Need Help SummaSign Pro T1300 Not Working - Setup

[dio449]

Hello,

I realize that its a pretty old device but I was recently gifted a SummaSign Pro T1300 ( CalComp D1300?? ) and despite an inordinate amount of effort have been unable to get it to cut. This unit has a serial and parallel port on the back, the previous owner told me that they were using it by way of the parallel port. Unfortunately none of my computers had a parallel port so I opted to use a USB-Serial adapter to connect to the cutter. Thus far I have tried three different USB/Serial adapters including a tripplite Keyspan adapter that was recommended on a number of posts on this forum, with no success. I then ordered a parallel port adapter for my desktop which again failed to produce any results so at this point I am at a loss. One strange thing is that if I use Summa Cutter Control I can connect using the serial port and read and write data to the various settings, but in winplot there is zero activity. I have tried all manner of port configuration options ( baud, parity, stop bits, flow control ) with no change. I have downloaded an number of other programs that are compatible with this cutter, again with no success. I've made a number of custom serial cables based on documentation and drawings in the summa literature, as well as some internet posts, no joy.

At this point I'm ready to throw this thing in the dumpster, is there anything else I might try before commiting this machine to the graveyard of dishonourable technology......

Thanks

Frustrated

 

[FrankW]

If having a working RS232-interface, a standard null modem cable should work (could be hard to still find some).

If you really have a connection through summa cutter control, but not with winplot, it could be that the baud rate set in winplot is wrong (summa cutter control detect the rate automatically). You can check the valid baud rate there or in the cutters menu. Summa Cutter Control should show you the valid port number (Com1, Com2 or different)

I would not work with parallel connection. This connection isn´t bidirectional, you can´t poll for example media width and so on.

 

[PHILJOHNSON]

I agree with what Frank said but I would also check to ensure that the serial to USB adapters that you tried had a USB driver installation disk that came with them. If the adapters did not include the driver then they likely will not function correctly which could be causing your problems. Once you get the adapter driver installed you will want to install the legacy version of Summa Cutter Control(version 4.20.0.0 that is included with the Summa Cutter Tools download here - https://www.airmark.com/pages/summasign-pro-vinyl-cutter-downloads) so you can test the communication. If the cutter communicates through Cutter Control then the last step usually is to configure the USB port in Winplot to USB1 and then everything should work correctly.

Feel free to PM me here or email me at philj@airmark.com if I can help.

Best regards,

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

 

[FrankW]

Most of the USB- to Serial-Adaptors are activating a Com-Port, so there should be a Com-Port to select in Winplot.

 

[dio449]

Thanks for help. It turns out that for some reason the cutter is not returning the media size to the application. I disabled all the auto-loading and media checks in the configuration and I can now cut. I still need to fine tune everything as I have some other issues.

When I run a job, I am finding that there are short sections that are not cut which is making it hard to extract the vinyl. For example if i cut a circle that is 3 inches in circumference there will be a small 1/8 inch section that is uncut. It looks like the knife is being lifted because there is no score mark at that point.

Any input is welcome.

Thanks

 

[FrankW]

This is a typical symptom of a worn tangential head. You can try to replace the cutting strip and adjust the knife landing (set to 0, then increase value until the knife gets down on the cutting strip and add 4 units) within the coil setup in the cutters menu, perhaps it works. Some people have found ways to „repair“ the head, but have never tried it. Summa has offered revisions of the head, but they dont since some years. New heads are not available anymore.