# Understanding Craft Robo Pro (orientation)



## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

Ok, I'm finally getting the hang of this and can actually get it to cut properly.

One thing that I find interesting and have to work around is when I send the project to the cutter it automatically rotates in 90 degrees. So if I'm working on a portrait layout after printing and sending to the cutter then I need to rotate and feed the paper in to the cutter in landscape. Not TOO much of a problem but due to registration line limits (needs ~ 2.5" for the back reg marks). I sometimes need to move my image as far to the front as possible. Well, until I get the hang of it I have to send it to the cutter and see which why it is turning it and sometimes even rotating the whole file around so I can utilize the most dead space for back reg marks.

Is this normal quirk of the machine?

Another odd thing is when I use the pen to test something (or plot I guess)... Some how the machine knows the pen is in there and makes a upper case "L" mark right to the side of where it starts drawing. This doesn't happen (luckily) when the blade is in there.

Again, is this normal and why does it do it?


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## designconcepts (Jul 30, 2009)

Hopefully not normal for the Robo Pro! In the Cutting Master box, first tab, on the left pane, there's a little icon of a person. That's the orientation option. I believe when plotting with reg. marks, there's only two options -- 0 deg. and 90 deg. (When plotting w/out marks, four options -- 0, 90, 180, and 270 deg.) Next time, check to see that option is there, that should take care of it. I have messed up already (or _almost_) by designing on the wrong 'end' on the screen. I now have a template w/ guidelines top, bot., right and left sides showing a virtual box I can design in so the plotter's ARMS will read it.

About the pen plotting problem, I've never noticed that. The plotter has a pen "profile" in it's list, which I've never used. Try pen plotting with a regular "profile" and setting the pressure much lower (I've used 5-8 I think?).


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

Hmm... I know the button you speak of.... I thought for SURE it was completely greyed out... I asked the wife but damn prego brain she can't remember anything. 

I'll look again tomorrow.

Actually we used the pen profile with robo master (I think that's the name) program and it did some weird dotted pattern... so we then opted to use the pen profile but said it had the pen tool in it (for pressure).

In Cutting Master 2 we have like two templates  So we just put the pen in and go (yeah, It's probably smashing the pen up but it gets us by). We know are confident we know what is going on so we don't print test now but it was still baffling. We did have another problem and I think I solved it... it seemed it was cutting twice but I think we had two cut lines on each other... again, will find out tomorrow.


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## designconcepts (Jul 30, 2009)

I apologize, I see what you mean -- I'm not at the computer I output of normally, so I downloaded a driver in the meantime after I posted to try out on this computer, but I think I discovered something. I never noticed the "Cutting Mater for *Craft Robo*" before, the driver I used was simply Cutting Master 2 (as we also have the FC7000). You're right, the option is grayed out with that driver, but I'm downloading the other one now to double check that one has the option. I'm positive I've rotated before, even with marks.


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## designconcepts (Jul 30, 2009)

Here's a pic. There is a difference in the drivers -- Cutting Master 2 v1.6 *does* have rotation options, Cutting Master for Robo Pro does not. There's about 25 plotters to choose from in the setup for CM 2 v1.6, and the Robo Pro is included. I would suggest trying this driver instead, assuming your plotter is in the list. It's worked fine for me for a long time. 

Here's a link -- Graphtec America: Cutting Plotters, Vinyl Cutters, InkJet Printers, Wide Format Image Scanners, Data Loggers, Acquisition platforms, Electronic Testing Instruments, Craft Robo Click on Cutting Plotters, Craft Robo Pro, Drivers and Downloads, and finally, Cutting Master 2. Hope that helps!

edit -- I noticed another file, "Robo Pro Controller". Maybe you're using another that (or another program, you mentioned Robo Master) to output of instead of Cutting Master? All above was just assuming you were using Cutting Master! I've never tried the Robo Pro Controller.


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

Hmm, I will definitely give that a try.

We usually use Cutting Master 2 inside Illustrator... not sure which driver, obviously I'm sure it's the one you tried that was missing the rotation option. I definitely notice things aren't like they are with the videos I've seen. So I'll give that 1.6 a try. I only mentioned that other program in relation to when we first started trying to sort it out, we used the factory program to eliminate as many variables as possible and slowly added as we understood more and more.

We have the CE-5000-40 CRP so I'm sure it's in the driver.


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

Haven't installed the other driver yet... BUT noticed another peculiararity... when I went to cut some vinyl with no registration marks. We did it in portrait with the intentions of turning it in cutting master if it turned it but I got a phone call and the wife sent it without turning... well it cut in portrait even though it showed it in Cutting Master as being landscape. What the hell? How can I have any control over this thing?


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## designconcepts (Jul 30, 2009)

The Cut/Plot box remembers the last rotation selection. If it was flipped 90deg. when you last sent something and closed out, it will be flipped to the same when you send something else. When I installed the Robo Pro driver, it defaulted to a rotated position.  So I just tried it -- sent a *landscape *design, and it popped up as *portrait*. So it would've had to be flipped. If I change it to the upright "person", it should plot correctly. (That was all without reg. marks -- with marks then the rotation option is grayed out). 

Ahhh, and I just noticed several other things different between those two drivers -- the Robo Pro doesn't have the "obtain material size" option beside the page size dropdown. So vinyl size would have to be manually entered. It's that little question mark icon beside the dropdown in that picture. Also, it's missing an extra tab, the "Panel" tab (3rd one), and a repeats function. I would now definitely suggest trying the other Cutting Master.


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

I'll definitely do so... where exactly did you get it... because I looked again and it certainly looks like that is the same place we got it last time. *shrug*


Also, my problem was even though I wasn't using reg marks it still turned the object once sent to the cutter 90 degrees from the way it showed up in Cutting Master. This is something my wife experienced also on t-shirt vinyl so we ended up wasting some of that which I definitely don't want to do.


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

Gilligan said:


> ...
> Also, my problem was even though I wasn't using reg marks it still turned the object once sent to the cutter 90 degrees from the way it showed up in Cutting Master. This is something my wife experienced also on t-shirt vinyl so we ended up wasting some of that which I definitely don't want to do.


 Anyone know why this is happening... I have to do the "show me" button before I do any cutting now since it doesn't matter one bit which way it shows up in cutting master 2.


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## designconcepts (Jul 30, 2009)

Here's another link: Graphtec America: Cutting Plotters, Vinyl Cutters, InkJet Printers, Wide Format Image Scanners, Data Loggers, Acquisition platforms, Electronic Testing Instruments, Craft Robo
At the very bottom, there's "Cutting Master 2 version 1.60".

Didn't realize it was rotating it in the plotter. Have you checked the "Rotate" option in the plotter itself (in the main menu)?


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

No, haven't changed anything in the plotter interface except language when we first set it up.

It doesn't rotate EVERYTHING... If we are printing and cutting it seems to display as it's gonna cut (good thing since I don't want to ruin 3G paper)... when I cut vinyl it seems to do what it wants.


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## fat_miao (Jun 18, 2007)

sometimes for safety measure, I press the SHOW ME button on CM2 ~~ 
as i usually convert rectangle for crop mark.


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## ieatrubixcubes (Apr 4, 2010)

*Re: Understanding Craft Robo Pro (orientation) - can it import jpgs?*

Hi there,

I'm thinking of getting the Graphtec Craft Robo pro (the 15" desktop one) with its own standalone software (Robo Master Pro design software). 

The thing is, I'm using PHotoshop to design all my images and graphics, and then I save them as jpgs. Can the Robo pro software import jpgs and then I can tell it to just trace the contour of the image (and also adjust the width of how far away the cut will be from the image itself - like a "stroke") - and then have it printed out with reg marks and cut?

Can this be done with jpgs? If not, does anyone know what kind of cutter has this capability in its software? 

I don't want to use Illustrator, as I don't know how to trace/contour the image from a jpg in that program. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Mia


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## Gilligan (Dec 11, 2009)

*Re: Understanding Craft Robo Pro (orientation) - can it import jpgs?*

I don't use the software much but from what I remember there is a function that will do some sort of tracing... it's similar to using the threshold tool. If you look up videos on youtube you will see it in action and be able to tell if that will work for you.

It is possible that you might want to end up learning illustrator in the end anyway just because of the flexibility it offers with a product such as this.


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## ieatrubixcubes (Apr 4, 2010)

Thanks!! I'll try to find stuff on that


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## cutting edge (Dec 17, 2007)

*Re: Understanding Craft Robo Pro (orientation) - can it import jpgs?*



ieatrubixcubes said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I'm thinking of getting the Graphtec Craft Robo pro (the 15" desktop one) with its own standalone software (Robo Master Pro design software).
> 
> ...


The Graphtec Robo Master software will allow you to open a JPEG> create a contour outline with user specified offset and then send to Cutting Master II. Not sure if Robo Master comes with the Pro...however I do believe there are support sites for Graphtec that allow you to download for free. I would encourage you to attempt tracing JPEG's with something like Inkscape or even your Abobe if for nothing else the outline curve; as once you learn the curve, you will see the additional potential of the machine.

Corel X3 intergrates so well with Cutting Master II, that I choose no other way.


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