Need Help Tab feature for routing PVC letters on Colex Sharpcut?

[RDM]

Good afternoon! The company I work for is relatively new to the large format field. We are a traditional offset and digital printer offering large format capabilities. A team of us have been brought in to grow our large format divisions offerings and we've inherited a Colex Sharpcut.

At my previous employer we had an MCT and I believe our production crew was able to cut PVC letters utilizing a 'tab' feature within the cut program. It would then cut the lettering out of the material leaving behind small tabs that would hold the letters in place so they wouldn't move. Our team would then break the letters out, cut/file/sand away any little nubs left from the tabs and bam, letters done.

Does the Colex Sharpcut have that same feature? And if so, where does one access it? It looks like we're using 'Colex Flatbed Contour Cutter' and 'OptiScout Production 7'.

Any assistance is appreciated!

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Does your colex not have a strong enough vacuum to hold the letters down? If not have you tried a "Gripper" or "sticky" mat?
https://superiorcarbide.com/superior-grip-roll-100-feet

 

[RDM]

Does your colex not have a strong enough vacuum to hold the letters down? If not have you tried a "Gripper" or "sticky" mat?
https://superiorcarbide.com/superior-grip-roll-100-feet

We have noticed that the vacuum doesn't seem to be as strong as it should, and have a service call into Colex to address that issue.

Do you know if there is any such feature available within the software to add the tabs?

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We don't use a colex, but there are a ton of software designed for CNC with that feature. Heck there are scripts for illustrator and plugins for CorelDraw too.

 

[Glavin_ID]

Go to the Colex Knowledge Center, I am pretty sure that they have a tutorial on how to set up files with tabs. I don't think it is a "one click" feature but I know it is possible because we do it here.

 

[WYLDGFI]

Its called Bridging in colex land. We do it all the time. There isn't a one click setup. You have to set 2 layers to do it & its pretty time intensive.

 

[John Miller]

Use double sided tape. There are ones specifically for that purpose. They hold well and also remove easily,

https://shop.carbide3d.com/products/double-side-tape?variant=41237526598

 

[Print1]

Its called Bridging in colex land. We do it all the time. There isn't a one click setup. You have to set 2 layers to do it & its pretty time intensive.

Bridging is actually a one button function on cut center. Going into the properties of the tools selected will allow you to simply select bridging and how deep you want them to be. Very simple.

 

[Print1]

Good afternoon! The company I work for is relatively new to the large format field. We are a traditional offset and digital printer offering large format capabilities. A team of us have been brought in to grow our large format divisions offerings and we've inherited a Colex Sharpcut.

At my previous employer we had an MCT and I believe our production crew was able to cut PVC letters utilizing a 'tab' feature within the cut program. It would then cut the lettering out of the material leaving behind small tabs that would hold the letters in place so they wouldn't move. Our team would then break the letters out, cut/file/sand away any little nubs left from the tabs and bam, letters done.

Does the Colex Sharpcut have that same feature? And if so, where does one access it? It looks like we're using 'Colex Flatbed Contour Cutter' and 'OptiScout Production 7'.

Any assistance is appreciated!

Bridging is actually a one button function on cut center. Going into the properties of the tools selected will allow you to simply select bridging and how deep you want them to be. Very simple.

Bridging is actually a one button function on cut center. Going into the properties of the tools selected will allow you to simply select bridging and how deep you want them to be. Very simple.

 

[ikarasu]

We used to double sided tape small stuff in our multicam. The we found out by accident premasking it makes it have a much higher hold down than with no premask.... So not for small stuff we just slap down some premask on the back and suction is usually good enough to hold it down, and it's much quicker to put on and easier to pull off. Might be worth a try.... Tabs are so slow to deal with when you include all the labor to break apart and sand compared to taping them..