Ioline SmarTrac 100 Series User Manual Download Page 15

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Installation

Chapter 1

Getting Started

Thank you for purchasing the Ioline SmarTrac cutter.
This manual contains instructions and guidelines for setting up, op-

erating and maintaining your cutter. The SmarTrac hooks up to your

system like a printer. Use design software to create your designs

and send files to the SmarTrac for cutting or plotting. The following

components are needed to cut designs:

A Windows-compatible computer. The computer must be as-

sembled and installed correctly before you connect it by serial

or USB cable to the cutter.

Design software loaded into the computer according to the

manufacturer’s installation instructions. If you have any ques-

tions about the computer or the software, you will need to

contact the manufacturer or your dealer. Most design software

provides drivers for Ioline cutters. If you need assistance with

drivers, contact Ioline customer service.

There is a specialized software program that comes with the

cutter called the Ioline

Control Center

. This software utility

enables you to adjust cutter settings and perform system diag-

nostics.

The SmarTrac will cut the graphic exactly as you have designed

it on the loaded material.

See table below for a list of compatible

materials

SmarTrac I/S and

SmarTrac Contour (SC)

100 System

Vinyl

Sandblast

Rubylith

Flock

Stencil

9600 & thin reflectives

Gorilla Grip®

Thermo-FILM®, Thermo-

FLOCK®, and Thermo-GRIP®

Holographics and

WindowTinting film

CAD-CUT® or Backed Twill

All materials handled by

SmarTrac I/S

If you use Windows

XP or later,

you can connect the SmarTrac

to your computer via USB. Use a

serial connection for older oper

ating systems or if your computer

does not have a USB port.

Hint

Compatible Materials

Summary of Contents for SmarTrac 100 Series

Page 1: ...User Guide Ioline SmarTrac I S 100 Series SC Series ...

Page 2: ...e cutter and maintain it in proper working condition by following the instructions in this User Guide It is the responsibility of the operator of the cutter to follow all safety precautions and warnings that are described in this User Guide Ioline is not responsible for injuries that may occur as a result of unsafe operating procedures Ioline is not responsible for substandard operational performa...

Page 3: ...User Guide Ioline SmarTrac I S 100 Series SC Series ...

Page 4: ...ng pinchwheel pressure 31 Figure 19 Locking the idler pinchwheels off the platen 31 Figure 20 Installing the blade and blade foot in the holder 32 Figure 21 Installing the blade holder in the carriage jaw 32 Figure 22 When properly exposed the blade lightly scores the backing 33 Figure 23 Suggested settings for different materials 35 Figure 24 Plotting pen guidelines 36 Figure 25 The Tangential Pa...

Page 5: ...pare the Area 16 Connect the Cutter to the Computer 16 Install Ioline Software Drivers and Manuals 17 Power On 17 Install Drivers 17 Special COM port Settings 18 Automatically Find the COM Port 18 Manually Find the COM Port 19 Manually configure the USB settings optional 20 Keypad Controls 21 START STOP 21 Chapter 2 Operation Arrow Keys 22 Set Origin 22 Speed 22 Force 22 Test Cut 22 Repeat 23 ...

Page 6: ...28 Cutting a Design 29 General Guidelines 29 Power On 29 Loading the Material 29 Aligning the Material and Pinchwheels 30 Adjusting the Pinchwheel Pressure 30 Locking the Pinchwheels Off of the Platen 31 Installing a Blade and the Blade Foot 32 Installing a Blade Holder or Pen 32 Adjusting Exposure and Force 33 Adjusting Blade Exposure 33 Force Adjustment 34 Verification 34 Sending a Cut Plot File...

Page 7: ...49 Chapter 5 Routine Maintenance Cleaning the Drive Shaft 50 Size Calibration 50 Prepare the cutter 50 Gather the Calibration Data 50 Enter the Calibration Data 51 Calibrating the Sensor for Contour Cutting 52 Prepare to Calibrate the Sensor 52 Calibrate the Sensor 53 Service Support 55 Getting Help 55 Chapter 6 End Notes Customer Service 56 Your Comments Are Requested 56 Before you contact Suppor...

Page 8: ...viii Notes ...

Page 9: ...nical adjustments are necessary turn off the cutter and disconnect it from all power sources both the computer and the wall outlet n Be careful with hair jewelry or loose clothing near the cutter They can become caught in the mechanical parts n Never move the carriage by hand Use the Arrow keys and let the machine do it n Keep hands away from the carriage when the cutter is in opera tion The carri...

Page 10: ...B Drive Shaft Marker C Carriage D Blade Holder E Idler Wheel F Drive Shaft beneath material G Pinchwheel H Pinchwheel Lever KEY Figure 1 The Ioline SmarTrac I S cutter front view x G A B C H J E I L M N O F D K D C ...

Page 11: ...ce Guide Figure 2 The Ioline SmarTrac Contour SC cutter front view I Keypad J Stand Leg K Stand Leveling Foot L Cross member M Media Roller N Platen O Traverse P LED Sensor KEY xi A B E H J K I L M N O F G D P C G F ...

Page 12: ...rive Shaft Marker C Idler Wheel D Carriage E Blade Holder F LED Sensor G Pinchwheel H Drive Shaft KEY Figure 3 The Ioline SmarTrac SC 72 cutter front view A B J C K O P I N M See Detail 1 See Detail 2 See Detail 3 xii ...

Page 13: ...xiii K Stand Leg L Platen Leveling Foot M Stand Leveling Foot N Cross member O Platen P Traverse KEY L Detail 3 G H Detail 2 E F D Detail 1 ...

Page 14: ...xiv R Power Switch S Serial COM Port T USB Port U Power Cord KEY Figure 5 Power and communications ports are located on the back of the right cover R U T S ...

Page 15: ... or your dealer Most design software provides drivers for Ioline cutters If you need assistance with drivers contact Ioline customer service n There is a specialized software program that comes with the cutter called the Ioline Control Center This software utility enables you to adjust cutter settings and perform system diag nostics n The SmarTrac will cut the graphic exactly as you have designed ...

Page 16: ...as required to level the stand Prepare the Area Prepare a large clean area to work Make sure the floor or table top is free of debris and clear of any obstacles Pull the cutter away from the wall so the material can move freely Connect the Cutter to the Computer With power off on the machine and PC connect the SmarTrac to the computer with either a USB or serial cable A USB cable is provided in th...

Page 17: ...tion chapter of this manual for details on us ing the Ioline Control Center software Ioline USB drivers are only com patible and tested with Microsoft Windows operating systems ver sions XP Vista and Win 7 Note i Ioline USB drivers create a special COM port that allows computer software with serial communi cation support to use the USB connection Note i Power On 1 Turn on power to the Ioline equip...

Page 18: ...turns green 2 Open the Ioline Control Center Go to Step 3 to find a serial con nection COM port or Step 5 for USB connection COM port 3 IF USING A SERIAL CABLE determine the COM port by click ing on the Setup menu then choose Port Setup 4 The Control Center Setup window will appear Record which COM port is highlighted and or has a check box filled in 5 IF USING A USB CABLE determine the COM port b...

Page 19: ...port settings are required use the values shown in the Figure 11 Manually Find the COM Port 1 Open the Windows Control Panel 2 Double click on the System icon then the Hardware tab then Device Manager button 3 Double click on the Ports COM and LPT item to expand the list 4 Find the USB Serial Port COMx item in the list Write down the COM port number shown in the label Use this information when con...

Page 20: ... Ports COM and LPT item to expand the list 5 Right click on the USB Serial Port COMx item in the list then choose Properties 6 Click on the Port Settings tab and enter the values shown above in Figure 11 7 Click on OK when finished Manually changing the Windows COM port settings is required for some programs Use the Windows Device Manager to change settings Note i Figure 12 Enter the port settings...

Page 21: ...tion between the computer and the cutter If the START STOP key is pressed during cutting or plotting STOP mode the machine will stop when the current vector is finished The Arrow keys are active when in STOP mode When the START STOP key is pressed again START mode cutting will resume exactly where it stopped START mode Green light Arrow keys inoperable cut ter online ready to receive instructions ...

Page 22: ... counter clockwise to decrease the speed Set the speed according to the type of cutting and material being used See the Cutting a Design section of this manual Force Adjust the force by using the Force knob on the front panel Turn the Force knob clockwise to increase the force exerted on the pen or blade See the section on Cutting a Design for the recommended settings The range of force available ...

Page 23: ... the data stored in memory 1 If the file exceeds the capacity of the buffer the Repeat function is disabled 2 Your graphic will remain in memory until you reset the origin send another file or update settings with the Update Display function Update Display is described later in this chapter The Ioline Control Center The Ioline Control Center is a utility program that does three things n Allows adj...

Page 24: ...nging system settings To do so press the START STOP key and make sure the Green light is on before changing any settings n The Screen Menu displays most commonly adjusted param eters The Menu Bar contains utilities and less commonly adjusted cutter settings n Your selected changes take effect only after you press one of the Send Settings buttons Figure 17 The Control Center Main Menu ...

Page 25: ...y Plotter Settings Displays current cutter settings Factory Defaults Restore original factory settings ROM Version Displays installed ROM version Memory Buffer Displays installed memory buffer size Blade Status Displays whether or not the blade holder is installed Options Filtering Toggles Filtering on and off HPGL Setting Selects an HGPL language Install New Firmware Installs new firmware on the ...

Page 26: ...is 30 in 76 2 cm but the loop size is adjustable Disable Autoloop when cutting short pieces of material or scraps Tangential Cutting When enabled the tangential cutting feature will carefully align the blade with the line segment before making each cut in the material Settings Enable Turns on the Tangential Cutting feature in the cutter after the Permanent button is pressed Length Determines how f...

Page 27: ...ay button be fore and after a cut is completed Check the plotter setup screens in the design software to make adjustments if necessary Note i Pouncing Tag Board Default Length 40 mils 04 in 2000 mils Maximum Length 4000 mils 5000 mils Minimum Length 40 mils 50 mils BlankValues Update Display Selecting this option will update all of the screen values with the cur rent settings stored in the cutter ...

Page 28: ...um 400 grams Default Minimum 10 grams Blade Overcut Blade Overcut is the distance the blade travels beyond the end of a cut Blade Overcut ensures that each cut actually reaches the point where one cut line meets and slightly overlaps another cut line This ensures that all of the pieces of the design will be cut completely with no undercuts The factory set Blade Overcut is 10 mils This set ting is ...

Page 29: ...orce Incorrect force can cause misalignment problems over the range of a long cut If the force is too high the material may skew 4 Prepare a large clean area to work Power On Turn on the computer and the cutter The cutter power switch is located next to the power cord on the back The carriage will move when the power comes on Keep hands and loose clothing away from all moving parts of the SmarTrac...

Page 30: ...ng from the front of the machine against the edges of the material hanging from the back of the machine Pull downward on the material and square the edges so that they are parallel front and back Alternatively align the edge of the material with the edge of the material roll 6 While maintaining the material square and taut clamp the pinchwheels to the material by lowering the pinchwheel lever on t...

Page 31: ...ting This will reduce ink smear ing if plotting with a heavy ink marker 1 Lift the idler pinchwheels off the platen with the pinchwheel lever 2 Press on the handles at the rear of the idler pinchwheel arm 3 Flip the locking clip into position with both thumbs Make sure that the clip is under the lower tabs 4 When the pinchwheels are lowered onto the platen the idlers will stay in the up position T...

Page 32: ...ay then turn the clamp screw until there is enough room to insert the blade holder or pen 2 If using a blade holder or plotter pen slip the flange into the slot in the carriage jaw If using a regular pen position the tip 1 10 inch off of the platen when the jaw is in the up position The cutter can hold any pen with a maximum barrel diameter of 7 8 in 22 mm 3 Tighten the clamp screw until the blade...

Page 33: ...s technique approaches the correct blade exposure from too little with no chance of having too much which could damage the blade 3 Press the START STOP button on the front panel until the LED is red Move the carriage until the blade is near the right edge of the material 4 Press the Test Cut key for one second The cutter will cut a test design There will be no cutting if the initial foot adjustmen...

Page 34: ...cuts to determine the correct settings before sending any files See the Adjusting Blade Exposure and Force sections for more details Important Make sure that the carriage and material are in the proper position and that an origin is set by pressing Set Origin on the keypad LED is green Send the file directly from the design software following the direc tions in the documentation or From the Ioline...

Page 35: ...al Thick ness mils Blade Offset mils Force2 grams Speed ips Accel eration grams Min Angle degrees Overcut mils Down Delay millisecs Amberlith Rubylith 1 45o 15 30 60 med 0 1 30o 0 5 0 50 Flock 15 Cobra 47 100 200 min 1 15o 10 0 Thermo Flock 15 45o 15 200 300 min 1 15o 10 0 Gorilla Grip 4 5 45o 15 200 300 min 1 15o 10 0 Polyester Metalized 2 45o 15 100 140 max 1 30o 10 0 Reflective Engineering Grad...

Page 36: ... 3 Check the material roll Place the roll of material to the right of the material cradle or media rollers Make sure the roll is tightly wrapped and even along the sides 4 Load the material straight See the previous sections Loading the Material and Aligning the Material and Pinchwheels to properly load the cutter Figure 24 Plotting pen guidelines Paper Pen Speed Force grams Comments BMI Super Lay...

Page 37: ...ic Sorting Ordering or Contour Ordering feature in the design software some soft ware programs automatically handle this process This will reduce the number of time consuming back and forth and side to side movements Wear on the material backing as well as the material itself is decreased which will improve tracking The more complex the file the more difficult the problem 10 Use the Paneling featu...

Page 38: ...ng area to assure that the material stays flat How to Pounce Use the pounce feature with high quality paper Ioline recommends 20 lb paper that lies flat A pounce tool and a pounce blade avail able from Ioline are also required 1 Select Pounce in the Ioline Control Center Make sure that Tag Board Cutout is turned OFF Put the cutter in START mode green LED on Update the cutter with the Send Settings...

Page 39: ...er use the roller as an axle Ioline does not recommend using two media rollers to cradle tag board rolls 3 Enable Autoloop or create a service loop of material 4 Install a blade holder in the carriage 5 Perform test cuts to establish blade exposure and Force set tings See the section Adjusting Blade Exposure and Force for the proper procedure Most tag board cuts are made at or near maximum force 4...

Page 40: ...the key pad so that the keypad light turns green 3 Open the Ioline Control Center software 4 Find the Tangential Cutting box on the main screen 5 Check the box next to Enable Press Permanent in the Send Settings to Cutter window 6 Perform a test cut on the machine See Cutting a Design earlier in this chapter to learn about test cuts 7 Adjust parameters as necessary The settings are explained below...

Page 41: ...ially when heat is used to cure the ink or apply films These processes cause the image to expand and contract and might affect accuracy The following condi tions are required for successful regis tration cutting with an Ioline SmarTrac Contour cutter 1 The background material is white 2 Four registra tion marks are printed in the corners of an encompass ing rectangle around the pre printed image s...

Page 42: ...lled in the carriage The cutter is cali brated for the blade holder at the factory Procedure 1 Load the pre printed material into the cutter and verify that material movement is as straight as possible 2 Center the sensor light over the first registration point and press the Set Origin key on the keypad The first registration point R1 is nearest the right end of the cutter and the front edge of th...

Page 43: ...r for more details 2 Start the Ioline Control Center Select Test Communication Test from the menu bar at the top of the window 3 Turn on the cutter while holding down the Test Cut key on the keypad Hold down the Test Cut key until the cutter beeps and the light flashes three times The cutter is now in Test Mode 4 If testing the serial COM port press the START STOP key on the cutter and verify that...

Page 44: ...st to exit Test Mode If this test fails the cutter port is faulty Testing the Computer Serial Port The diagnostic module is required for this test 1 Connect the diagnostic module directly to the COM port on the computer If the computer COM port has a nine pin connector use a 9 pin to 25 pin adapter between the COM port and diag nostic module 2 From the Control Center main menu select Test Computer...

Page 45: ... plot does not start at the correct point on the material Cause 1 You have not set an origin 2 The origin selected in your soft ware is different than the one you selected on your plotter Solution 1 Select an origin 2 Select origins in the software and on the plotter that coincide usually lower left which is the right side of the plotter See Figure 4 The plot does not repeat when pressing the Repe...

Page 46: ...on The design does not weed cleanly Cause 1 Blade Force is too low 2 The blade is dull or broken 3 The Blade Overcut is too low 4 The Offset is incorrect Solution 1 Increase Blade Force 2 Replace the blade 3 Use a higher Blade Overcut value 4 See the Blade Offset section Poor tracking Cause 1 Pinchwheels are positioned over a bearing e g a smooth section of the drive shaft 2 Blade Force is too hig...

Page 47: ...icates with the cutter over a network it is common for LPT 1 to be captured meaning the data is redirected to the network instead of flowing out of the parallel port on the back of the computer Ending the capture will allow data to flow normally from the computer to the plotter 1 Click the START button select Settings and then click Printers to open the Printers window 2 Right Click the printer ic...

Page 48: ...ck the Device Manager tab 3 Remove the parallel port by clicking Ports selecting the port and clicking the Remove button 4 Shut down Windows 5 Restart or Reset the computer 6 Enter the PC BIOS setup This is usually done by hitting the DEL key or ESC key during the boot sequence Consult the computer manuals or contact the manufacturer for more infor mation about entering BIOS setup 7 Find the paral...

Page 49: ...adjustable blade foot by unscrewing it counter clockwise 2 Remove the old blade with a pair of needle nose pliers and discard it 3 Slide the new blade into the blade until it bottoms out The blade should spin freely 4 Screw the foot onto the blade holder clockwise Stop just be fore the blade tip emerges The blade tip is sharp and fragile Be careful when handling it Caution 5 Perform test cuts as d...

Page 50: ...mod els and a minimum of 48 in long Install a blade holder use cutting material or pen use paper material in the carriage Enable Autoloop or manually create a service loop of material 3 Move the carriage and material with the Arrow keys so that the blade or pen is about one inch from both the right and front edge of the material Set an origin See the Operation chapter for more details on preparing...

Page 51: ... X2 39 700 in The sum is 79 450 in 39 750 in 39 700 in 79 450 in The average is 39 725 in 79 450 in 2 39 725 in The X calibration value is the average 39 725 in Enter the Calibration Data 1 Enter the measured values in the boxes in the Calibration win dow Make sure the SmarTrac is in START mode green LED Select the Set Calibration button 2 The cutter will send the calibration values and the new Ca...

Page 52: ...tion to generate the square Make sure that there is at least a mar gin of 3 inches from each edge of the material to the edges of the box Print ing the square in the center of a standard sheet of white paper is acceptable Make sure to carefully mea sure the square after printing to ensure that it is exactly 1 cm 1 cm 1 cm Figure 33 Print and measure a 1 cm black square on a white background Sensor...

Page 53: ...e tip is lined up See the Figure 35 5 Press the Set Origin button on the keypad and ensure that the keypad light is Green Calibrate the Sensor 1 Open the Ioline Control Center A shortcut is available in Start Ioline Figure 36 The Control Center Calibration window 2 In the Menu Bar choose Calibrate Calibrate Plotter Figure 36 3 Press the Sensor Calibration button at the bottom of the window 4 Ensur...

Page 54: ...egistration cuts to verify that alignment is correct If it is not check that the black box is exactly 1 cm then repeat the procedure again Contact Ioline Customer Service if calibra tion is unsuccessful Figure 37 The Small Sensor Calibration window ...

Page 55: ...elp you determine the nature of the problem If factory repair is necessary you will receive a RMA Re turn Material Authorization Please gather the information indicat ed on the next page before contacting Ioline or your dealer 1 When returning a machine carefully package the equipment in its original container or packaging equivalent You may purchase shipping containers from Ioline by contacting I...

Page 56: ... 5 00 P M U S Pacific Time Voice 1 425 398 8282 Fax 1 425 398 8383 support ioline com www ioline com Your Comments Are Requested Ioline Corporation is interested in comments on our documentation and products Please send corrections or suggestions to Ioline Corporation 14140 NE 200th Street Woodinville WA 98072 USA Voice 1 425 398 8282 Fax 1 425 398 8383 info ioline com www ioline com Before you co...

Page 57: ...tsYou to Know This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly in strict accordance with manufac turer instructions it may cause interference to radio and television reception Operation is subject to the following two conditions 1 This device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device Look for the serial number above the power switch on the ...

Page 58: ...ify and Resolve Radio TV Interference Problems a booklet published by the Federal Communications Commission is a helpful reference Please contact the FCC to request a copy www fcc gov Document stock number 004 000 00345 4 This booklet is available from U S Government Printing Office Washington D C 20402 This equipment was tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device purs...

Page 59: ...ride PVC sheeting formed by spreading a molten vinyl mixture on a carrier sheet or web and then baking at high temperatures to re move solvents and fuse the remaining material into a film Cast film is usually thinner and more expen sive than calendered vinyl Control Panel Panel on the right side of the ma chine where primary plotter functions are accessible Also called the Keypad Coordinate A poin...

Page 60: ...inch or milliinches For example 75 mils is the same as 075 inches 1 mil is equal to 025mm Minimum Angle This is the minimum angle for which the machine will perform a Blade Steering Arc O Offset The distance the tip of the blade trails be hind the center of the blade Origin Place marking the zero 0 coordinate on the X or Y axes Used as a starting reference by cut ters for pen or blade paths Overcu...

Page 61: ...resented by the cut out portion of the stencil is printed on the substrate below it T Tag Board A heavy paper usually 150 pound that is used in the apparel industry for cutting patterns and stencils Tangential Cutting When enabled the tangential cutting feature carefully aligns the blade with a line segment before making each cut in the material of fering cleaner cuts on thicker materials Throughp...

Page 62: ...62 62 Ioline SmarTrac User Guide This page intentionally left blank ...

Page 63: ... 50 52 53 For contour cutting 52 54 Measuring the calibration box 51 52 53 54 Calibration Box 51 Cam slot 31 Cancel a job 35 Carriage x xi xii xiii 16 22 17 26 27 28 30 32 33 34 39 42 47 50 53 59 60 61 Carriage rail SeeTraverse Cast 59 Communication Conflicts 23 Parallel 60 Parallel port 47 Serial xiv Setup within the Ioline Control Center 25 USB xiv Setup 19 CommunicationTesting 43 43 44 COM Port...

Page 64: ...i E EPS 59 F Factory defaults 25 FCC 58 Feed shaft xi File name extensions 59 Filtering 25 Firmware 25 Flange 60 Font 60 Force 22 23 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 37 38 39 60 Adjusting 33 34 Force Adjustment 30 34 Friction feed 60 G Green light mode See START mode H Help x 22 25 36 37 38 43 55 57 59 60 See also FlexPlot and Control Center High Force Position 31 HPGL 25 46 60 HPGL Setting 60 I Idler wheel x...

Page 65: ...4 Pens Guidelines 36 Installing 32 Pinchwheel x xii 30 31 35 36 37 38 46 60 Adjustment 30 31 For pen plotting 30 Cam slot 31 Locking 31 Locking clip 31 Maximum force 30 Position 30 Pinchwheel lever x 30 31 Platen xi xiii 31 Platen leveling foot xiii Plotter 60 Plotter settings 25 PLT 25 59 Pounce 26 38 39 60 61 Blank value 27 Cut value 27 Pounce pattern 60 Pouncing Cut 38 Power cord xiv Power swit...

Page 66: ...9 61 Blank value 27 Cut value 27 STOP mode 21 22 23 34 35 45 Support 55 57 55 58 Contact information 56 Ioline Web site 55 Required information 57 Warranty 55 System requirements 15 System settings Adjusting 23 Permanent 27 Saving 25 Suggested settings 35 Temporary 27 T Tag board 27 35 38 39 61 Tangential cutting 40 61 Tech Support 56 Test cut 22 23 27 33 34 36 38 43 44 Throughput 61 Traverse xi x...

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