New user - help please!

New user - help please!

Postby kotchfam » May 16th, 2014, 7:44 pm

Hi there!

I just recently purchased my first cutter ever & she's beautiful - but I'm having a few issues.

It's a Black Cat Cougar 13inch, and as soon as I turn it on the housing goes all the way to the right and keeps on sounding like it'd keep going right if it had further railing.

Also for those of you using your Cougar with MTC's recent version, are you using the KnK settings for KNK Maxx? I managed to get the drivers loaded on my laptop (Windows 8) but can't manage to get it to recognize the Cougar on my desktop (Windows 7)

Tips, tricks & help are all greatly appreciated!

Kelley
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Angel135612 » May 17th, 2014, 8:25 am

Try doing a reset to see if that helps with the carriage moving all the way. Turn the machine off, then hold the origin button and keep it down as you turn on the machine. Once the control panel says RESET, you can let go of the origin button.

I can't help with MTC, as I don't use it very often, but when I did use it on my Win 7 computer, I don't remember having any issues with it. First thing I would check is what com port it is trying to use and make sure that is correct. Hopefully someone else that knows more about it will pop in and answer your question.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Gigi » May 17th, 2014, 8:49 am

Thanks Diane. And be sure you downloaded the plug in that works with the Black Cat Cougar - the very last option.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kim » May 17th, 2014, 8:27 pm

I use the KNK plugin with MTC. Andy has updated the KNK plugin but never updated the BC plugin so the KNK has the PNC features. If you are to use one, choose the KNK plugin.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Gigi » May 17th, 2014, 9:11 pm

Thanks for clarifying Kim...... I don't use it enough to remember that the KNK plug in is better to use..... I actually thought he had updated it!
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kim » May 17th, 2014, 9:34 pm

Gigi, to tell the truth, he might have. I haven't been on the MTC forum in ages. I just know that I use the KNK plugin with MTC.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby MeFlick » May 17th, 2014, 10:27 pm

The Cougar plugin in MTC is fine, it just doesn't have as many "features" as the KNK plugin which is "newer" then the Cougar one - like cutting with "knife mode". You will want to download both plugins and use the one that best fits your "needs" for what you are choosing to do.

Sometimes Windows 7 will block driver downloads. It "appears" that the drivers download but they don't and don't install. You will have to check for the "fix" on that. I forget what it was. Also, as noted - make sure your com ports are correct.

As for your machine blade moving far over to the right - is it "banging" against the side? I had this issue a long time ago shortly after getting my Cougar. There was a wire or something loose or needed tightened up in the lid area that Dawn told me to check and how to fix (but that's been more than 3 years ago now - so I don't recall exactly what or how). DH did what Dawn told me and it fixed it immediately. Maybe that is the issue you are having. If so, perhaps someone will recall what you need to do or Thyme will see and know what I am talking about!
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Thyme » May 18th, 2014, 12:16 pm

The simplest cause of this is if the sensor is damaged or misaligned.
Remove the carriage cover.
On the underside of the chip that sits on top of the carriage there are two small black sensors. You need to remove the chip to see these as you need to turn the chip over. Each sensor looks like a small piece of black plastic. Check to see that each one is aligned with the edge of the chip.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kim » May 18th, 2014, 12:18 pm

I have the Cougar plugin but have never used it. I use the KNK plugin for everything. I didn't see any point in switching from one plugin to the other....I might get confused. LOL
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kotchfam » May 19th, 2014, 7:39 am

I thought I would get a message when there were replies so I apologize for not responding sooner.

I have fixed the carriage problem & have been cutting with it fine on my windows 8 machine, but still have had no luck with my windows 7 machine. I am using the KNK plugin with no issues on the windows 8 machine.
MeFlick wrote:The Cougar plugin in MTC is fine, it just doesn't have as many "features" as the KNK plugin which is "newer" then the Cougar one - like cutting with "knife mode". You will want to download both plugins and use the one that best fits your "needs" for what you are choosing to do.

Sometimes Windows 7 will block driver downloads. It "appears" that the drivers download but they don't and don't install. You will have to check for the "fix" on that. I forget what it was. Also, as noted - make sure your com ports are correct.

As for your machine blade moving far over to the right - is it "banging" against the side? I had this issue a long time ago shortly after getting my Cougar. There was a wire or something loose or needed tightened up in the lid area that Dawn told me to check and how to fix (but that's been more than 3 years ago now - so I don't recall exactly what or how). DH did what Dawn told me and it fixed it immediately. Maybe that is the issue you are having. If so, perhaps someone will recall what you need to do or Thyme will see and know what I am talking about!


This is my guess too, but so far I haven't been able to figure out how to fix it. At least I know it's not just me since I did get it successfully installed on my laptop, but I would love a link to how to fix it for my windows 7 machine. As of right now I'm emailing myself my edits from Photoshop which is a bit of a pain.

Also, are there any basic lists out there that give some of the V & F to run off of? I know every machine is different, but at least it'd give me a baseline to run off of. I am very interested in the settings for leather, craft foam & stencils.

Thank you!!
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Gigi » May 19th, 2014, 9:49 am

If you go to the learning center under FAQ, you will find a chart about different media and force. As you already said, this is just a guide and there are so many variables. Use the test button as that will help a lot, and you will find, with time, that you can come pretty close to guessing the proper force the more different materials you cut. I always use the test button first if I am using something new or if I know my blade is older as I have to up the force a little. The test button has saved me from making a lot of huge errors!

As far as Windows 7 goes, have you gone to device manager to see if there are any errors? Did you check to see if your com port is set correctly?
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kotchfam » May 19th, 2014, 10:39 am

Gigi wrote:If you go to the learning center under FAQ, you will find a chart about different media and force. As you already said, this is just a guide and there are so many variables. Use the test button as that will help a lot, and you will find, with time, that you can come pretty close to guessing the proper force the more different materials you cut. I always use the test button first if I am using something new or if I know my blade is older as I have to up the force a little. The test button has saved me from making a lot of huge errors!


I looked for the FAQ & could not find it under the BC Learning Center. Could you provide a link please?

Also Thyme, could you give me the F & V you used for your leather cutting experiments please? I do know it can vary widely due to thickness & type of leather, but at least I can compare notes then. I've already did a cut of veg tanned leather with semi decent results.

Gigi wrote:As far as Windows 7 goes, have you gone to device manager to see if there are any errors? Did you check to see if your com port is set correctly?


I did, and it did not fix it when I downloaded the drivers from there. I'm normally a pretty tech savvy person but this is eluding me.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Gigi » May 19th, 2014, 10:53 am

I just sent you a link to the driver - let me know if that is helpful.

Here is one of the many places the cutting guide has been discussed on the forum. And the cutting guide is in the silver bullet learning center; I forgot you had a Cougar - sorry! So here is the link viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4382&p=82424&hilit=media+cutting+guide#p82424

Hope that helps.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Thyme » May 19th, 2014, 11:19 am

For cutting leather I have used forces of between 45 and 160 and velocities of 15 to 200, it all depends on the leather
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kotchfam » May 19th, 2014, 11:23 am

Thyme wrote:For cutting leather I have used forces of between 45 and 160 and velocities of 15 to 200, it all depends on the lather


Thank you :) It's a start. Do you have any hints or tips depending on the types of leather being cut?
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kotchfam » May 19th, 2014, 11:56 am

One of the reasons why I am asking is because I am part of a larger leather working community & depending on how these machines work (or not) with leather there are several other folks I know looking at either one of these or the larger investment of a laser cutter. Once I have cutting down I will be moving on to the tooling or as you all call it, embossing side of capabilities here.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Gigi » May 19th, 2014, 1:13 pm

We have a lot of users cutting leather. There is one making some amazing dog collars. If you do a search for cutting leather you will see many threads referenced. Perhaps some of those will be helpful as well.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Thyme » May 19th, 2014, 2:38 pm

Hints and tips -
For all leather use an extra sticky mat,a nd if possible cut with the leather face down.
For all leather use the 60 plus blade unless it really is paper thin.

Embossing leather works great, I love doing it
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby kim » May 19th, 2014, 6:37 pm

I wish I was enough of a computer geek to help with the Windows 7 issue but I know I had Windows 7 on my laptop that I used to use with my Cougar. Never had an issue. The computer that is set up with my SB is probably a Windows 7 but Dad has it to look like/act like XP, I think.
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Re: New user - help please!

Postby Gigi » May 19th, 2014, 7:05 pm

I had my Bullet on Windows 7 and 8 with no problems..... so not sure what is creating the issue......... but someone will!
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