a 30" and 54" S2T, and all I do are die cut stickers all day/all week, some square, some circles, many contour cut, some 1" x 1", some 10" x 14" or larger.

And I can do these in a single pass and sold my FC8600 because it was a two pass job process, meaning I had to do the contour cut, pause, change blade holder position, then send the die cut job, and then move the blade holder back. It became very time consuming since everything we do is die cut, and why I don't own the FC8600 any longer.

Sure, we have to change the cutting strip on a regular basis, but that's 15 bucks, which is a pretty quick pay back considering not having to spend 5 mins or so between each job we used to send to the FC8600.

 

[Tatonka]

My brother has this same machine, I went to help him solve this exact issue. It will not do it. We run the FC8600 here as well. The Summa can only do rectangular shapes. we could not even get it to properly diecut a circle. I explained to the rep that they need to be more clear to customers when selling these machines.

Not at all true. The Summa tangential knives can create flawless circles, that's the whole point of tangential knives. I've got 2 T75's here, and they cut great. It takes a little playing to find the right speed and cut pressure for the materials, and trying out different angled blades can help as well, but that's the same with any plotter.