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The KNK Force with SCAL5 User Manual

February 24, 2019

Do NOT read this entire manual

… unless you want to.

•

Chapters 1 and 2 are very important in terms of setting up your Force to work with SCAL and learning the
ins and outs of cutting.

•

Chapters 3

– 10 are specific to SCAL and present every function in the software, many of which you may

never need.

•

Chapter 11 is for those owners wanting to perform print and cut applications.

•

Chapter 12 covers the dual head feature and how to best use Force accessory tools.

•

Chapter 13 covers the Force rotary tool.

It’s not practical to print this entire manual because:

•

It’s a waste of paper and ink if you only ever need certain sections.

•

The live links to videos, blog posts, products, etc. will not work.

•

User manuals are updated from time to time (this current UM is based on SCAL 4.060).

•

You cannot search on individual words.

Also:

•

Having the

Table of Contents

continuously viewable makes navigation easier.

It’s also useful to know how

to search for specific words or terms. Here is a link to a tutorial which covers how to do these two things:

How to Get the Most from your KNK UM

•

Note the green

icons which link to videos related to the section in which they are located. These

videos will enhance your learning.

Содержание KNK Force

Страница 1: ...r 13 covers the Force rotary tool It s not practical to print this entire manual because It s a waste of paper and ink if you only ever need certain sections The live links to videos blog posts produc...

Страница 2: ...ontrolling Where Shapes Will Cut 21 2 02 3 Selecting the Tool to be Used for Cutting 21 2 02 4 Determining the Cut Settings 22 2 03 CUT SETTINGS DETAILS 23 2 03 1 Tool and Replace Tool 23 2 03 2 Mult...

Страница 3: ...CTS AND PAGES 61 3 12 HELP RESOURCES 62 4 SCAL HANDLING FILES AND ORGANIZING LAYERS 64 4 01 OPENING FILES 64 4 01 1 Opening a New File Project 64 4 01 2 Opening an Existing SCUT File 64 4 02 SAVING SC...

Страница 4: ...5 05 1 Resizing 96 5 05 2 Scaling 98 5 05 3 Auto Fit 99 5 06 ROTATING 100 5 07 SKEWING AND DISTORTING 101 5 07 1 Skewing 101 5 07 2 Distorting 102 5 08 MIRRORING AND FLIPPING 102 5 09 LOCKING AND UNLO...

Страница 5: ...04 FOUR MODES OF TEXT 137 6 04 1 Type Tool 137 6 04 2 Vertical Type Tool 137 6 04 3 Type on Path Tool 138 6 04 4 Type on Arch Tool 139 6 05 TEXT SETTINGS 140 6 06 OTHER TEXT EDITING 142 6 07 CREATING...

Страница 6: ...Image for Manual Tracing 183 7 05 2 Manual Tracing Using the Draw Tool 184 7 05 3 Editing the Trace 185 7 05 4 Using Symmetrical Mirror to Complete the Trace 187 8 SCAL EDITING 188 8 01 SIMPLIFY 188...

Страница 7: ...for Rhinestone Pattern Design 237 9 12 2 Rhinestone Outline 238 9 12 3 Rhinestone Fill 240 9 12 4 Editing Rhinestone Designs 241 9 12 5 Adding an Outline to a Rhinestone Design 242 9 12 6 Using Purch...

Страница 8: ...AT IS A PRINT AND CUT PNC 340 11 02 WHAT IS A PNC CALIBRATION 341 11 03 CAMERA CALIBRATION PROCEDURE 341 11 03 1 What You Need for Calibrating 341 11 03 2 Preparing the Calibration File 341 11 03 3 En...

Страница 9: ...378 SUGGESTED ENGRAVING SETTINGS FOR FORCE ROTARY TOOL1 379 APPENDIX A SCAL KEY BOARD SHORTCUTS 380 APPENDIX B KNK FORCE AND SCAL TROUBLESHOOTING 386 B1 COMMUNICATING ISSUES 386 B2 OPERATING ISSUES 3...

Страница 10: ...section and Chapter 2 before attempting to use the blade holder in your Force If you have already been using SCAL with your KNK Force you can use this user manual as a reference book 1 02 Safety and W...

Страница 11: ...ck to KNK USA for repair The one year parts and labor warranty covers manufacturer s defects only and does not include normal wear and tear If warranty work is required the owner is responsible for sh...

Страница 12: ...SCAL Facebook Page MTC and SCAL Facebook Group SCAL Users Yahoo Group An online training program with over 4 hours of videos is available at this link Sure Cuts a Lot 4 Beginner Class 1 06 Setting up...

Страница 13: ...e mode Note the arrow at the top of the cutting mat This indicates Portrait mode and how the mat will be inserted into the Force Indicates the direction the mat is fed into the cutter In Portrait mode...

Страница 14: ...n the Cut Settings window either Go to Cutter Cut with KNK Force Click on the Cutter icon on the Toolbar at the top The Cut Settings window will open Under Connection it should read TCP IP This is the...

Страница 15: ...requently Note that if the test pen isn t working you can insert any regular pen or marker directly into the grip on the Force Make the following changes in the Cut Settings window Place your paper on...

Страница 16: ...ntially the same as how you set it in C3 o The same shortcut keys previously listed can be used to move in larger or smaller increments o Once the head is in position click on OK Use all of the same s...

Страница 17: ...you are cutting The 45 blade red cap should be used to cut vinyl paper cardstock Dura lar Mylar iron on transfer vellum The 60 blade blue cap should be used to cut chipboard Grungeboard stiffened felt...

Страница 18: ...circle has cut too deeply Once you have optimized the settings for the ring try another more detailed shape such as the asterisk If you are cutting across the width of the material also test a wide t...

Страница 19: ...users and KNK dealer Utilize these resources A recommended list was presented on the first page Please follow a few rules of etiquette out of respect for those who are eager to assist This saves both...

Страница 20: ...still have the option to hide those other shapes as in the prior option but this could be quicker if there are a lot of shapes to turn off For shapes you do not wish to cut change the Cut Line Type on...

Страница 21: ...precisely in the location on the paper as they are located on the screen Note that raster images JPG BMP PNG etc will need to be traced first so that cut lines are created Refer to Section 7 03 for t...

Страница 22: ...gs for your material use the flow chart in Appendix D4 to test cut your material and determine optimum settings The following table summarizes the settings and shows the typical range you can expect t...

Страница 23: ...ther words leave Tool set to 1 left and then enter all settings to be used by the left side tool When both heads will be used after entering the left side settings change Tool to 2 right and then ente...

Страница 24: ...the material as well as the height where the Z Origin is set More information on determining the CD ED is presented in Sections 13 04 13 05 When engraving or embossing the CD ED is the depth to which...

Страница 25: ...set quite high e g at 40 If you are cutting a dense material such as thick chipboard or any time you are using the blue capped blade a lower Plunge Speed such as 20 can help protect the blade from too...

Страница 26: ...some cutting programs Overcut is not a separate setting but rather automatically calculated and applied based on the Blade Offset entered However in SCAL you enter an actual Overcut setting and shoul...

Страница 27: ...added select it from the menu and then a button will appear Clicking on that button will then remove it from the list 2 05 Blade Tension BT Inside the KNK Force blade holder is a large spring that is...

Страница 28: ...lways a good idea to do a small test cut before cutting a large project Select a shape from the Library in SCAL to use 2 Press the material to a clean and sticky mat unless a rolled material is being...

Страница 29: ...commended Blade Tension settings 7 Go to the Cut Settings window and click on Replace Tool and follow the on screen instructions Set the Z Origin with the tip of the blade touching the top of the mat...

Страница 30: ...erfectly acceptable for the type of cutting you do Therefore it may not even be necessary to do this particular calibration However if you do want to make sure your shapes are cut precisely the follow...

Страница 31: ...uare select it and then click on the Position Size icon to display that panel The square will be 1 x 1 or 25 4 mm x 25 4 mm Change the size W and H to the largest size that will fit on the paper you h...

Страница 32: ...h a metric ruler you should be able to more accurately read the exact measurements Write those measurements onto your sheet Go to Cutter Cutter Settings In the top left corner of that window you will...

Страница 33: ...nd click on Save If after testing again you find that the sizing is still slightly off then just repeat again Note that in the calculations the second time instead of using 1 00 for the Current X Reso...

Страница 34: ...NK Force1 Material Type and Thickness Material Brand Source Color etc Blade BT P SD CD ED CS Other Settings and Comments 1 2015 2019 Sandy McCauley All Rights Reserved BT Blade Tension P Passes SD Sta...

Страница 35: ...cutting Place in a freezer for 1 minute after cutting and before weeding Cardstock AC Textured 80lb Hot Pink R 2 2 70 70 25 Tendency to tear at corners so 2 passes at ED 70 cleaner than 1 pass at high...

Страница 36: ...d s Eye Designer My Girl R 2 5 1 90 25 Cardstock Neenah 65lb White R 2 1 60 25 Cardstock Neenah 80lb Solar White smooth R 2 2 50 50 25 2 passes at a lower CD gave cleaner cutting than 1 pass at a high...

Страница 37: ...rigin set based on mat Chipboard 0 02 Cereal Box Cracker box B 2 1 120 15 Printed side face down Z axis origin set based on mat Chipboard 0 02 Cereal Box NesQuick Family Size B 4 1 125 25 Printed side...

Страница 38: ...een Gold Silver R 2 1 90 30 color side up Freezer Paper Reynolds R 1 1 7 25 mat sprayed with 404 ruler grip adhesive Glitter Cardstock chipboard wt Fabrique Red R 3 2 47 95 20 PS 30 This is sold at Jo...

Страница 39: ...ted Leather artific White Y 2 5 2 15 15 25 Cuts like butter Leather 0 065 1 6 mm Dk Brown B 1 5 3 20 60 15 PS 10 Applied Contact shelf liner on the back to protect the mat The leather was purchased at...

Страница 40: ...an vary in both thickness and density Start with conservative settings and move up until a clean cut is attained May require even higher SD ED Rhinestone Hartco 425 w o the mat Green B 3 2 80 80 25 Cu...

Страница 41: ...ical Translucent R 1 1 30 25 100 cotton Vellum 0 003 Worldwind Grape R 2 1 20 25 Vellum 0 0035 Lt Yellow R 2 1 20 30 Vellum 0 004 Teal R 2 1 25 25 Vellum 0 004 The Paper Company Translucent R 2 1 25 2...

Страница 42: ...reen Dark Green Royal Blue Black Vinyl Metal Fx Contact silver R 1 1 20 25 Vinyl Premium Oracal 951 R 1 1 20 25 Vinyl Printable on the mat White R 1 1 25 25 Vinyl Printable w o the mat White R 1 1 25...

Страница 43: ...and internal lines Tiling splitting large designs into sections for cutting Duplicate cutting setting up a grid of repeats in the cutting window Cut by color Cut by layer use different settings as ne...

Страница 44: ...ersion of SCAL you installed matches the registration you purchased You can verify this by going to Help About Sure Cuts a Lot If the wrong version is installed uninstall this current version and down...

Страница 45: ...activate Go to the new computer and activate SCAL If you need to activate your Serial Number on both a PC and a Mac go to Help Support Technical Support and click on Contact Support Team 3 01 3 Instal...

Страница 46: ...els will need to be separately selected later in the Cut Settings window Click on Done to save and close the window Now when you are ready to cut the cutter you use will be selected by going to Cutter...

Страница 47: ...ting mat which will be written with lower case normal type The Rulers can be toggled on and off by right clicking on the screen and selecting Show Rulers Note that when hiding the rulers click again o...

Страница 48: ...click on the thumbnail for that shape or drag the shape onto the Cutting Mat Note there are other categories within the Library listed on the left side Check out the various subfolders of shapes as t...

Страница 49: ...instructions can be found under Help Help Clicking on the icon for any the seven panels will open that panel To expand a panel for easier viewing click on the small icon to the right of the panel name...

Страница 50: ...ce between Advanced and Basic is the former has the Layers Panel open To switch to other panels click on the icons along the right side If there s a particular panel you access often then you can crea...

Страница 51: ...lished by having it either opened or closed and then saving it along with your preferred Properties Panel layout To save workspace changes go to Window Workspace Save Workspace A window will open and...

Страница 52: ...Document Panel The Document Panel contains settings for the Cutting Mat which serves as a design area for the software as well as to indicate in some cutting modes where the shapes will be cut 3 06 1...

Страница 53: ...u and will be listed under Presets when you return to the Custom Mat Size window To remove a custom Cutting Mat from the menu go back to the Custom Mat Size window and select the mat under Presets Cli...

Страница 54: ...the Documents Panel The units can also be changed in either of the following locations Go to View Ruler Units Right click on the screen and select Ruler Units 3 06 4 Show Grid The mat grid can be tog...

Страница 55: ...up cards from scratch They can be added to the Cutting Mat in two ways By dragging your mouse from the horizontal or vertical rulers on the screen By manually adding in the Guidelines Edit window You...

Страница 56: ...of filled shapes on the Cutting Mat You can also change the opacity of individual shapes versus all shapes Refer to Section 5 14 5 3 06 7 Show Outlines Only This option determines whether shapes are d...

Страница 57: ...er Cutter Cutter Settings Refer to Section 8 06 1 3 06 10 Show Page Color The default color of the Cutting Mat is a grayish white To change the color to any other desired color mark the option for Sho...

Страница 58: ...nd mark your preferences based on the following options Grid selected shape will snap to the grid lines Guidelines selected shape will snap to guidelines refer to Section 9 03 Objects Bounds selected...

Страница 59: ...ved For now note the following preferences that do relate to the material covered so far These should be self explanatory based on their names If you click on the Edit tab more preferences are listed...

Страница 60: ...zoom in on a selected shape or shapes use one of the following Click on the icon while the Zoom in Tool is activated see prior screenshot Use the shortcut Ctrl Shift on a Mac Control Shift Go to View...

Страница 61: ...Project Bar is located right above the Ruler and shows what projects files are open and have been named new projects that have been started but not named and an option to open a new project Clicking...

Страница 62: ...f you mark the Show Page Color option on the Document Panel If you change your mind and want to edit the Name and or Color either go to Page Page Properties or double click on the Page Name and the sa...

Страница 63: ...tutorials Go to Help Support Technical Support for the following o Contact the SCAL team o Retrieve your serial code o Download latest updates o Access the forum o Access tutorials Other online suppo...

Страница 64: ...ettings These settings can be modified later if needed using the Document Panel Note that as of SCAL5 you can have more than one project open at a time 4 01 2 Opening an Existing SCUT File An existing...

Страница 65: ...hift S for save as Go to File Save Project or File Save Project As If you ve made changes and wish to save under a different file name choose File Save As Name the file choose a location and click on...

Страница 66: ...rea on the right side To add one of these shapes to the Cutting Mat either Click on the shape and it will be placed in a certain location on the Cutting Mat Drag the shape to a desired location on the...

Страница 67: ...vorites from the popup menu This popup menu also has these options o Delete File only active in the My Designs folder o Reveal File opens the location on your computer where file is stored o Instructi...

Страница 68: ...the Choose Folder button will activate and clicking it will bring up this window where you can browse your computer to locate an existing folder of SVG files Refresh Add Folder Click on My Designs De...

Страница 69: ...fter deleting files you will need to click on the Refresh icon to update the thumbnail images To delete a folder select it and then do one of the following o Click on the Delete Folder icon o Right cl...

Страница 70: ...selected you can click on the icon to add that font to your Favorites folder For alternative methods for selecting fonts refer to Section 6 02 4 03 3 Projects Tab The Projects tab is similar to the S...

Страница 71: ...cts for easy access Once you click on My Projects the icons above the folder menu will become active Add subfolders The projects in the above screenshot have been added to My Projects but are not in s...

Страница 72: ...lick on the Delete Folder icon o Right click and select Delete Folder from the popup menu To rename a folder right click and select Rename Folder from the popup menu 4 04 Layers Panel Because of the i...

Страница 73: ...different templates such as a fill that will be done in one color of rhinestones and an outline in another color Other benefits of assigning shapes to specific layers include Ability to select with on...

Страница 74: ...he Layer Properties window Here you can change the name of that layer as well as some other settings Note that the color assignment is for use on the Layers Panels only It doesn t change the color of...

Страница 75: ...ck Unlock icons can be individually changed In this example some basic shapes have been used for a clearer understanding 4 04 3 Creating Folders and Moving Layers As mentioned in Section 4 04 1 each n...

Страница 76: ...s moved into an existing folder The way to control where the layer lands is by moving it straight up and down or by dragging a little to the left while moving it up and down If you drag a layer withou...

Страница 77: ...t of an existing folder into other folders In this example the yellow centers of the flowers in the layers named Flower 1 and Flower 2 can be similarly dragged and dropped into the Yellow Shapes folde...

Страница 78: ...d Ungrouping are covered in Section 5 11 4 05 The eshape Store 4 05 1 Importing from the eshape Store The eshape Store is an online shopping site linked within SCAL Cutting files and fonts can be purc...

Страница 79: ...wing Download Manager window will open and the files you purchased will begin downloading Now open the Library to access the eshape Store files Depending on the file type the downloaded files will eit...

Страница 80: ...er and click on Show Orders Then click on the Download icon 4 05 2 Exporting to the eshape Store To freely share your own SCAL creations go to File Share Project The following window will open If any...

Страница 81: ...keywords based on what other SCAL owners might use to locate a file like yours Description Enter information about the file that will help an owner know if it s what they might want or need After com...

Страница 82: ...es to include the start of an embedded YouTube video link o Alternatively you can link to an MP4 video located elsewhere Finally click on the Instructions tab and enter any instructions for the projec...

Страница 83: ...ctor parts of a PDF will import into SCAL AI Adobe lllustrator common format due to the popularity of Adobe Illustrator EPS another common export format for many vector programs Nine embroidery file f...

Страница 84: ...iginal source of the vector file double lines may exist which will result in cutting a design twice This is usually due to the source program having a Stroke width applied to the lines Therefore any t...

Страница 85: ...d PLT are vector formats The others are raster If there are only certain shapes in the file that you want to export you have two options Select those particular shapes before exporting and then mark a...

Страница 86: ...use the image in a digital scrapbooking program You want to print a PNC project from a printer without SCAL installed If you choose any of the raster export formats the same window will open offering...

Страница 87: ...rt entire folders of SVG files at one time 4 07 4 Exporting in PLT Format PLT files were originally developed for HP plotters They are also used by some of the cutters outside of the hobby world The E...

Страница 88: ...CAL2 by going to File Send to Sure Cuts A Lot 2 You will need both versions of SCAL open at the time Because PLT files are usually sent directly to the plotter or cutter the settings are specific to t...

Страница 89: ...rious shapes hold down the left mouse button on the Rectangle icon on the Tools Panel and then select the desired shape from the popup menu Once a different shape is selected that shape s icon will th...

Страница 90: ...rtions resulting in a triangle in which the height will equal the width 5 01 5 Polygon After selecting the Polygon shape drag the left mouse button to form a polygon In the Tool Options a Polygon corn...

Страница 91: ...ns four settings will appear Turns Number of rotations around the center Divergence Tightness of the spiral larger looser smaller tighter Inner Radius Starting point of the spiral Clockwise Whether sp...

Страница 92: ...shape aka marquee select A third way hold the Shift key and marquee select just a portion of the shape A fourth way click on the layer which contains this shape 5 02 1 Basic Selection Handles Once sel...

Страница 93: ...t more than one shape Select the first shape and hold down the Shift key while clicking on additional shapes Drag the mouse marquee select to encompass the shapes Always make sure you start clearly ou...

Страница 94: ...apes in the current project Use one of the methods from Section 5 02 to select all shapes Then delete using any of the prior options listed for deleting a selected shape You can also delete a layer of...

Страница 95: ...changed by going to Edit Preferences and then selecting the Edit tab This window also offers the option to force shapes to remain within the boundaries of the Cutting Mat while being moved with the m...

Страница 96: ...ing With the shape selected use your mouse to drag the lower right corner of the shape to freely resize If you want to keep the width and height proportional hold the Shift key down before dragging th...

Страница 97: ...Panel You will need to hold the Shift key to maintain proportions when resizing by dragging the lower right corner If you need to make the shape an exact size then enter the dimension in the W or H b...

Страница 98: ...ion change or percentage will be applied as if there were no bounding box around the shapes o For example take three 1 inch squares that are 1 inch apart from one another Select all three and apply a...

Страница 99: ...11 875 x 11 875 If the circle is placed on a 15 x 15 mat then it resizes to 14 85 x 14 875 However if the circle is placed on letter size mat 8 5 x 11 then it becomes an oval A practical example migh...

Страница 100: ...bottom of the screen will indicate the current degree of rotation Note the Status Bar will continue to show the last degree of rotation until another shape is selected and rotated A selected shape can...

Страница 101: ...to skew the shape With the shape selected open the Rotate window by using one of these two methods o Right click and select Transform Rotate o Go to Object Transform Rotate Then switch from Angle to S...

Страница 102: ...ol can be applied to anything 5 08 Mirroring and Flipping To horizontally mirror a shape select it and then use one of the following Right click on the screen and select Transform Flip Horizontal Mirr...

Страница 103: ...he shape or folder on the Layers Panel and click on the Lock icon or double click and uncheck the Lock option To unlock all locked shapes use any of the following options Right click on a selected unl...

Страница 104: ...s Menu icon and select Show Hide Toggle All Layers 5 11 Grouping and Ungrouping 5 11 1 Group The Group function is used to combine shapes into a new folder on the Layers Panel so that they can be more...

Страница 105: ...ing applied to the same word Bob to separate the internal closed paths also called child shapes from the external paths also called parent shapes Before applying Ungroup After applying Ungroup Before...

Страница 106: ...le shape This is basically the opposite function to Break Apart After selecting two or more shapes the Merge function can be accessed in either of the following ways Go to Object Merge Press Ctrl Shif...

Страница 107: ...yers was presented and could be used here to change the order of the shapes However another way to reorder these shapes is to select one and then access the Arrange functions using one of the followin...

Страница 108: ...if any of the other layers had been locked or hidden the movement of the triangle would have been the same In other words if the red heart had been hidden and or locked the triangle would still have e...

Страница 109: ...uts This can be helpful in designing a project and also in print and cut applications To open this panel click on the Fill Stroke icon on the Properties Panel Shapes can be filled with nothing a solid...

Страница 110: ...rough the shape if the Show Grid option on the Document Panel is turned on 5 14 2 Color Fill From the Fill menu select Color and then click on the color box to the right The following Color Picker win...

Страница 111: ...hange so you can immediately see the effects Once you have the color you wish to use click on OK However if you want that same color available to select again within this same file click on Add to cus...

Страница 112: ...My Patterns select common raster file formats e g BMP PNG JPG The pattern settings can be used to modify how the pattern appears in the filled shape for example The other tab Load image can be used to...

Страница 113: ...lowing window where a gradient can be designed Type Choose Linear for a left to right gradient Choose Radial for a center outwards gradient Click here to load a raster file Uploaded image Pattern sett...

Страница 114: ...ou inadvertently add a marker or decide you don t want one or more of the new ones drag the marker downward and it will be removed Position The Position value is a location from 0 to 100 and applies t...

Страница 115: ...name this Preset To access your saved Gradient Presets click on the Presets tab and the menu will appear 5 14 5 Opacity Just below the Fill setting is Opacity Decreasing the Opacity setting will make...

Страница 116: ...ve a Stroke assignment using one of the following choices None The shape will not have an outline Note that if you also choose None for the Fill then you will not be able to see the shape at all unles...

Страница 117: ...u choose Pen Color and then click on the box to the right the Choose Pen Color window opens o Select the desired color from the menu and click OK You also have the option to create your own custom Pen...

Страница 118: ...he same menu where you can add new colors are options to Remove Color or Rename Color Before you can use these options you will need to close and reopen SCAL Opacity Decreasing the Opacity setting wil...

Страница 119: ...l difference if the Stroke Width is small Thus to illustrate Join a Stroke Width of 20 will be used End Caps Unclosed shapes such as lines and arcs can have the Stroke shape on the ends changed simila...

Страница 120: ...apes In the event you decide the stroke should be its own shape select the shape and go to Path Stroke to Path You can now drag the stroke shape away from the original If you want the new outline shap...

Страница 121: ...s Stroke Width or Opacity will not be copied onto the selected shape On the other hand if the Fill is a pattern or gradient it will be copied You can also fill multiple shapes at once Note however tha...

Страница 122: ...ake multiple copies refer to the Duplicate function described later in this section 5 17 3 Pasting from the Clipboard There are three Paste functions in SCAL Paste pastes the shape offset slightly 0 2...

Страница 123: ...on how this function can be used to create a border There is also a Duplicate Rotated function to arrange the duplicates in a circular formation Because this is more typically used for design purpose...

Страница 124: ...e Align to Page is checked Select To Page on the Position Size panel With the shapes selected the horizontal alignment options are Align Left aligns shapes along the left side of the Cutting Mat Align...

Страница 125: ...ure the alignment mode is set to Align to Selection This is done by either making sure To Selection is chosen on the Position Size panel or by going to Object Alignment and making sure Align to Select...

Страница 126: ...Mat or you can Distribute to Selection selected shapes There s also a third called Distribute to Selection Below which distributes based on whatever shape is positioned at the lowest level on the Laye...

Страница 127: ...rple arrows indicate equal spacing With the shapes selected the horizontal distribute options are Distribute Left spaces shapes so that the left sides of each shape are the same distance apart Distrib...

Страница 128: ...ape are the same distance apart Distribute Center Vertically spaces shapes so that the centers of each shape are the same distance apart Distribute Bottom spaces shapes so that the bottom sides of eac...

Страница 129: ...selected the horizontal distribute options are Distribute Left spaces shapes so that the left sides of each shape are the same distance apart Distribute Center Horizontally spaces shapes so that the...

Страница 130: ...pplications to share and the developer hasn t responded to my request for assistance Thus I can only explain what happens when you apply it Maybe one of our readers will figure out a great use for it...

Страница 131: ...e the purple circle that s both furthest to the right and furthest towards the bottom equal to 3 in size instead of just 1 and then apply the same Distribute options Distribute Left The new location f...

Страница 132: ...circle in both of the opposite directions In other words when applying Distribute Left the purple circle was the rightmost shape When applying Distribute Top the purple circle was the bottommost shape...

Страница 133: ...ck the Text Settings icon on the Properties Panel to open the Text Panel Select from the Font drop down menu Go to Text Font Click on the Fonts tab in the Library refer to Section 4 03 2 If you are lo...

Страница 134: ...ction only to more easily decide which ones you might like to use Expand the window and highlight those you want to further compare After scrolling through fonts and highlighting only those of further...

Страница 135: ...le sample you can then click on Change Font The text will now be changed to the new font 6 02 3 Temporarily Installing a Font If you want to load a new font that s not already installed on your comput...

Страница 136: ...font you select from the drop down menu If you have no plans to edit the text then you can avoid the message by converting text before saving the file To do this select the text and apply one of the...

Страница 137: ...new text at that location When done either press the Esc key or click on the Select icon on the Tools Panel 6 04 2 Vertical Type Tool Hold down the mouse button on the Type Tool icon on the Tools Pan...

Страница 138: ...ool icon on the Tools Panel and select the third choice Type on Path Tool Click on or inside the shape and begin typing In the Tools Options a setting appears which allows you to move the start point...

Страница 139: ...n imaginary circle Hold down the mouse button on the Type Tool icon on the Tools Panel and select the last choice Type on arch Click anywhere on the Cutting Mat and begin typing In the Tools Options t...

Страница 140: ...instructions in Section 8 04 Then click on the Selection Tool icon at the top of the Tools Panel With the text selected you can now change any of these various settings and the changes will immediate...

Страница 141: ...then try applying again o Instead of using Bold you can use Effects Shadow Layer refer to Section 9 05 or Path Offset Path Section 8 05 o Instead of using Italic you can use the Skew function refer to...

Страница 142: ...her and can result in overlapping Leading Changes the spacing between lines of text V Offset Raises or lowers a line of text or more commonly can be used to raise and lower individually selected lette...

Страница 143: ...apply Ungroup Section 6 06 With the letters split you can select one or more and use the left and right arrow keys to change the spacing between letters overlapping as desired It is advisable to zoom...

Страница 144: ...hapes or if you need to thicken a font that turns out to be too thin for cutting refer to Section 9 05 6 08 Incorporating Shapes into a Title A quick way to incorporate a shape into a welded title is...

Страница 145: ...cutting For example let s take an extreme case with Arial font and the name Billy Note what happens when you overlap the letters in this particular font Most crafters will start looking for a differe...

Страница 146: ...ed to connect Click on the Stencil Bridge icon and in the Tools Options at the top a setting for the width or thickness of the bridge can be set The Size you enter will normally relate to the height a...

Страница 147: ...download here http www iloveknk com Support Software Open Path Fonts Because these are open path they may not appear on the Cutting Mat when you first add them You will need to select a Stroke color o...

Страница 148: ...at those shapes be joined first using Object Merge When preparing text you want as little white space as possible Thus here are some guidelines Select a thick dark font In the examples in this section...

Страница 149: ...tle will rotate towards you Decreasing the Angle setting will rotate away Height This setting works in an opposite manner to how one would expect Increasing Height will make the text less rotated wher...

Страница 150: ...font is that some of its characters are unusually large For years I ve simply manually resized the letters that were too high relative to others in that font With the The word Great is typed using th...

Страница 151: ...ter B is shorter than the A and C When applying Path Front Minus Back the result would be The letters are selected and Fixed Height Proportional is applied The letters are then resized to fit the rect...

Страница 152: ...the dot puzzle in which little dots called nodes or points are connected to each another with paths either straight lines or curves Digital die cutters need those paths so that they can communicate to...

Страница 153: ...me of the colors blend such as the brown dog on the brown carpet mentioned earlier For your own personal use there are many images that can be found on the Internet Use Google Images to search and fin...

Страница 154: ...th the name of the file and the size in pixels Alternatively before opening the Trace Image window you can import the raster file using File Place Image Then with the image selected open the Trace Ima...

Страница 155: ...when you want to single out a certain color to be traced or when the multi color image needs to have colors traced exactly as displayed This would be a typical choice for an HTV application where you...

Страница 156: ...the image More nodes result but increasing the setting can be especially important in some PNC print and cut applications where the cut line needs to precisely follow the printed image Refer to Secti...

Страница 157: ...layers grouped one will be labeled Print and the other layer will be labeled Cut Refer to Section 7 03 7 Output Most of the settings in the Output section do not affect the final result with the excep...

Страница 158: ...ntinue Tracing Mark this option if you want to remain in the Trace Image window after clicking on OK so that other trace settings can be used tested with the same image or another image imported 7 03...

Страница 159: ...mage Effects of Smooth As mentioned at the end of Section 7 02 silhouette images typically offer an easy trace In this next example a silhouette cat image is imported into the Trace Image window Becau...

Страница 160: ...Detail Either the Despeckle option or the Detail setting can be used to filter out small shapes Sometimes these shapes are just random pixels that show up from say a dirty scanner bed Other times the...

Страница 161: ...rking the option for Despeckle and clicking on Update Preview removes the specks and the image is ready to import Detail The Detail setting allows one to control the size of the small shapes that are...

Страница 162: ...and Blackout The Single Line Threshold setting is useful when the imported image had a black border around it and you do not want a double line trace For example if the following T shirt image is tra...

Страница 163: ...arent background is identified Note that it wasn t necessary to adjust the Contrast setting because of the transparent background This will not always be the case if there are internal cut lines that...

Страница 164: ...f the border between the image and the background color The following image is imported and traced with the default of x 1 0 left as the Resample setting Before clicking on OK note two settings that h...

Страница 165: ...be assigned as Print Cut Print layer can only be printed not cut Click on OK and the following layers appear Cut Layer Assignment Print Layer Assignment Returning to the Resample setting the same imag...

Страница 166: ...et after the trace if needed to create a path that will cut just inside the image Refer to the Inset Offset option in Section 8 05 7 03 8 Resample Versus Smooth and the High Pass Filter In many respec...

Страница 167: ...ves the accuracy of the trace over Smooth Using a Resample of x 1 0 and other settings set which will again be used when Smooth is tested the trace results in the following Since an important focal po...

Страница 168: ...te some unwanted paths Alternatively you can use the Draw Mask option to edit while still in the Trace Image window Refer to Section 7 03 11 For more details on the High Pass Filter refer to Section 7...

Страница 169: ...age and what you want in your final trace the Max Colors can be increased or decreased Because this image has two shades of pink and two shades of green those can be added to the count After accepting...

Страница 170: ...aced The disadvantage is that it takes a bit more effort Again the same flower image that was used in the prior section will be opened into the Trace Image window When Single Color is selected from th...

Страница 171: ...e flower were included as being in the range of that shade If you want to add more of the green parts of the flower then increase the Contrast As you hold down the left mouse button and scroll the ima...

Страница 172: ...of the same petals are filled out thus it is recommended to always tweak the Contrast some If the Contrast is increased even higher the center part of the flower gets added Just as in the case of usin...

Страница 173: ...ck on the part of the image that is black mark the Blackout option Switch to Monochrome mode mark the Blackout option Forgo using the Trace window Select the layers traced so far and use the Shadow La...

Страница 174: ...d another option menu appears Mask Foreground This option allows you to freely draw shapes to be added to the trace For example in the prior screenshot you ll observe that the fishing pole line is not...

Страница 175: ...ly welded to the part of the fishing line that was traced Background This option allows you to erase anything that s not wanted in the current tracing For example the bird just to the right of the tre...

Страница 176: ...gin to be erased Continue until there s no longer any green Click on Update Preview and the red outline and green fill of the bird is now gone Click on OK and the resulting changes from both masks hav...

Страница 177: ...the first image is with High Pass Filter turned off The subsequent images show what happens as the High Pass Filter is set a 0 1 10 and 20 Obviously none of these appear to be what you would want The...

Страница 178: ...he trace lines you can then use the Draw Mask function from Section 7 03 11 to erase these extra unwanted lines and to fill in any areas within the image The final result Converting a Photo to a Digit...

Страница 179: ...s 7 04 1 The Draw Tool The Draw Tool is accessed by clicking on the 5th icon on the Tools Panel This tool is used to draw straight lines and B zier curves It can be a bit tricky to master but just lik...

Страница 180: ...you can later correct your curves using the Shape Tool refer to Section 8 10 To draw a curve use your mouse to left click once where you want to begin the curve Then instead of left clicking hold the...

Страница 181: ...e left mouse button and press the Esc key or press the Enter key to stop the drawing process Adding and Deleting Nodes Zoom in on the curve select it and then click on the Draw Tool icon To add a node...

Страница 182: ...ng to the start To close the shape select it and go to Path Close Path 7 04 3 Brush Drawing The Brush tool is accessed by clicking on the 7th icon on the Tools Panel It is used to freehand draw thick...

Страница 183: ...the path changes directions Then you can go back and manually move nodes and drag curves to fit the original image This process is presented in the next few subsections 7 05 1 Importing an Image for...

Страница 184: ...ight lines exist This will help you understand where to click as you work around the image But don t overthink it Remember that you can add nodes delete nodes and move nodes during the editing process...

Страница 185: ...actly as presented should yield successful results With the Shape Tool selected click on the neckline path The two nodes on either side will be blue If you need to move either node click on the node t...

Страница 186: ...es disappear just click on the path again Once the neckline is curved go over to the sleeve and repeat the process for both parts of the sleeve since one side curves inwards and the other side curves...

Страница 187: ...d click on Update Preview Continue adjusting Center X until the image is to your satisfaction After clicking on OK the dress is complete and the original image is no longer needed Turning on Show Outl...

Страница 188: ...ys to open the Simplify window after selecting a shape Right click and select Path Simplify Go to Path Simplify The Simplify window shows the nodes of the selected image in two side by side windows an...

Страница 189: ...elect a node by zooming in on the shape and as you move your cursor towards the node the cursor icon will change when you are close enough to click on it Then you can access Split Path using either of...

Страница 190: ...lect that left side line and change to a dashed cut on the Fill Stroke Panel The left side of the window will now cut dashed Alternatively the left side could have been left solid and scored with an e...

Страница 191: ...Paths Join Paths will connect two nodes from two different open paths if those nodes are in very close proximity to one another To access Join Paths select the two open shapes and go to Path Join Pat...

Страница 192: ...et will fill with the same color and the original will be deleted Type controls the style or shape of the offset at the corners There are three choices Note that the first choice Regular also has a Mi...

Страница 193: ...was offset by only 0 005 A second practical example showing the use of Inset Offset is the following print and cut application A PNG with a transparent background was traced using the Trace function...

Страница 194: ...pe by dragging your mouse across the shape The Tool Options for the Eraser include the following Eraser Shape Choose either Circle or Square Size select a thickness for the erasure Scroll up and down...

Страница 195: ...ing there are other options available The Crop tool can be accessed by holding down the left mouse button on this icon and then selecting Crop from the popup menu Click and hold this icon You can now...

Страница 196: ...tly vertical Hold the Shift key and click and hold the left mouse button and drag diagonally the red cut line will be at exactly 45o If you wish to close the cut shapes select them and either Go to Pa...

Страница 197: ...r half of the pink doily With the Crop Selection Only box checked the shape is selected first and then only the bottom half is deleted IMPORTANT If left unchecked only the marquee selected part of the...

Страница 198: ...t be useful if you are already in the Shape Tool mode where you can then select the nodes and apply the Split Otherwise Knife is probably the easier tool to use 8 09 Ruler The Ruler function allows yo...

Страница 199: ...d a blue dotted line will appear In this example when measuring for the distance a the H should be zero since it s a vertical measurement only In fact making sure H is 0 is one way to make sure the W...

Страница 200: ...th editing involves moving paths as well as reshaping them This topic was first introduced in Section 7 05 where you were shown how to draw with the Draw Tool and then curve a straight line path If yo...

Страница 201: ...selecting the path on its right side then that would have resulted in shortening the section to the right of it Thus to maintain the dimensions of the right section both paths need to be moved at the...

Страница 202: ...can also be accessed by right clicking and selecting Path Convert Node to To illustrate each one of these options a simple path with a sharp corner will be used This shape is already in Corner Node m...

Страница 203: ...ell in order to maintain that straight line o The left side B zier control point controls the curve on the left side Thus if it had been moved instead this would have resulted Symmetric Nodes In this...

Страница 204: ...ply The following examples show what occurs when the first two options are applied to curves and the last two options are applied to straight lines Convert Node to Corner Convert Node to Cusp Convert...

Страница 205: ...oth curve For example let s say you want to make the following shape have a nice smooth curve Using the Shape Tool click on the curve to reveal the node Then click on the third icon if needed so that...

Страница 206: ...path is reshaped 8 10 4 Applications for the Shape Tool It s not always obvious when the Shape Tool might be needed Here are a few examples to keep in mind Editing of pixel traced images Sometimes a...

Страница 207: ...ith a particular location on a cut shape examine the nodes in that location You may find a cluster of nodes or a sharp cusp Delete those excess nodes reform the path and then retest the cut Modifying...

Страница 208: ...ur files Using this feature is of course entirely optional To open the Project Info window go to Window Project Info The following example shows some of the optional information you can add in this wi...

Страница 209: ...ng on the box next to Show Guidelines on the Document Panel To open the Guidelines Edit window either go to View Guidelines Edit Guidelines or click on the Edit button next to Show Guidelines The foll...

Страница 210: ...unlock all guidelines and delete clear all guidelines is also available under View Guidelines To have shapes snap to the guidelines go to View Snap To Guidelines and make sure that option is checked...

Страница 211: ...umbnail will cause it to become larger and will display the name of the template Zoom tools Image of current template Change Fill Color Remove template from Cutting Mat Position of template on Cutting...

Страница 212: ...review is useful while customizing the settings Once a template is selected you have the following settings for customizing Size adjust the W and H settings to change the width and height of the templ...

Страница 213: ...wing functions are now available You can import new template files into the My Mats folder by clicking Add File You can also create new subfolders within My Mats by clicking on Add Folder These same t...

Страница 214: ...to create an outline or an inline of any shape including of course text After selecting a shape you can access the function in either of two ways Go to Effects Shadow Layer Contour Cut Right click an...

Страница 215: ...ur that is larger than the original shape a contour is created that is smaller and fits inside the original shape For example let s say you are going to create a two color vinyl sign that says For Sal...

Страница 216: ...ber of shadow layers to be created Layer size variance If left at 1 0 the increasing thickness of each layer will be based on the original Size of the first shadow If less than 1 the increasing thickn...

Страница 217: ...or more selected shapes The color of the new shape will be that of the bottom most shape To apply this operation select two or more shapes and use one of the following Go to Path Union Press Alt U Rig...

Страница 218: ...section One example involves filling a shape with a pattern This pattern was designed by using the Duplicate function to create a grid of hearts Then by applying Object Merge on the hearts it is now a...

Страница 219: ...ration select two shapes and use one of the following Go to Path Exclude Right click and select Path Exclude After applying use Object Break Apart if you need to move one shape away from the other As...

Страница 220: ...hape To apply this operation select two shapes and use one of the following Go to Path Front Minus Back Right click and select Front Minus Back As an example add the word HELLO to the card designed in...

Страница 221: ...Front Any examples for Back Minus Front are essentially the same as for Front Minus Back When choosing which to use check the Layers Panel and think about which one you need to remain Alternatively ju...

Страница 222: ...t Clip Path If you apply Clip Path to two vector shapes both shapes will still cut out To avoid that select the shape that you do not want to cut and change the Cut Line Type on the Style Panel to Pri...

Страница 223: ...ve results after Clip Mask is applied To restore the original shapes either Go to Object Clip Mask Release Clip Mask Reset the Clipping option to None on the Style Panel Note that the shapes will be g...

Страница 224: ...e H Offset setting shifts the center of rotation toward the right leaving the original in the same location on the Cutting Mat Because the stars must spread out in order to keep the original in its sa...

Страница 225: ...ern using the desired number of shapes Note that the greyed out box below Rotate is changing as you add more shapes o Change the Rotate to Custom and then because you want a semi circle of shapes divi...

Страница 226: ...pattern is obtained After creating the pattern go to Path Union to remove the overlap and the shape is ready to cut 9 08 3 Using Duplicate Rotated to Design a Frame In Section 9 06 1 the Duplicate and...

Страница 227: ...to Effects Object on Path Because there are so many settings in this window only about half will be explained at this point Increase V Offset until the four corners look perfect Frame is formed Shape...

Страница 228: ...h Choose Middle to have the center of the shape aligned along the path Offset This is how far away from the path you want the repeats to be For example if you choose Bottom for Alignment and then 0 15...

Страница 229: ...creenshot Remove path Mark this option if you will no longer need the path shape in this case the oval Remove original object Mark this option if you will no longer need the original shape in this cas...

Страница 230: ...on Path Note that since there is only one shape involved Repeat is left at Count and set to 0 Next two new settings are applied Warp to path causes the arrow to bend curve to fit the spiral After cli...

Страница 231: ...Wrapper The Wrapper feature can be used for shaping designs to fit around conical shapes in which the top is a different diameter than the bottom Some typical applications include tumblers and cupcak...

Страница 232: ...side pattern based on the cup s dimensions If you plan to cut that template then check the box next to Add Template Otherwise it won t be on the Cutting Mat after you click on OK Adjust the X Offset a...

Страница 233: ...the project is ready for completion 9 11 Lattice The Lattice feature can be used to create a lattice design within a shape or as part of the shape itself To access this feature select one or more shap...

Страница 234: ...is too small it might be difficult to cut Lines Horizontal Only Lines Vertical Only Lines Normal Width 0 1 in Gap 0 2 in Width 0 15 in Gap 0 2 in Width 0 1 in Gap 0 25 in Choose Normal Horizontal or V...

Страница 235: ...An example of when Inverse would not be checked is when you want to attach weld a latticed shape to something else In the following example a latticed heart is attached to the center of a ring A ring...

Страница 236: ...e would be checked is when you want a lattice aperture cut from the front of a greeting card Using the same heart as above make sure Inverse is selected Arrange the latticed heart over a base greeting...

Страница 237: ...size the design SCAL does have the ability to regenerate the rhinestone pattern maintaining the original selected stone size and spacing But in order to have a good sense of how the design is going to...

Страница 238: ...stone Outline In this example the initials from a high school will be outlined As mentioned previously the first step is to size the width and height of the design Make sure there is enough space betw...

Страница 239: ...ls how much spacing will be used is also available to adjust Note that the higher the Threshold the more increase in spacing you may see So typically you want to keep that value lower versus higher If...

Страница 240: ...nes as a result of switching to a line fill Rhinestones are typically sold by the gross and 1 gross equals 144 stones Thus this design would require over 5 gross of stones compared to just under 2 gro...

Страница 241: ...ow or after editing or not at all The circles will still remain as individual shapes Again this does not affect how the design cuts the simulation is only for displaying or printing If the design is e...

Страница 242: ...se the spacing functions covered in Section 5 19 2 In the heart example an additional heart is added at the top to balance the two sides Also the sixth row of circles are selected and Distribute Cente...

Страница 243: ...shadow layer At the end of this section the Shadow Size formula is shown for the situation when the stones are not identical in size Next select the design and the shadow and make a backup copy Then...

Страница 244: ...sing Purchased Rhinestone Fonts and Designs One of the best investments you can make if you are planning to do a lot of rhinestone applications is to buy files instead of trying to make your own While...

Страница 245: ...ize of rhinestones you ll be using To find out what size these circles are select the text and go to Object Break Apart Then select just one circle and check the size on the Position Size Panel The ci...

Страница 246: ...t manner and the design will work The other alternative would have been to use size SS8 or size SS6 stones instead Resizing patterns involves the same process Insert the purchased file Break Apart det...

Страница 247: ...Rows proportionately For example instead of having 5 Columns and 4 Rows double the number to 10 Columns and 8 Rows But don t use for example 10 Columns and 3 Rows with these dimensions Variance This...

Страница 248: ...use It will then appear on the right side and can be selected Enter the same Size Width and Height used when the jigsaw pattern was created and then click on Preview Click on OK and the jigsaw puzzle...

Страница 249: ...ollowing example text will be used to show the effects of the settings X Axis Rotation Y Axis Rotation Z Axis Rotation Increase the Perspective for 3D effect Rotate along the 3 axes as desired Click O...

Страница 250: ...creasing Y Offset will extend the extrusion downwards while decreasing it will retract the extrusion towards the top Note that X Offset has been set to 0 and Depth is at the default of 0 5 Option to u...

Страница 251: ...ut away from the extrusion This would be the typical choice when layering HTV where some types cannot be pressed on top of each other such as glitter HTV Color Clicking on the colored box to the right...

Страница 252: ...the text and go to Effects Barrel Distortion As you increase the Threshold you will see a narrowing of the shape in the middle As you decrease the Threshold you will see a thickening of the shape in...

Страница 253: ...d Curve settings will be applied equally to both the top and the bottom In this case the Bottom Offset and Bottom Curve settings will be grayed out Opposite The Offset and Curve settings will be appli...

Страница 254: ...hoose from Separately Together or Opposite Effect of Left Offset and Right Offset Effect of Left Curve and Right Curve Top Offset 2 0 Bottom Offset 0 Top Offset 0 5 Bottom Offset 0 Top Offset 1 0 Bott...

Страница 255: ...se a greater roundness to the lettering Increasing the Angle has the opposite effect At an Angle of 0 the lettering is horizontal A positive Angle setting results in curving the lettering in the other...

Страница 256: ...ve Increasing Cycles adds more peaks along the shape Increasing Amplitude make the peaks higher The Wave function can be used on text to achieve this effect Changes the number of peaks Click OK when d...

Страница 257: ...cts Bridge Warp Increasing Top Offset warps the top of the shape Check this box if you want straight effects versus curved Click OK when done Click here to manually update the preview Check this box t...

Страница 258: ...escale the width versus simply resizing to the same width normally The two examples on the right have the same overall width and height but the lettering from scaling in the Bridge Warp window is comp...

Страница 259: ...asing Y Offset moves the shadow down while decreasing it moves the shadow up Change the color of the shadow Click OK when done Check this box to have the preview update with changes Drop Shadow offset...

Страница 260: ...f the thousands of possibilities The Remove foreground option is the same as that used in the 3D Extrude function It removes the overlap so that one piece is not covering the other This option is obvi...

Страница 261: ...ta Type which includes the following options Each Data Type has its own specific fields to complete In some cases like the URL option there is only one field In a case such as the Contact Information...

Страница 262: ...he default is Left to Right which is the correct option for this example since the right side is the half that needs to be replaced Other options include Right to Left Top to Bottom and Bottom to Top...

Страница 263: ...ign When you are satisfied with the image in the Preview window click on OK and the new shape will replace the prior one on the Cutting Mat Symmetrical Mirror can also be used in designing The followi...

Страница 264: ...d examples Note however that if you later change your mind and you haven t applied any subsequent changes such as those in the Path menu then re selecting Normal from the Style drop down menu will res...

Страница 265: ...ted only It will not appear in the cut window Color layer alignment Pro version only in applications such as vinyl where several layers will be cut from different colors and aligned choose this option...

Страница 266: ...his box to show the Stroke for that shape Check this box for a Print Preview refer to Section 10 03 Option to show registration marks in the Preview Option to show the printing boundaries refer to Sec...

Страница 267: ...Print or press Ctrl P The following window will open To set up printer settings click on the Properties button Note that you can also access your printer s properties by going to File Print Setup and...

Страница 268: ...Mat is larger than the printout dimensions then make sure the shapes are located in the upper left portion of the Cutting Mat or else any shapes outside of the printout boundary will be omitted or cu...

Страница 269: ...spacing between the shapes and the outside weeding rectangle The red line represents that outer cut For example Border Options These icons can be used to add additional cut lines inside the outer weed...

Страница 270: ...used for applications such as glass etching where the outside waste vinyl is actually kept and the shapes themselves are weeded out o 3 or 7 Add horizontal or vertical weed cuts in between shapes and...

Страница 271: ...the following example a design that is 40 wide and 36 tall cannot be cut on a cutter that only has a maximum 15 wide cutting range such as the KNK Force or Zing Orbit To open the Tiling window select...

Страница 272: ...stom Because the tiling line can sometimes fall into undesirable spots resulting in for example slivers or extremely tiny shapes using Custom is another option With it selected you can then use the ic...

Страница 273: ...ill be placed on its own page in the file The first page will retain the original image with no tiling Thus it s not necessary to use the Tiles tab in the Cut Settings window 3 Click on Export and the...

Страница 274: ...ave added to SCAL The following window will open Cut Settings tabs The regular version of SCAL will only have the General tab The PRO version has four additional tabs o Layers refer to Section 10 06 7...

Страница 275: ...on covers the following o Cut Mode Refer to Section 10 07 which covers controlling where shapes will cut o End Action PRO version only controls what happens at the conclusion of the cut There are thre...

Страница 276: ...tion Refer to Section 10 06 2 for directions o Holder has choices for Blade or Pen Like Preset you can enter your own menu choices such as other blades Again refer to Section 10 06 2 o Blade Offset is...

Страница 277: ...asses selected before the blade moves to the next shape to cut Pressure and Speed or other settings for your brand of cutter should be covered in the user manual provided with your cutter Print Cut Cl...

Страница 278: ...n controlling where shapes are cut are presented in Section 10 07 Portrait orientation Cutting Mat in SCAL is set to Portrait orientation Mat is fed this direction Shapes will cut in the upper left co...

Страница 279: ...ect it from the menu and then a button will appear Clicking on that button will then remove it from the list 10 06 3 Cut by Color SCAL PRO only The Cut by Color function offers two capabilities Turn o...

Страница 280: ...t lilac red and orange first You place those colors into quadrants on the mat that match the layout on the Cutting Mat in SCAL In the Cut Settings make sure WYSIWYG mode is selected and you have the o...

Страница 281: ...re is a layered design to be cut from vinyl Choosing the option to Cut each color separately is logical because The shapes are arranged on top of one another The size is so large that the individual c...

Страница 282: ...tely option is chosen Note that you can change the cut order by dragging the colors up or down the menu For example let say you already have black vinyl loaded into the cutter and the origin set to cu...

Страница 283: ...easier small registration shapes can be added to the design and cut with every color so that they can then be lined up when layering color In the Jurassic Park example three small triangles are added...

Страница 284: ...g on OK but before sending the design to cut make the Cutting Mat dimensions fit the design If any of the design extends beyond the boundaries of grid those tiles will not cut Open the Cut Settings wi...

Страница 285: ...lly a window will open showing the first tile to be cut Just as with Cut by Color you can Click on Cut to proceed with cutting that tile After it is cut the next tile will be selected Click on Skip Jo...

Страница 286: ...quite close together when cutting from thinner materials such as vinyl and cardstock In some cases such as with a star you can even use 0 for the Row Spacing since the bottom of the shape is not clos...

Страница 287: ...d in the upper right corner click on Cut Order When you click on Cut Order the following window will open displaying the shapes that will be cut Order Select start location preference from the followi...

Страница 288: ...his option is also usually left marked Roller threshold Select from 0 01 inches to 10 inches based on the maximum roller movement allowed when cutting a series of shapes before advancing the mat mater...

Страница 289: ...esets for the different settings to be used This was covered in Section 10 06 2 2 On the Style Panel assign a Preset to each layer and order layers by Preset 3 In the Cut Order window refer to Section...

Страница 290: ...d the layers with the more exposed blade holder are at the bottom Go to the Cut Settings window and click on the Cut Order tab In the Order menu select Front to Back and the cut order will then be top...

Страница 291: ...t as normal Watch for the job prompt windows to pop up and follow all instructions 10 07 Controlling Where Shapes Will Cut 10 07 1 Overview There are two Orientations for cutting Portrait Shapes will...

Страница 292: ...nted registration marks refer to Chapter 11 The Orientation is set on the Document Panel The choice between Portrait and Landscape is a personal one use whichever one makes the most sense to you For l...

Страница 293: ...th the test pen and paper Eventually it will all make sense to you and of course there s help available if you need it 10 07 2 Origin Point This is the mode recommended for most applications as it eco...

Страница 294: ...pes are cut to align with the origin you set on the cutter Indicates Portrait mode Feed the mat this direction into the cutter Indicates Landscape mode Location of shapes in SCAL Where shapes will dra...

Страница 295: ...tting Mat dimensions should match those of the grid on the actual cutting mat The origin is set in the exact lower right corner of the mat s grid The material needs to be placed on the cutting mat so...

Страница 296: ...n the actual mat as positioned on the SCAL custom mat Indicates Portrait mode This corner corresponds to the origin on the actual mat Location of shapes on the screen Where shapes will draw or cut on...

Страница 297: ...Where shapes will draw or cut on the material Origin set here Shapes are cut in the same location on the material as positioned on the SCAL custom mat This corner corresponds to the origin on the mat...

Страница 298: ...Portrait Center Point Landscape Mode Note that the alignment is based on the center of the bounding box around the shapes Origin set here Where shapes will draw or cut on the material Shapes are cente...

Страница 299: ...ction clockwise versus counterclockwise can be checked using the following steps Select the shape right click and select Path Path Details A window will open On the left side is a list of the paths in...

Страница 300: ...ditional intersecting lines to the pattern which can result in a more complete fill but will take longer to engrave or draw Alternate Line Direction This controls whether the tool always returns to th...

Страница 301: ...rn created using the Pierce function If you find that your design has holes that are not evenly spaced try altering the spacing by tiny increments and clicking on Preview For example the star shape us...

Страница 302: ...circle size available SS000 10 11 Nest The Nest function rearranges all of the shapes on the current page in an effort to economize the area occupied For example let s say you want to cut out these 10...

Страница 303: ...value As with Max Rotations the higher the number the longer the rendering time for the nesting function Ungroup If any of the shapes are grouped together but you do not want them treated as a group w...

Страница 304: ...are all selected and grouped together on the Layers Panel as are the red shapes IMPORTANT Even if you were to lock or hide one of the layers the Nest function will attempt to include it Thus separate...

Страница 305: ...ere are no other hidden layers and that the Ungroup box is checked before applying Update Preview End result two pages with the red shapes nested on one and the green shapes nested on the other Ungrou...

Страница 306: ...306...

Страница 307: ...e in the Path menu then re selecting Normal from the Style drop down menu will restore the original style For example let s say you ve applied Blackout to a shape and then cut it out You can now selec...

Страница 308: ...ly Refer to the last part of Section 10 06 2 Tool for cutters with more than one head such as the KNK Force choose if the layer should be executed by the left side or by the right side 10 02 Preview T...

Страница 309: ...ors gradients or patterns then those will not appear either Print registration marks If your application is a print and cut then you will want to check this option Refer to Chapter 11 for details on P...

Страница 310: ...ct Show Print Margins For example let s say you have a PNC application and your shapes are arranged like this on a 12 x 12 Cutting Mat When you click on the Preview icon and mark Show print margins yo...

Страница 311: ...e weeding rectangle The red line represents that outer cut For example Border Options These icons can be used to add additional cut lines inside the outer weed border Each icon in the following screen...

Страница 312: ...ste vinyl is actually kept and the shapes themselves are weeded out o 3 or 7 Add horizontal or vertical weed cuts in between shapes and outer weed border and also inside and between shapes o 4 or 8 Ad...

Страница 313: ...ing example a design that is 40 wide and 36 tall cannot be cut on a cutter that only has a maximum 15 wide cutting range such as the KNK Force or Zing Orbit To open the Tiling window select the shape...

Страница 314: ...stom Because the tiling line can sometimes fall into undesirable spots resulting in for example slivers or extremely tiny shapes using Custom is another option With it selected you can then use the ic...

Страница 315: ...ut Settings The cut settings will vary from one cutter to the next based on the brand and model of that cutter and its built in functionality For this reason the information presented here will only a...

Страница 316: ...6 Preview Cut Settings tabs PRO version Zoom icons for Preview Cutter Settings Connection Settings Print and cut mode Chapter 11 Cut Mode Settings Cutting Drawing Settings Set the origin Execute the c...

Страница 317: ...ntrolling where shapes will cut o End Action PRO version only controls what happens at the conclusion of the cut There are three choices Rewind to origin default setting in which the head returns to t...

Страница 318: ...if you like select from the Preset menu the material you will be cutting Alternatively make any changes to the settings for this material If you wish to save the new settings click on the icon to the...

Страница 319: ...ollowing window will open o In general you always set the origin in the lower right corner of the material as was presented in Section 1 06 Note This may not be true with other brands of cutters Previ...

Страница 320: ...ented in Section 10 07 10 06 2 Cut by Color SCAL PRO only The Cut by Color function offers two capabilities Portrait orientation Cutting Mat in SCAL is set to Portrait orientation Mat is fed this dire...

Страница 321: ...e shapes laid out on the Cutting Mat Note how the grid is set to divide the mat into four quadrants Let s say you also have scraps you want to use however the yellow scrap you plan to use won t fit on...

Страница 322: ...used for the remaining yellow shapes Cut each color separately Separate jobs In this mode you can also turn or off colors for cutting However SCAL will prompt for each color before executing the cut...

Страница 323: ...xample the thin red lettering Jurassic Park would cut through the background red circle hence it needs to be moved away In the Cut Settings Origin Point should be chosen so that each color is moved to...

Страница 324: ...under Cut Line Type on the Style Panel In applications such as the one just presented it can be tricky aligning the various colors after cutting To make the job easier small registration shapes can b...

Страница 325: ...Cut by Color tab is then selected the registration triangles are not in the menu However they do appear in the Preview Then as each color window opens the triangles will appear in the Preview for that...

Страница 326: ...efore sending the design to cut make the Cutting Mat dimensions fit the design If any of the design extends beyond the boundaries of grid those tiles will not cut Open the Cut Settings window click on...

Страница 327: ...a window will open showing the first tile to be cut Just as with Cut by Color you can o Click on Cut to proceed with cutting that tile After it is cut the next tile will be selected o Click on Skip J...

Страница 328: ...e quite close together when cutting from thinner materials such as vinyl and cardstock In some cases such as with a star you can even use 0 for the Row Spacing since the bottom of the shape is not clo...

Страница 329: ...ith the origin set before cutting Print and Cut Shapes will cut based on aligning the camera with printed registration marks refer to Chapter 11 The Orientation is set on the Document Panel The choice...

Страница 330: ...Cutting Mat Method The virtual Cutting Mat is the same dimensions as the actual cutting mat Material Method Create a custom virtual Cutting Mat that matches the dimension of the material to be cut The...

Страница 331: ...The following figures show examples of where images will cut Use the arrow on the Cutting Mat as a guide to the direction to insert the actual mat or material into your cutter Origin Point Portrait M...

Страница 332: ...in is set in the exact lower right corner of the mat s grid The material needs to be placed on the cutting mat so that it covers the area where the shapes will be cut Material Method The virtual Cutti...

Страница 333: ...on the actual mat as positioned on the SCAL custom mat Indicates Portrait mode This corner corresponds to the origin on the actual mat Location of shapes on the screen Where shapes will draw or cut on...

Страница 334: ...n the material as positioned on the SCAL custom mat This corner corresponds to the origin on the material The Cutting Mat is now letter sized to match the material Location of shapes on the screen Whe...

Страница 335: ...t inside the lower right corner of the mat or material with Center Point mode you want to set the origin in the center of the material or mat Center Point Portrait Center Point Landscape Mode Origin s...

Страница 336: ...solved by reversing the direction of a cut In SCAL the cut direction clockwise versus counterclockwise can be checked using the following steps Select the shape right click and select Path Path Detail...

Страница 337: ...agonal pattern in the prior screenshot using an Angle of 45 Cross Hatch Increasing Cross Hatch adds additional intersecting lines to the pattern which can result in a more complete fill but will take...

Страница 338: ...reen the cutter head will be making downward punch movements At this time there is no editing available for a pattern created using the Pierce function If you find that your design has holes that are...

Страница 339: ...e that has the Pierce effect applied and want to remove it even after the file has been saved and re opened select the shape and go to Object Remove Effects For more information on using a punch tool...

Страница 340: ...ee typical kinds of print and cut applications There are more examples than these so be sure to check out future subsections of this chapter The cut line is along the actual border of the printed imag...

Страница 341: ...repeated the process enough times to feel very comfortable with the order of the steps but you ll have your calibration perfected and then be ready to do future PNC s quickly and with ease It is recom...

Страница 342: ...n the document area 5 Because this calibration file was created for calibrating in C3 it contains a registration mark layer not needed in SCAL On the Layers Bar select the Reg Marks layer and delete i...

Страница 343: ...ction 11 03 3 Entering Settings and Printing 1 Click on the Cutter icon to open the cut window 2 Click on the Settings button to open the Cutter Settings windows Click here to open Cut Settings window...

Страница 344: ...llowing settings Use whatever Cutting Depth works best for cutting your printer paper Important Keep the Up Speed and Cut Speed low as shown 5 Load the blade holder onto the left side using Replace To...

Страница 345: ...o the alignment Do not set an XY origin using the Set origin button in the Cut Settings window There is a software bug that will cause the final cut to be located at the origin instead of based on the...

Страница 346: ...reen buttons or the arrow keys on your keyboard to perfectly align the center of the red with the corner of the reg mark 4 Once the red is centered as shown in the far right screenshot then click on N...

Страница 347: ...nd Y Camera Offsets 1 After the print and cut is completed examine how the cut lines were made relative to the printed lines If the offset is large enough use a metric ruler to measure If the offset i...

Страница 348: ...xes in the back of the cutter Make sure the blade isn t cutting too deeply into the mat Lower the CD if necessary IMPORTANT Once you have your calibration completed write down these final X and Y offs...

Страница 349: ...current bug you need to change the Camera offset values in C3 before using Auto PNC in SCAL Open C3 and click on the Settings tab In the Basic settings window change the Units to Inches Then click on...

Страница 350: ...you want to try out 5 Go to the Cut Settings window make any necessary adjustments to CD CS etc Then click on Print Cut 6 Click on Print and print your test file with reg marks 7 Click on Calibrate C...

Страница 351: ...blade holder so that it is approximately over the lower right reg mark not the upper left which is used with manual PNC 10 Click on Next and the camera will project an image so that you can see the re...

Страница 352: ...el and under File Print Setup to Landscape and orient the printout the correct way on the cutting mat There is no need to modify the camera calibrations Currently however Landscape mode does NOT work...

Страница 353: ...NG If the program is a vector designing program such as Illustrator export the file as AI For vectors only export the cut lines 3 In SCAL set the document cutting mat dimensions to also match that whi...

Страница 354: ...a complete test print and cut on copy paper before printing on expensive materials 8 Before printing the design make sure the registration marks show but the cut lines do not Change layer position or...

Страница 355: ...using the Force rotary tool refer to Chapter 13 12 02 Calibrating Two Tools for Alignment The calibration process involves having two tools which have been inserted into the Force draw a calibration...

Страница 356: ...up A simple shape with vertical and horizontal lines works best for calibrating two tools In this example the square from the Basic Shapes folder in the Library will be used After adding the shape to...

Страница 357: ...Tool Follow the instructions that appear Then repeat for the other side Click on Set Origin and set the origin based on the tip of the left side tool Under Tool select 1 left and then enter the settin...

Страница 358: ...drawing too far right decrease X If right tool is drawing too high increase Y OR If right tool is drawing too low decrease Y Also remember that Increasing a negative number makes it less negative e g...

Страница 359: ...e Force It s not necessary to tighten both screws as long as one of them can lock onto a flat vertical surface on the tool For glue pens and ball point pens it s best to prime them scribble on scrap p...

Страница 360: ...sive settings when scoring can cause the cutting mat to skew resulting in cut lines no longer properly aligned with the score lines Here are several suggestions for correcting this problem Reduce the...

Страница 361: ...raft foam and rhinestone rubber Press the soft material to the mat and place tape on the outside edges to protect it Also use a low Plunge Speed 20 or lower to help protect the delicate tip If you are...

Страница 362: ...mments 2015 2019 Sandy McCauley All Rights Reserved Application Drawing Embossing Debossing Scoring Engraving Punching etc Tool Pen Glue Pen Embosser small end Embosser large end Engraver Piercer etc...

Страница 363: ...C Pearlescent Bright Burst 250 gsm Debossing Embosser small end Mat 1 80 20 30 C C Create Craft sold in UK Cardstock First Edition 216 gm Debossing Embosser small end Mat 1 80 20 40 C C Create Craft...

Страница 364: ...tter Be conservative in your approach Use slow Speeds all four as recommended and more Passes versus fewer The general approach to cutting involves these steps 1 Measure the thickness of the material...

Страница 365: ...otary adaptor This attachment should work with most vacuum hoses if you wish to remove the debris while operating the tool Note at the time of this writing the vacuum attachment has not yet shipped Av...

Страница 366: ...ry tool IMPORTANT Be conservative with settings Use slower speeds as recommended in the table which follows Use multiple Passes thus allowing the tool to work its way through the material Set the SD b...

Страница 367: ...Cutter Cutter Settings Surface Height SH 13 04 2 The location where the head will drop for setting the Z origin may need to be lowered for thicker materials use final value in online calculator 13 04...

Страница 368: ...ce Height back to 300 before using your blade holder again for regular cutting The settings in the Chapter 2 tables and your own recorded settings are based on an SH of 300 13 04 3 CD ED Calculator Th...

Страница 369: ...copy paper Optional small piece of aluminum foil or plastic wrap to protect the material from ink Perform this test any time you are cutting a new material 1 If you used a caliper to measure the thic...

Страница 370: ...it is expected that the bit will be cutting into the layer beneath the material in some places Use masking tape to secure this protective layer to the cutting mat 5 Tape a piece of copy paper over the...

Страница 371: ...igin and then execute the drawing of the test shape If the pen fails to make a mark on the paper increase the CD ED by 20 and repeat If the pen makes a dark mark and indents the paper decrease the CD...

Страница 372: ...Turn off the KNK Force and make sure the rotary tool is not plugged in Move the Force head to the left a few inches to allow more room for installing the tool Completely remove the front two screws o...

Страница 373: ...ver the mat to provide a protective layer as mentioned in the Pen test Section 13 05 Click on Replace Tool At this point you should only have the rotary adaptor installed on the left side Click on Con...

Страница 374: ...ert the rotary tool into the adaptor Tighten the adaptor using the included Allen wrench You may find it easier to turn the wrench if you remove the screws from the right side seat Attach the AC DC ad...

Страница 375: ...3 20 0 008 0 20 180 0 072 1 83 30 0 012 0 30 200 0 08 2 03 40 0 016 0 41 220 0 088 2 23 50 0 020 0 51 240 0 096 2 44 60 0 024 0 61 260 0 104 2 64 70 0 028 0 71 280 0 112 2 84 80 0 032 0 81 300 0 120 3...

Страница 376: ...face Height assuming it was changed from the normal setting of 300 13 09 2 Important Checklist Before You Cut Have you measured the thickness of the material and used the online calculator to determin...

Страница 377: ...ion Another is using a smaller bit for cutting Conversely there are situations where an inline is required in order to get the correct final size For example if you are attempting to drill a hole into...

Страница 378: ...s Form for Force Rotary Tool1 Material Type and Thickness Material Brand Source Color etc Bit Type Application SH P SD CD ED CS US PS LS Other Settings and Comments 1 2015 2019 Sandy McCauley All Righ...

Страница 379: ...nts Engraving 1 15 15 20 10 20 Midwest Products 707 01 Super Sheets Mirror Styrene 0 040 Inch Plexiglass aka hard acrylic clearscraps com Engraving 3 1 10 15 15 10 15 1 2015 2016 2018 Accugraphic Sale...

Страница 380: ...ientation Toggle between Landscape and Portrait m Cutter Mat Orientation Right click Show Rulers Toggles Rulers on and off Right click Ruler Units Set units for software in cm mm m View Ruler Units Al...

Страница 381: ...Right click Transform Move Move a shape to a new location Duplicating Shapes Alt drag shape Creates a duplicate of the shape being dragged Alt click on shape Creates a duplicate of shape on top of ori...

Страница 382: ...t View i Library Shapes tab i Library Project tab Change to Thumbnail View i Library Shapes tab i Library Project tab Search on keyword i Library Shapes tab i Library Project tab Sync with eStore or a...

Страница 383: ...Ungroup Ctrl B or right click Break Apart Break a shape into all of its individual paths m Object Break Apart Ctrl Shift B Join selected shapes into a single shape m Object Merge Open Fill Stroke Pane...

Страница 384: ...es i Tools Panel Freehand draw thick lines i Tools Panel Draw basic shapes rectangle rounded rectangle circle triangle polygon star spiral i Tools Panel Measure distances and angles on screen i Tools...

Страница 385: ...rner i Tools Panel Tool Options Right click Path Convert Node to Cusp Convert current selected node to cusp i Tools Panel Tool Options Right click Path Convert Node to Smooth Convert current selected...

Страница 386: ...tact The connector on the main board is usually pretty firm but the connection inside the side cover is more susceptible to shock and should be re seated Turn off the Force and unplug it Perform the s...

Страница 387: ...h this video ____________________ When I first start up the Force and try to make my first cut from SCAL the Force is often disconnected Try clicking on the Reload icon in the Cut Settings window and...

Страница 388: ...t even cuts Instead try increasing the CD ED by 5 and do not use the middle pinch wheel Only use the two outside pinch wheels positioned under the far left and far right gray rectangles ______________...

Страница 389: ...Note that increasing it will sharpen corners but if the value is too high you ll begin to see tiny projections or bubbles ____________________ The outside paths are cutting before the inside paths How...

Страница 390: ...A number of things can cause tearing so work through this check list o Too much force is being applied If you see cut lines in your mat first make sure the Blade Tension is appropriate for the materia...

Страница 391: ...tion on score lines Refer to Section 10 08 ____________________ B4 Software Issues I noticed that some of the settings I see in the screenshots in this manual are not in my version As long as you are...

Страница 392: ...cess to most of the functions in the software Throughout the user manual a reference such as this Go to Path Simplify refers to using the Menu Bar to access a function In this case you would click Pat...

Страница 393: ...01 2 Save project 4 02 Open Cutter window 10 06 Copy to clipboard 5 16 2 Paste from clipboard 5 16 3 Import another file type 4 06 Undo 3 10 1 Redo 3 10 2 Trace a raster import 7 03 Open the Library 4...

Страница 394: ...considered important C4 1 Preferences General Tab Automatically switch Property tabs based on current selection with this option turned on the Properties Subpanel related to the task at hand will ope...

Страница 395: ...example the following two shapes pumpkin and turkey have a total of 83 nodes If you select them and apply Object Merge so that the inside turkey will cut before the outside pumpkin the total number o...

Страница 396: ...396 Note that even though the shape appears to be closed it is not If you were to cut this shape it would still be attached to the outside material Fill Color Fill Pattern Fill Gradient...

Страница 397: ...al allows you to set a Start Depth lower than the End Depth and then work through the material in passes as needed When embossing drawing engraving etc with either the blade holder and when engraving...

Страница 398: ...is defined as how much deeper the tool will attempt to move starting after the first pass It is a linear calculation based on the Starting Depth Ending Depth and the number of Passes Multi Pass Depth...

Страница 399: ...ushed down into the groove once you have everything positioned Hold the right mat guide above the groove and then slide the nut over until the hole in the nut is visible through the hole in the mat gu...

Страница 400: ...n the mat There are no cut lines or faint lines If you have an intricate project repeat using a partial section of the project If you are cutting a wide project test cut a wide thin rectangle Return t...

Страница 401: ...eturn to 1 Cut was clean Perform the test cut 1 IMPORTANT If a stuttering sound occurs during the cut and or the mat is skewing increase the Passes lower the SD and lower the CS Check MPL for cut line...

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