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Taking delivery of our new Summa F1612 next week, what else should I know?

White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
Sorry to be a :thread but I thought of something else I wanted to ask...

Is there a way to cut a full 4' x 8' into singles without barcodes or reg. marks? Say, for example, a full sheet of 16" x 24" coroplast or sintra signs.
Can you just set your base point and send a cut only file down? Are there ways to accomplish this?

I seem to remember that Esko has a way of doing this but not sure if anyone has a solution/workaround for the Summa F series.

Thanks,
 
Bly

Bly

New Member
We use 3mm MDF in place of the foam underlay when routing.
It's way cheaper and surprisingly effective.
We just use the foam for small pieces.
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
Bly said:
We use 3mm MDF in place of the foam underlay when routing.
It's way cheaper and surprisingly effective.
We just use the foam for small pieces.
Click to expand...

Good to know, thanks. Which router do you guys have? Any complaints or comments? Any tools/options you can't live without?
 
ProColorGraphics

ProColorGraphics

New Member
White Haus said:
Good to know, thanks. Which router do you guys have? Any complaints or comments? Any tools/options you can't live without?
Click to expand...
I just have the Kress router myself. The HF router looks nice, but don't see where it's worth the extra price! Especially with how expensive it is!! Not to mention you can pickup a second spindle for like ~$400. I did get a second one for quick bit changes and to have a backup. The only reason I would like the HF router is that I like the fancy "toys" and this is one of the few tools for it I don't have. haha.
Yes, the mat it comes with can be reused over and over. I have also found there is another brand of mat called Aqualine. I got my from www.cutguru.com, but a few places sell it. It is WAY easier and cleaner to use in my opinion. The boards slide easier on it and it doesn't make as big of a mess. It is .5mm thinner, so you have to adjust the spindle height manually (very easy to do). I do like the idea of using some MDF. Then you can tape/screw down a piece to securely fasten it, like a typical CNC.
 
FatCat

FatCat

New Member
White Haus said:
Sorry to be a :thread but I thought of something else I wanted to ask...

Is there a way to cut a full 4' x 8' into singles without barcodes or reg. marks? Say, for example, a full sheet of 16" x 24" coroplast or sintra signs.
Can you just set your base point and send a cut only file down? Are there ways to accomplish this?

I seem to remember that Esko has a way of doing this but not sure if anyone has a solution/workaround for the Summa F series.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Yes, you can strictly "shape cut" without using marks or barcodes. (we recently did ove 2,500 pieces of foam board roughly 3" x 5" for packaging inserts for another company) However, accuracy is going to rely on getting the sheet perfectly square - as such, I would recommend using 50" x 100" sheets instead of the more common 48" x 96" sheets to accomplish this. That way you have some wiggle room in case the sheet isn't perfectly square. ALSO, those 50" x 100" sheets are big enough to run marks on for print and cut jobs.
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
FatCat said:
Yes, you can strictly "shape cut" without using marks or barcodes. (we recently did ove 2,500 pieces of foam board roughly 3" x 5" for packaging inserts for another company) However, accuracy is going to rely on getting the sheet perfectly square - as such, I would recommend using 50" x 100" sheets instead of the more common 48" x 96" sheets to accomplish this. That way you have some wiggle room in case the sheet isn't perfectly square. ALSO, those 50" x 100" sheets are big enough to run marks on for print and cut jobs.
Click to expand...
Good to know, thanks Sean. Speaking of accuracy, any issues with running sheets longer than the bed? Can it actually cut 100% accurately if it only cuts half the sheet then moves it over and continues?
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
ProColorGraphics said:
I just have the Kress router myself. The HF router looks nice, but don't see where it's worth the extra price! Especially with how expensive it is!! Not to mention you can pickup a second spindle for like ~$400. I did get a second one for quick bit changes and to have a backup. The only reason I would like the HF router is that I like the fancy "toys" and this is one of the few tools for it I don't have. haha.
Yes, the mat it comes with can be reused over and over. I have also found there is another brand of mat called Aqualine. I got my from www.cutguru.com, but a few places sell it. It is WAY easier and cleaner to use in my opinion. The boards slide easier on it and it doesn't make as big of a mess. It is .5mm thinner, so you have to adjust the spindle height manually (very easy to do). I do like the idea of using some MDF. Then you can tape/screw down a piece to securely fasten it, like a typical CNC.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips Matt! I agree, the price difference is crazy. I'm sure it's a more powerful/capable set up, but if I was going to invest that much in a router I would just put that towards getting a standalone cnc.
 
FatCat

FatCat

New Member
White Haus said:
Good to know, thanks Sean. Speaking of accuracy, any issues with running sheets longer than the bed? Can it actually cut 100% accurately if it only cuts half the sheet then moves it over and continues?
Click to expand...

Not any problems so far, and I don't foresee any either. We recently ran a print/cut job for a museum that required around 40+ sheets of 5' x 10' foam board and the machine never skipped a beat. We did add a table behind the machine to help it support the sheets since they were so long.


*ALSO, wanted to mention we have the standard router - not the HF version. IMHO it's not worth it unless the majority of the work you do no the table will be routed. Again, we are fortunate to have a standalone 4x8 CNC to do much of that work, but we have done some print and cut work on the Summa that the regular CNC could not do because it doesn't have optical.
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
FatCat said:
Not any problems so far, and I don't foresee any either. We recently ran a print/cut job for a museum that required around 40+ sheets of 5' x 10' foam board and the machine never skipped a beat. We did add a table behind the machine to help it support the sheets since they were so long.


*ALSO, wanted to mention we have the standard router - not the HF version. IMHO it's not worth it unless the majority of the work you do no the table will be routed. Again, we are fortunate to have a standalone 4x8 CNC to do much of that work, but we have done some print and cut work on the Summa that the regular CNC could not do because it doesn't have optical.
Click to expand...

Awesome, appreciate the info! Pretty amazing technology that it can move sheets like that and still stay accurate. I wish I would've gone for a demo on one of these before all this crap started. Seems crazy to buy something like this without seeing it and playing with it, but might just have to do. Good manufacturer/lender incentives right now.

Looks like I've got some number crunching to do.
 
ProColorGraphics

ProColorGraphics

New Member
They also just came out with a new creasing wheel that looks nice! With the old ones, it would tend to tear the top layer of paper of heavy cardstock and cardboard. This new one is supposed to eliminate that. Of course, I have to get it. haha
 
White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
Couple of questions for you F1612 owners out there:

1. What brand/model compressor did you go with, and how often does it run? We don't have the space to put it in another room but might just build a box around it to muffle it a bit. I wouldn't mind getting something bigger that doesn't have to kick in that often.

2. What brand/model surge protector did you get? I've got an electrician coming by this week to see if we need to add a panel and I'd like to get his input on this as well.

Will be making a decision on it this week.

Thanks guys!
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
White Haus said:
Couple of questions for you F1612 owners out there:

1. What brand/model compressor did you go with, and how often does it run? We don't have the space to put it in another room but might just build a box around it to muffle it a bit. I wouldn't mind getting something bigger that doesn't have to kick in that often.

2. What brand/model surge protector did you get? I've got an electrician coming by this week to see if we need to add a panel and I'd like to get his input on this as well.

Will be making a decision on it this week.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

I'm interested in knowing about the air compressor as well, as far as I can tell the only pneumatic part on the machine is the plunge down hold down things, plus any pneumatic tools you want to run. I can't see the hold downs needing much air, our rolls roller has a similar setup and runs of a tiny super quiet compressor.

Is there any need for a large noisy compressor if you don't plan on running any of the pneumatic tools?

Also, for the surge suppressor, we had an electrician come in and out one directly on the main panel that protects the whole building, is was around $400 all in with installation which I thought was fair.
 
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White Haus

White Haus

Not a Newbie
CanuckSigns said:
I'm interested in knowing about the air compressor as well, as far as I can tell the only pneumatic part on the machine is the plunge down hold down things, plus any pneumatic tools you want to run. I can't see the hold downs needing much air, our rolls roller has a similar setup and runs of a tiny super quiet compressor.

Is there any need for a large noisy compressor if you don't plan on running any of the pneumatic tools?

Also, for the surge suppressor, we had an electrician come in and out one directly on the main panel that protects the whole building, is was around $400 all in with installation which I thought was fair.
Click to expand...

Sweet, thanks Scott. $400 doesn't sound bad for the surge protector at all. My electrician buddy is coming by tomorrow so we'll see how much work is involved to add the power we need.

There really isn't a need for a bigger compressor, as we won't be running any pneumatic tools (at first anyways). You're right, it's just needed for the pneumatic clamps and apparently to blow dust off the router bits. The guy I spoke to at Summa said it might just make sense to get a bigger one so it holds more pressure and needs to fire up less. Made sense at first but I definitely don't want to spend more money/space than I have to. I started thinking it would be fun to have a big one and eventually use some air tools and maybe some paint guns... but realistically we don't have the space or need for that stuff right now.

What kind of compressor did you guys get for your flatbed applicator? I don't have much experience with compressors, aside from using the little one we have and I hate it. Makes so much noise and barely builds pressure, pretty sure it's shot!
 
C

CanuckSigns

Active Member
White Haus said:
Sweet, thanks Scott. $400 doesn't sound bad for the surge protector at all. My electrician buddy is coming by tomorrow so we'll see how much work is involved to add the power we need.

There really isn't a need for a bigger compressor, as we won't be running any pneumatic tools (at first anyways). You're right, it's just needed for the pneumatic clamps and apparently to blow dust off the router bits. The guy I spoke to at Summa said it might just make sense to get a bigger one so it holds more pressure and needs to fire up less. Made sense at first but I definitely don't want to spend more money/space than I have to. I started thinking it would be fun to have a big one and eventually use some air tools and maybe some paint guns... but realistically we don't have the space or need for that stuff right now.

What kind of compressor did you guys get for your flatbed applicator? I don't have much experience with compressors, aside from using the little one we have and I hate it. Makes so much noise and barely builds pressure, pretty sure it's shot!
Click to expand...

The compressor for the rolls roller came with it, not sure on any of the specs, but it's about the size of a shoe box and is whisper quiet, kicks in about every 10 times we raise/lower the roller
 
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