# Please review this rhinestone cutter



## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

A customer asked me if this was a good deal. I dont know anything about this so if anyone does please fill me in.To me it looks like a great deal,but I personally love the fact that I bought mine from sandy and she is very helpfull when I have a question or favor,to me that is priceless!Thanks for your time and input.24" Rhinestone cutter + PRO software Blade Material - eBay (item 370453940242 end time Nov-13-10 13:23:45 PST)


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

That is a Redsail cutter with winpcsign 2010 pro software and it is shipped out of Canada by signmax


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Is it a good reliable cutter?


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Our original KNK's were all Redsail machines. They are pretty good. The only problems we've had is that sometimes the coils have to be replaced after a few years. Sometimes the customers can do that themselves if they are comfortable soldering.


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Sandy I would never buy a cutter from anyone but you.I reccomend everyone to do so also!


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Leg cramps said:


> Sandy I would never buy a cutter from anyone but you.I reccomend everyone to do so also!


Aw... thanks, Eric! I thought maybe, based on that design you had yesterday, you might be wanting to find a larger format cutter and wanted to find something less expensive than our 24" machines.


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Nah,Ill just stay withing my limits!I got to start making money anyhow before I satr spending again!LOL!


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## gabenick2 (Nov 23, 2010)

Sandy.. I have read several post and I have gathered that you are the "go to" girl!! I am just starting to invest in rhinestones, I have just purchased a kit with templates and rhinestones ect... minus the cutter and software. I need to budget for now and am looking for a cutter in which I can cut my own templates. What would you recommend? I also have a Mac so it would have to be Mac compatible. I will be making many designs related to sports. Any suggestions?


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

gabenick2 said:


> Sandy.. I have read several post and I have gathered that you are the "go to" girl!! I am just starting to invest in rhinestones, I have just purchased a kit with templates and rhinestones ect... minus the cutter and software. I need to budget for now and am looking for a cutter in which I can cut my own templates. What would you recommend? I also have a Mac so it would have to be Mac compatible. I will be making many designs related to sports. Any suggestions?


Restricting yourself to Mac-only software greatly restricts your options. The majority of my Mac customers will either install a Windows emulator, along with a version of Window,s OR will purchase a used or inexpensive new laptop PC so that they can run our KNK or ACS Studio software. 

But, one possibility is to use either Corel Draw for the Mac or even Inkscape to create your rhinestone patterns and then you can purchase one of the KNK cutters and FlexiStarter, which is a Mac-based program that will cut to a KNK. FlexiStarter is too basic to do rhinestone designs however it will import AI, EPS and some of the other standard graphic formats. 

There could be other Mac-only solutions and, hopefully, others will post their suggestions, too.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Here is a quote from the Graphtec cutter site on the CE 5000 series. At least with the CE series you will have a cutter with servo motors.

The CE5000 comes with ROBO Master Pro design software (Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7) and the completely new Cutting Master 2 Production Manager and Plug-in for the latest versions of CorelDRAW© and Adobe Illustrator© on Windows. Adobe Illustrator© plug-in available for Macintosh systems.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Quote from the owner of Accugraphic Sales, Inc, who is the USA distributor of the Foison cutters (sold under the brand names of KNK and ACS): "Our cutters have a hybrid motor and control system that has Micro Stepper motors. They are much smoother and accurate than standard steppers. There is not necessarily a correlation of price difference from Stepper and Servo. This can be a very deep subject and I don't think I should go here because it will take me hours to properly portray the technicalities. Some companies call closed loop stepper systems "Servo" and there is a lot of skewing of the truth. Some of the most expensive CNC systems use Stepper and some Servo. It comes down to quality first and method for purpose and lastly and still important is price. Servo systems are most always much faster than Stepper but when you can only cut a said material so fast, what is the need to have a system that can exceed a maximum cutting speed of the material."

The Graphtec cutters are a great choice if you need to do a lot of print and cut applications because they have the optic eye. Now, this is not needed in rhinestone applications at all. But if you were ever to need to do these, then I would recommend it because our cutters (which have a laser alignment light) require our KNK?ACS Studio software for the print and cut process to work. 

On the other hand, if you ever plan to expand your business to cut other materials, such as fabric, tackle twill, or other denser materials requiring a higher force machine, then you're better off with a KNK/ACS machine because it has 950g of maximum cutting force, compared to only 300g with the Graphtec.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

I doubt any of the major garment decorators here or anywhere are going to buy a foison over a Roland, Graptec,GCC, or any of the rest of the big name standards, no matter how hard you state the case it just won't happen on a consistent basis. Go into any sign shop and look around the cutter they have will be one of the major brands.


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## Louisa (Oct 25, 2010)

Hi Sandy,

I need help!!!! I been duing my designs by hand. I was able to save some money last year and I found the R-Wear sofewear and I purchased it bad invesment. So now I want to make sure to due my homework. I will like to know what type of cutter can I but with a budget of $500.00 and if it comes with the sofewear??


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

plan b said:


> I doubt any of the major garment decorators here or anywhere are going to buy a foison over a Roland, Graptec,GCC, or any of the rest of the big name standards, no matter how hard you state the case it just won't happen on a consistent basis. Go into any sign shop and look around the cutter they have will be one of the major brands.


What does a sign shop have to do with garment decoration?  The KNK and ACS have never been marketed to sign shops because you don't need cutters with 950g of force to cut vinyl! And these cutters have only been marketed to those in garment decoration for about 18 months. But they've been well-received so far! They cut all of the various rhinestone template materials with ease, as well as iron-on transfer and the decal material (XPEL). And the customers who are using them for cutting fabric are amazed at the intricacy they can achieve using the fabric blade. Have a look at these photos I've attached.


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Louisa said:


> Hi Sandy,
> 
> I need help!!!! I been duing my designs by hand. I was able to save some money last year and I found the R-Wear sofewear and I purchased it bad invesment. So now I want to make sure to due my homework. I will like to know what type of cutter can I but with a budget of $500.00 and if it comes with the sofewear??


I would recommend a Silhouette with either KNK Studio GE or Funtime 2010. That will keep you within your budget and allow you to design rhinestone patterns and cut them from the green Hartco rubber. Your only limitation is that your pattern cannot be more than 8" in one dimension. In other words, you could cut a pattern that is 7" x 12", for example, but not a pattern that is 8.5" x 12". 

If you do need to cut larger than that, then look into buying a Cricut Expressions and then a new software program called Fairy Cut, by the same company that makes Funtime. I haven't tested this, but one of the file designers in the paper crafting world, told me that Fairy Cut cuts faster and smoother than any of the other software programs she's tested with the Cricut.


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Louisa,
Hi, I think talkng to sandy is a good idea when it comes to making a decision on what cutter to buy.I got a knk 15" groove e from sandy and dont regret it at all.The cutter works fine,it has been chugging along no problems at all.In fact its cutting a rhinestone template now as I type to you.Im making my a house number decal for my mailbox.The software is great,I can create all kinds of neat designs.Feel free to check out my website to see some of them!The important thing is customer service.When you buy your cutter from sandy you will be able to first ask her questions here.she is fast to respond.You can email her.she is fast to respond.You can watch her *free* tutorial videos on her web site.these are great ,she goes through step by step on the functions of the software specifically for rhinestone designs.everything you will need to know how to do she has covered.You can go to her site and watch the videos now.you will see how the software works and how easy they are to follow along with .also if you purchase from her she gives you a choice of 7 videos on her web that she normally sells.here is the best of all...if you buy from her she gives you 3 hours of phone support *free. *
I have called a few times.while your on the phone she can link to your computer while your in the software and help you figure out what needs to be figured out.Im sure alot of people feel this way...if you are stuck you want help asap.you dont want to wait for it.to me the customer service is the key.Sandy is so helpfull and knowledgeable its worth the price of the cutter and software alone.
now I have just been doing rhinestone designs,but there is alot more you can do with this cutter as you will see if you scan her site.I eventually will try some of this stuff too!I am not including things like the can of easy tack that comes with your cutter,the extra blades,the carrier matt,the shelf for the cutter,the instruction book,ect.im sure if you pm her she can fill you in with all the details.
Im not sure how technical you want to get with the parts in the cutter,as far as micro stepper motors vs servo motors,to me that doesnt matter.I know to some it might.not sure even how relevant that is to *this* post anyhow.
IMO you cant go wrong with the knk cutter and *definately cant go wrong with Sandy!!!!*


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## Louisa (Oct 25, 2010)

I was reading antoher post and they were talking about this cutter MH365. What did you think about this one??? and whats's the difference??? Thank you so much for your help!!!!


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## SandyMcC (Jul 23, 2009)

Well, based on the specs, it will be able to cut rhinestone rubber. What you then need to determine are these two things:

(1) What rhinestone-designing software is available that has the driver for this cutter?
I didn't see it in the list of cutters for Win PC Sign, but maybe it can use a different US Cutter driver

(2) What kind of support/training is available to you, if you purchase this cutter? If you are new to digital die cutters, it's very beneficial to have someone teach you how to use it. 

I'm sure someone else here with experience with US Cutters will be able to answer these two questions.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

All Refine cutters are supported in winpcsign.


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## Louisa (Oct 25, 2010)

Thank you Leg cramps. I wish I had done my homework the first time I spend 500 in a software that it dosen't have any instructions, no tech support nothing.


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## Leg cramps (Feb 9, 2009)

Lousia,
You can sell the software here in the classifieds.Might take a little loss but im sure someone would buy it!Eric
go to...

iloveknk.com

Go to support>videos>special rhinestone support section>videos.

watch the videos,youll see the software,hear the master,and get a feel for it!


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Sandy is AWESOME!


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## BML Builder (Jul 8, 2008)

plan b said:


> I doubt any of the major garment decorators here or anywhere are going to buy a foison over a Roland, Graptec,GCC, or any of the rest of the big name standards, no matter how hard you state the case it just won't happen on a consistent basis. Go into any sign shop and look around the cutter they have will be one of the major brands.


I hate to disagree with you Roger, but I did buy a KNK Maxx 24 from Sandy and I have been doing garment decorating for many years. I have been doing embroidery, DTG printing, and vinyls for years. I do also own a Roland Versacamm and a laser, but I do like the KNK Maxx for little things such as cutting appliques and rhinestone templates. It is the perfect size and fit for some of the other things I wanted to do without having to start up the big machines. I have found myself using it more often than I did the other equipment such as laser or Versacamm to cut little things or to do something quick. I would try to get a lot of things together to do on the other equipment because it is easier to a lot of things than 1 or 2 items. Now I can just do 1 or 2 items on the Maxx without any troubles at all.


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