# Vinyl express cutter for rhinestone



## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

I'm having a doozy of a time trying o figure out force and speed settings...

I am soooo close to purchasing Win Pc Pro 2012 software, so I bought a starter kit from signwarehouse to do rhinestones. I just can't figure out the settings. The stencil material is a greenish blue and I only got 5 sheets in the kit. I'm wasting it trying o figure this out!

Can anyone help me??


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

theresaflores said:


> I'm having a doozy of a time trying o figure out force and speed settings...
> 
> I am soooo close to purchasing Win Pc Pro 2012 software, so I bought a starter kit from signwarehouse to do rhinestones. I just can't figure out the settings. The stencil material is a greenish blue and I only got 5 sheets in the kit. I'm wasting it trying o figure this out!
> 
> Can anyone help me??


Honestly I would get away from the green rubber and go with a flock based rhinestone template material.... It's a little more money but honestly I think it's easier to work with and you can layer templates and what not....


I'm guessing you have LXi that came with your cutter?... 

The REAL DRAWBACK!!! Lxi does not have the double pass option that WinPC Sign and other dedicated cutting software has for cutting rhinestone templates... At least it didn't in the version I last used....

LXi has a double pass option but what it does is cut the entire template first and then it comes back and cuts the entire template again... Where in WinPC Sign it will actually cut each circle twice at once then move onto the next circle...

There is no magic settings... I would start with a 60 deg blade... Then I would guess about 140 on the pressure would be a good start... I will tell you though from my experience... Cutting the rubber with a single pass is problematic at any pressure....

Kevin


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

I guess I forgot to mention two other important settings... Blade Offset which I think a good starting point is .25 and Overcut....

Overcut will help the circles weed easier and the Blade Offset and the right Pressure will help keep your circles circular rather than oblong....

The manual on the CD you should of got and the built in help for LXi is pretty decent....

Kevin


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## sttbtch (Oct 5, 2010)

The lexi does have double pass option. The pressure needed for sticky flock is 250 with the knife offset of .11 speed at 25 works great and is what i use. All cutting on the r series with the lexi should be at the .11 

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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

I'm going to have to get some sticky flock to try! 

Yes I have Lxi software, but not the one with rhinestones... I'm actually importing eps files tht are already converted to stones. 

I finally got a template cut! It was horrible to weed... I had to hand pick every circle!!


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

sttbtch said:


> The lexi does have double pass option. The pressure needed for sticky flock is 250 with the knife offset of .11 speed at 25 works great and is what i use. All cutting on the r series with the lexi should be at the .11
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using T-Shirt Forums


Does it have the double pass like everyone says is necessary? I set 2 passes, but it cuts entire design, then cuts it again... It worked, but like I said I had to weed every circle by hand!


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## sttbtch (Oct 5, 2010)

At 250 pressure it scores the first time & cuts the second time . Trick to weeding is to put in a flat surface. I use my desk. Rub the template so it sticks to the desk then i slowly lift the template. The dots stick to the desk. To get the dots off the desk i use a squeegee for vinyl or a credit card to scrape them off. Cover the dots as you scrape them off or they will fly every where leaving you with sticky flock pox 

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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

theresaflores said:


> Does it have the double pass like everyone says is necessary? I set 2 passes, but it cuts entire design, then cuts it again... It worked, but like I said I had to weed every circle by hand!


As I mentioned earlier... Honestly you really don't want to use LXI for cutting templates sadly... It's one of the main reasons I got rid of my cutter and went with another one... Doing two passes will change dramatically how the weeding process goes...

Like you said LXi has the double pass option but the version I used would cut the entire template and then come back and cut the entire template again... Then we would have to HOPE the tracking wasn't off even a touch then we have a real mess on our hands...

I made this video for you and others to see...

Cutting Software Considerations - YouTube

For me there is more to cutting software than just sending a file to cut to the cutter... It's how that cutter cuts the template that is REALLY important!....

If you watch the video you will see what I mean... Cutting your rhinestone templates in a logical way will dramatically cut down on the amount of time it takes to actually cut your templates... You rarely if ever see this talked about because most programs don't have the feature I demonstrate in KNK Studio... 

I have no affiliation with KNK Studio or KNK USA... But I am a user and I can't express to you how using KNK Studio/CAD LINK cutting software will DRAMATICALLY cut down on the amount of time it takes to cut your rhinestone templates... 

Very few programs will cut your templates logically as I demonstrate... For me time is money... So anything I can do to save time I'm all for it... I've used WinPC Sign, Make the Cut, LXi and a host of others and they just don't have this optimization when it comes to cutting templates...

Lxi has a sort feature that is supposed to optimize the cut.... That latest Make the Cut version is suppsoed to have improved cutting optimization as well, WinPC Sign has a Sort Objects feature that is supposed to optimize the cut too... But they just don't work like the optimization in KNK Studio...

So if you are looking for new cutting software it's certainly something to consider I think... You will be able to cut more templates in less time that's for sure....

Kevin


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

sttbtch said:


> At 250 pressure it scores the first time & cuts the second time . Trick to weeding is to put in a flat surface. I use my desk. Rub the template so it sticks to the desk then i slowly lift the template. The dots stick to the desk. To get the dots off the desk i use a squeegee for vinyl or a credit card to scrape them off. Cover the dots as you scrape them off or they will fly every where leaving you with sticky flock pox
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using T-Shirt Forums


I don't use the green rubber like the OP... I use a flock template material but I cut all my templates on a cutting mat...

So I take the material off the carrier place it on a cutting mat and cut... And then as described peel off my template leaving all my dots behind and then scrape the dots off the cutting mat...

Cutting on a cutting mat will save on the cutters cutting strip too and the other bonus to cutting on a mat... You can get by with using a little more pressure and not worry about cutting thru the paper backing which is helpful for those new to cutting that don't get all the tricks to dialing in just the right pressure...

Cutting mats can be found at almost any local craft store, Hobby Lobby, WalMart for under $20.00... 

Plus you will want a cutting mat anyhow for cutting all those little scraps that are too small to put in your cutter.

Kevin


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

katruax said:


> So if you are looking for new cutting software it's certainly something to consider I think... You will be able to cut more templates in less time that's for sure....
> 
> Kevin


But... Will I be able to use my cutter?? I'm not against buying new software... Not at all.

I have a vinyl express panther... Looks and operates exactly like the GCC jaguar IV...


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## sttbtch (Oct 5, 2010)

theresaflores said:


> But... Will I be able to use my cutter?? I'm not against buying new software... Not at all.
> 
> I have a vinyl express panther... Looks and operates exactly like the GCC jaguar IV...


 
I use mine all the time. I use a 45 degree blade and I cut templates all the time. just finished a 3 color eagle for the local school


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

theresaflores said:


> But... Will I be able to use my cutter?? I'm not against buying new software... Not at all.
> 
> I have a vinyl express panther... Looks and operates exactly like the GCC jaguar IV...


Strictly speaking you don't need to buy need software to cut your templates.... 

But you mentioned originally you were considering purchasing new software namely WinPC Sign 2012... And while many, many people use that software everyday... From my personal experience I prefer KNK Studio for the one fact that it offers a cutting optimization that will drastically reduce the amount it takes to cut your templates and wear and tear your your vinyl cutter that most other programs don't have... WinPC Sign included... I think it's a pretty big deal when considering cutters and software as well...

I think it maybe would be best if I video taped a cut test and cut the same design with WinPC Sign, KNK Studio and Maybe Make the Cut too because I have all of those and then maybe you and others can better judge what would be best for you...

I'm 99.9% certain KNK Studio/Cad Link cutting software would work with your cutter with the appropriate driver... I'm sure if you contacted Brenda at www.digitalcuttersplus.com she could confirm that for you...

I'm a big believer in not spending money you don't need to so I would encourage to get what you have to work if you don't mind a little fiddling... For sure you should not have to had weed every circle like you mentioned... If you are not using a 60 deg blade for sure try that as well...

I would work with Sign Warehouse as well to see if they can't help you dial in your cutter settings... 

For me switching cutters and learning about KNK Studio was a game changer... Now there are lots of things I don't like about KNK Studio... But these are fairly minor things... The cut optimization is worth dealing with all the quirks I don't like because for me it really does make that much difference...

You might ask what I don't like in KNK Studio?... One thing is the MultiPass setting... When I go to cut there is nothing in the cut window that tells me what Multi Cut is set to... You don't know how many times I've gone to cut a template with a single pass and the template be no good... When I cut decal material or vinyl I use a single pass... Sometimes I forget to check that Multi Cut setting when switching to template material... If only I could see in the cut window what Multi Cut was set to then I bet I would make that mistake a lot less... See in Make the Cut the Muti Cut option is in full view right next to the button that we press to send the design to the cutter... So from that perspective Make the Cut is nice because that setting is right there in plain site....

But then Make the Cut doesn't offer the optimized cutting KNK Studio does... So it's a bit of a give and take....

I bet if you play a little with what you have you can make it work... Then later you can decide if you want to make a change or not in cutting software...

Kevin


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

Thank you Kevin!!!

I will have to get a software because the version of Lxi that I own doesn't have the rhinestone features... Signwarehouse is promoting a software but its a little pricey for my budget right now.

I'm going to play with my trials of Make the Cut and Win PC Pro 2012 and see how I like them. I can't cut from them or export the files since I am using a demo version. The template I did cut was a Free download that I found online.


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## Eview1 (Apr 29, 2010)

Hello Theresa, here is a link to try winpc pro 2012 there is a very helpful community you may want to look into for that software at that link too. So try before you buy it. Look at the videos produced for it on youtube also. That way you will know better if you like it.
I use the green stuff too, and use glass to place my template on for easy weeding. Dialing in pressure and the correct blade can take a bit so be patient and work with small bits of your project before cutting something large. Perhaps some one could help with the downforce settings that has the same or similar cutter? Anyone out there chime in 

GCC Vinyl Cutters, Winpcsign 2012 pro rhinestone software and Winpc sign pro2012 design software




theresaflores said:


> I'm having a doozy of a time trying o figure out force and speed settings...
> 
> I am soooo close to purchasing Win Pc Pro 2012 software, so I bought a starter kit from signwarehouse to do rhinestones. I just can't figure out the settings. The stencil material is a greenish blue and I only got 5 sheets in the kit. I'm wasting it trying o figure this out!
> 
> Can anyone help me??


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

Oh my!! I just found an instructional from signwarehouse... They actually show hand weeding every circle!!


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks Evie!! I am using the trial now . I need to check out the videos on you tube!!


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

This is the design that I hand weeded 

I placed the rhinestuds by hand afterwards to give it a little more...


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

Another pic...

And the design was imported as stones already for 6ss and 10ss. The 10's were fitting perfect in the holes for the 6's, so I had to work this really hard to get them in place! I'm hoping its just the green template material doing that or I may have to rethink this... Lol. That was a ton of extra work... I brushed the 10's first then the 6's... Is that how it's supposed to be done when the template has 2 sizes?


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## PlumCrazyGlitz (Jul 26, 2010)

I use the green all of the time, but I do get mine from Specialty Graphics. It is a bit thinner than the hartco and it cuts really good. I make so many templates for myself and the green is just so much more cost effective for me. I cut with just one pass using a cutting mat. I leave the backing paper on mine and most of the circles will come off with the backing paper. If you were to take the backing paper off all of the circles would stay on the mat..

You are brushing your stones in the correct way.. always do the larger stones first when you have different sizes on one template. It takes a while to learn all of this, but it will get easier for you. I know it can be very frustrating at first, but hang in there you will be ok.


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## theresaflores (Apr 15, 2006)

Thanks Paula!! It actually seems like the holes are maybe a little too big?? I just down loaded the file since I can't create my own to cut yet... But the download said it was 6ss and 10ss...

I know there is a learning curve to everything... I just need to find the material that I like best and try for a while 


I'm wanting to do mostly custom designs so I'd LOVE to find a cost effective template material!! 

You use a cutting mat but you leave the backing paper on too?? I've never used one and know nothing about them!


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## katruax (Sep 30, 2010)

theresaflores said:


> Thanks Paula!! It actually seems like the holes are maybe a little too big?? I just down loaded the file since I can't create my own to cut yet... But the download said it was 6ss and 10ss...
> 
> I know there is a learning curve to everything... I just need to find the material that I like best and try for a while
> 
> ...


Ideally you would cut a cutter test file when you are first starting out... 

Then once you get it cut out you can see what size holes will work best for the template material you are using... The rhinestones you use will make a difference as well... Typically Machine Cut stones will require a larger hole than Korean... At least they do for me...

What I did with the attached is cut holes starting at 2.5mm and then 1mm increments...

Then you brush in the stones to see what works best for you for the material and stones you are using...

Kevin


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## BlingItOn (May 29, 2008)

When you select the individual 2mm and 3mm circles what size are they? 

Sometimes after you import the file the circle sizes change and that may be the reason your circles are cutting too large. The typical size for a 2mm circle is around 2.6mm and a 3mm circle would be around 3.3mm. But just as Kevin suggested you need to make some test cuts to know what the right size is for you. 

I'm not sure how to adjust the circle size in your cutting program but in some programs you can select the entire design and drag the corner to make the design larger or smaller...this will increase or decrease the circle size also.


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## Trinkets2008 (Nov 26, 2011)

You guys are very helpful for newbie...Thanks


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## PlumCrazyGlitz (Jul 26, 2010)

theresaflores said:


> Thanks Paula!! It actually seems like the holes are maybe a little too big?? I just down loaded the file since I can't create my own to cut yet... But the download said it was 6ss and 10ss...
> 
> I know there is a learning curve to everything... I just need to find the material that I like best and try for a while
> 
> ...


I think most probably take the backing paper off before putting on the mat.. I don't because I get my circles really close together... the material is so thin between them that it rips when I stick it right to the mat.. You just have to figure out what works best for you.. I use the green for my designs that are only going to get one here and there.. but if I have a design that is going to get a couple hundred decals made I will use sticky flock..

When I first started out it took me a while to finally get all of my settings right. I would cut my design and then end up poking each little hole out just like you did.. Once you find the right settings it will be a lot easier and less frustrating for you.


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## DivineBling (Sep 14, 2010)

Every CADlink software has different drivers. KNK is a proprietary software that Accugraphics OEMs specifically for KNK cutters and only has drivers for KNK cutters. iDesignR is basically the same software as OOBling 8 but it's an OEM for Graphtec so it only has Graphtec drivers. Because OOBling 9 is not an OEM for another company, CADlink has included just about every driver in it since it's based on SignLab 9.

The Vinyl Express R Series cutters are rebranded Red Sail cutters so you would look for the Red Sail drivers. If your Panther is a rebranded GCC Jaguar, then you would select the Jaguar driver when installing software. 

I hope that makes sense!


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