Gerber P2C 1600 User manual

Gerber P2C™ 1600
User's Manual
IMPORTANT
Before you begin...
Please complete the attached Warranty Registration ard and
return it to Gerber today, or go through the online registration at
http://www.gspinc/products/registration/index.html.
Failure to register may result in delayed responses to your warranty
and service inquiries.

F NOTI E
Warning: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user
will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
RS-232 shielded cables must be used with this unit to ensure compliance with
the Class FCC limits.
This Class digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du
Canada.

NOTI E
Gerber reserves the right to modify the information contained in this User
Manual at any time without prior notice. Unauthorized copying, modification,
distribution or display is prohibited. ll rights reserved. ll queries, comments or
suggestions concerning this and other Gerber manuals should be directed to:

Gerber Scientific Products
83 Gerber Road
South Windsor, CT 06074 US
860-643-1515
Customer Service: 800-222-7446
Technical Support: 800-828-5406 / 860-644-6971
Fax [phone]
www.gspinc.com
 Copyright 2005, Gerber Scientific International, Inc.

TRADEMARK A KNOWLEDGEMENTS
GERBER EDGE, EDGE and Gerber Scientific Products are registered trademarks
and Gerber P2C and FastFacts are trademarks of Gerber Scientific Products.
3M, Scotchcal, Scotchlite, Controltac, Comply and Panaflex are trademarks of
the 3M Corporation.
DM/PL and Houston Instrument are trademarks of Summagraphics Corporation.
HP-GL is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company.
IBM PC, IBM PC/XT, and IBM T are trademarks of International Business
Machines Corp.
Macintosh, Macintosh Plus, Macintosh SE, and Macintosh II are trademarks of
pple Computer.

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
Table of ontents TO -i
TABLE OF ONTENTS...................................................................................Page
SE TION 1.......................................................................................................1-1
1 GENERAL INFORMATION .....................................................................1-1
1.1 INTRODU TION ............................................................................................. 1-1
1.1.1 PRODUCT FE TURES .................................................................................. 1-2
1.1.2 GERBER P2C 1600 USER M NU L ............................................................ 1-3
1.2 SPE IFI ATIONS............................................................................................ 1-4
1.2.1 CUTTER ....................................................................................................... 1-4
1.2.2 MEDI ........................................................................................................ 1-4
1.2.3 KNIFE, PEN ND POUNCING TOOL .......................................................... 1-6
1.2.4 INTERF CE ................................................................................................. 1-6
1.2.5 FIRMW RE ................................................................................................. 1-7
1.2.6 PERFORM NCE......................................................................................... 1-7
1.2.7 CERTIFIC TIONS......................................................................................... 1-7
1.2.8 ENVIRONMENT L ...................................................................................... 1-8
1.2.9 ELECTRIC L................................................................................................ 1-8
1.3 UTTER A ESSORIES AND ONSUMABLES................................................ 1-9
1.4 REAR PANEL OMPONENTS........................................................................ 1-10
1.5 FRONT PANEL ONTROLS ........................................................................... 1-12
1.6 POWERING UP THE UTTER.......................................................................... 1-14
1.6.1 E RTHING ................................................................................................ 1-14
1.7 INSTALLATION OF A KNIFE, PEN OR POUN ING TOOL ............................. 1-16
1.7.1 KNIFE INST LL TION ................................................................................ 1-16
1.7.2 PEN INST LL TION................................................................................... 1-19
1.7.3 INST LL TION OF THE POUNCING TOOL ............................................... 1-20
1.8 LOADING MEDIA........................................................................................ 1-21
1.8.1 POSITIONING THE PINCH ROLLERS ......................................................... 1-21
1.8.2 FEEDING ND POSITIONING MEDI ...................................................... 1-22
1.9 MEDIA LOAD PRO EDURE .......................................................................... 1-26

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
Table of ontents TO -ii
SE TION 2.......................................................................................................1-1
2 OPERATION...........................................................................................2-1
2.1 THE ONTROL PANEL .................................................................................... 2-1
2.1.1 THE LIQUID CRYST L DISPL Y ................................................................... 2-2
2.1.2 THE RESET/LO D KEY ................................................................................. 2-2
2.1.3 THE ONLINE KEY......................................................................................... 2-3
2.1.4 THE MENU KEY ........................................................................................... 2-3
2.1.5 THE ENTER KEY ........................................................................................... 2-5
2.1.6 THE 1 ND 2 KEYS 1 - 2.............................................................................. 2-5
2.1.7 THE JOGGING KEYS .................................................................................. 2-5
2.1.8 THE TOOL UP/DOWN KEY.......................................................................... 2-5
2.1.9 THE TOOL SELECT KEY................................................................................ 2-5
2.2 NORMAL OPERATION....................................................................................2-6
2.2.1 ONLINE ND OFFLINE ............................................................................... 2-6
2.2.2 LOC L OPER TION................................................................................... 2-7
2.3 THE USER ONFIG MENU............................................................................... 2-8
2.3.1 KNIFE PRESSURE ....................................................................................... 2-10
2.3.2 KNIFE OFFSET............................................................................................ 2-10
2.3.3 POUNCING PRESSURE............................................................................. 2-10
2.3.4 VELOCITY................................................................................................. 2-10
2.3.5 OVERCUT ................................................................................................. 2-11
2.3.6 POUNCING G P ..................................................................................... 2-11
2.3.7 SYSTEM SETUP........................................................................................... 2-11
2.4 SYSTEM SET UP ............................................................................................. 2-12
2.4.1 CONC TEN TION ................................................................................... 2-12
2.4.2 SMOOTHING............................................................................................ 2-12
2.4.3 EMUL TE .................................................................................................. 2-12
2.4.4 TOOL ........................................................................................................ 2-13
2.4.5 MENU UNITS ............................................................................................. 2-13
2.4.6 DDRESSING ........................................................................................... 2-13
2.4.7 B UD R TE............................................................................................... 2-13
2.4.8 P RITY ...................................................................................................... 2-14
2.4.9 RTS/DTR .................................................................................................... 2-14
2.4.10 DM/PL ERRORS........................................................................................ 2-15
2.4.11 HP-GL ERRORS......................................................................................... 2-15
2.4.12 HP-GL ORIGIN ......................................................................................... 2-15
2.4.13 MEDI SENSOR........................................................................................ 2-16
2.4.14 UTOLO D .............................................................................................. 2-16
2.4.15 TOOL COMM ND................................................................................... 2-16
2.4.16 LO D ON W CMD................................................................................... 2-16
2.4.17 FLEX-CUT .................................................................................................. 2-17
2.4.18 RECUT OFFSET .......................................................................................... 2-17

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
Table of ontents TO -iii
2.5 INTERNAL TEST MENU................................................................................... 2-18
2.5.1 CUT BORDER............................................................................................ 2-19
2.5.2 MENU PLOT.............................................................................................. 2-19
2.5.3 CONFIDENCE CUT................................................................................... 2-19
2.5.4 DIN CUT.................................................................................................... 2-19
2.5.5 C L. MEDI ............................................................................................. 2-20
2.5.6 C LIBR TION OPOS................................................................................ 2-20
2.5.7 OPOS SETTINGS........................................................................................ 2-20
2.5.8 SYSTEM TESTS............................................................................................ 2-20
2.6 SYSTEM TESTS ...............................................................................................2-21
2.6.1 L NGU GE.............................................................................................. 2-21
2.6.2 ROM REVISION ........................................................................................ 2-21
2.6.3 SERVICE PLOT.......................................................................................... 2-21
2.6.4 OPTIC L SENSOR..................................................................................... 2-22
2.6.5 SENSOR SETUP.......................................................................................... 2-22
2.6.6 C LIBR TION........................................................................................... 2-22
2.6.7 RS232 TEST................................................................................................ 2-22
2.6.8 R M TEST.................................................................................................. 2-23
2.6.9 INST LL MENU.......................................................................................... 2-23
2.6.10 COIL SETUP............................................................................................... 2-23
2.6.11 LCD CONTR ST ....................................................................................... 2-23

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
Table of ontents TO -iv
3 GENERAL INFORMATION .....................................................................3-1
3.1 MAINTENAN E & LEANING........................................................................ 3-1
3.1.1 CLE NING THE DRIVE SYSTEM .................................................................. 3-1
3.1.2 CLE NING THE SENSORS .......................................................................... 3-2
3.2 OPERATING VOLTAGE ONVERSION ..........................................................3-3
SE TION 4.......................................................................................................3-1
4 INTERFA E ............................................................................................4-1
4.1 INTRODU TION ............................................................................................. 4-1
4.2 RS232 INTERFA E NOTES............................................................................... 4-1
4.2.1 SYSTEM SETUP............................................................................................. 4-1
4.2.2 SERI L INTERF CE CONNECTOR ON THE CUTTER.................................... 4-2
4.2.3 V IL BLE SERI L SIGN LS ...................................................................... 4-2
4.3 USB INTERFA E NOTES ..................................................................................4-3
4.3.1 USB SPECIFIC TIONS ................................................................................. 4-3
4.3.2 INST LLING THE USB SOFTW RE UNDER WINDOWS................................. 4-3
4.3.3 INST LLING THE USB SOFTW RE FOR YOUR M CINTOSH ....................... 4-4
4.3.4 P R LLEL INTERF CE CONNECTOR ON CUTTER ..................................... 4-5
5 MEDIA ERTIFI ATION........................................................................ A-1

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
Table of ontents TO -v
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................Page
GERBER P2C 1600, RE R VIEW*............................................................................ 1-10
GERBER P2C 1600, FRONT VIEW ........................................................................... 1-12
E RTH CONNECTION............................................................................................. 1-15
BL DE INSERTION................................................................................................... 1-16
BL DE LENGTH DJUSTMENT................................................................................. 1-17
SETTING KNIFE DEPTH ............................................................................................. 1-17
KNIFE DEPTH TEST P TTERN..................................................................................... 1-18
MEDI POSITIONING ............................................................................................. 1-22
FEEDING ROLL MEDI USING MEDI FL NGES ................................................... 1-23
FEEDING ROLL MEDI WITHOUT USING MEDI FL NGES.................................... 1-24
PINCH ROLLER POSITIONING ................................................................................ 1-24
GERBER P2C 1600, CONTROL P NEL ..................................................................... 2-1
GERBER P2C 1600 CONFIGUR TION SUBMENUS................................................... 2-4
FLOWCH RT SHOWING F CTORY PRESET MENU SETTINGS................................... 2-9
INTERN L TESTS SUBMENUS.................................................................................... 2-18
CLE NING OF THE DRIVE SLEEVES.......................................................................... 3-2
LOC TION OF THE SENSORS ................................................................................... 3-2
POWER ENTRY MODULE .......................................................................................... 3-3
LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................Page
GERBER P2C 1600 CUTTER SPECIFIC TIONS........................................................... 1-4
GERBER P2C 1600 MEDI SPECIFIC TIONS ........................................................... 1-4
GERBER P2C 1600 KNIVES, PENS ND POUNCING TOOLS ................................... 1-6
GERBER P2C 1600 INTERF CE SPECIFIC TIONS..................................................... 1-6
GERBER P2C 1600 FIRMW RE................................................................................ 1-7
GERBER P2C 1600 PERFORM NCES....................................................................... 1-7
GERBER P2C 1600 ENVIRONMENT L SPECIFIC TIONS ......................................... 1-8
GERBER P2C 1600 ELECTRIC L SPECIFIC TIONS................................................... 1-8
GERBER P2C 1600 CCESSORIES ND CONSUM BLES........................................ 1-9

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-1
SE TION 1
1 GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 INTRODU TION
The Gerber P2C™ Series family of cutters has been designed to produce
computer-generated graphic designs on cut sheet or roll vinyl media. By
replacing the knife with a fiber tip pen, these cutters can also be used to
produce inexpensive previews of new graphic designs on paper.
This manual is a reference guide for installing and operating the Gerber P2C
1600 cutter. This cutter model features a drag knife and can handle media
widths from 170 mm up to 1620 mm (4” to 63.8”).

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-2
1.1.1 PRODU T FEATURES
The following are the main features of the Gerber P2C 1600 cutter.
•Variable media widths.
•User-selectable DM/PL™, HP-GL™ and HP-GL/2™ software languages.
•Interchangeable pen for producing preview plots of sign designs on paper.
•djustable knife pressure and offset settings controlled by microprocessor.
•Communication with host computer via USB rev 1.1, standard serial RS-32-C,
or Centronics parallel interface.
•12-key control panel.
•Metric or English units.
•User-addressable resolution: 0.1 mm, 0.025 mm, 0.001" or 0.005".
•Menu mode for selecting the cutter's power-up operating configuration.
•Convenient 2-line, 16-character liquid crystal display (LCD).
•Extensive internal test routines.
•Wide variety of cutting speeds (in metric or English units).
•Up to four separate user configurations that are stored in non-volatile
memory.
•Media support system for automatic loading of media with optional
“shuffling” to guarantee tracking of longer signs.
•utomatic media pull from roll.
•Media sensing.
•Simple origin adjustment to any location.
•Concatenation and curve smoothing to obtain better cut quality.
•Multiple recut feature.
•Knife depth and offset tests.
•Overcut for easy weeding.
•OPOS 2.0 functionality.

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-3
1.1.2 GERBER P2 1600 USER MANUAL
This user manual provides the following information:
•Full technical specifications for the Gerber P2C 1600 cutters and
compatible media.
• complete description of the main components of the Gerber P2C 1600
cutters.
•Step-by-step instructions for knife and pen installation and media loading.
•Instructions for online and local mode ( ) operations.
•Instructions for USER CONFIGUR TION and INTERN L TESTS operations.
•Maintenance and cleaning instructions.
•Information about the USB, RS-232-C, and Centronics interface cables used
to connect the cutter to IBM, IBM-compatible, pple and pple-
compatible host computers.

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-4
1.2 SPE IFI ATIONS
1.2.1 UTTER
Gerber P2 1600
with standard stand
mm inch
Height without stand 255 10.04
with stand 1010 40
Width without stand 2260 89
with stand 2260 89
Depth without stand 550 21.65
with stand 740 29
Weight without stand 45.4 kg 95.5 lbs
with stand 100 kg 220.5 lbs
T BLE 1-1:
GERBER P2C 1600 CUTTER SPECIFIC TIONS
1.2.2 MEDIA
D1600 SL
mm inch
Width 170 to 1620 6.7 to 63.8
Maximum
cutting width 1575 62
Min margin
left/right (*) 25 1
Front margin 25 1
Rear margin
Sensor on
Sensor off
42
30
1.7
1.2
Tracking
Performance
+/- 0.1mm up to 12 m (vinyl < 760mm) (**)
+/- 0.004” up to 39 feet (vinyl < 30”) (***)
+/- 0.1mm up to 4 m (vinyl >760mm) (**)
+/- 0.004” up to 13 feet (vinyl >30”) (***)
Media
Thickness
0.05mm to 0.25mm
0.002” to 0.01”
Up to 0.8mm with optional sandblast knife
Up to 0.03” with optional sandblast knife
(*) for positioning of the pinch rollers (see section 1.8.)
(**) Media lengths greater than 12 m (39 feet) can be handled, but compliance with
specifications is not guaranteed (will be dependent on media type, media size and other
parameters).
(***) Media lengths greater than 4 m (13 feet) can be handled, but compliance with
specifications is not guaranteed (will be dependent on media type, media size and other
parameters).
T BLE 1-2:
GERBER P2C 1600 MEDI SPECIFIC TIONS

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-5
Vinyl Types
wide range of vinyl types has been evaluated and tested on the Gerber P2C
1600 cutters. When using duly certified media, operation in accordance with
the functional specifications of the model is warranted. Gerber should certify
other media before use to ensure performance in compliance with
specifications.
See ppendix for a full list of all Gerber duly certified media suitable for
friction drive operation.
Plotting Paper
Bond paper (120 g/m2 recommended)

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-6
1.2.3 KNIFE, PEN, AND POUN ING TOOL
The Gerber P2C cutters are supplied with two standard knife blades (for vinyl
media) and a black fibre tip pen.
Tool Medium Quantity
Standard knife
(requires a standard knife holder)
Standard, reflective
& fluorescent vinyl
2 off
Sandblast knife Sandblast & thick
material
optional
Pouncing tool Paper optional
Pen olor Quantity
Fibre tip pen Black 1 off
T BLE 1-3:
GERBER P2C 1600 KNIVES, PENS, ND POUNCING TOOLS
To order replacement knives, pens, and/or pouncing tools, contact your local
dealer, quoting the part numbers listed in table 1-9.
The Gerber P2C cutters will only perform according to specifications if a
genuine Gerber knife, pen or pouncing tool is installed. Do not replace the
standard knife, pen or pouncing tool with products from other manufacturers.
1.2.4 INTERFA E
ommunication USB ver 1.1, standard asynchronous RS-
232-C and Centronics parallel interface
USB : I/O Port connector USB series “B” receptacle
Mating connector USB series “B” plug
Serial : I/O Port connector DB-9P
Mating connector DB-9S
Byte format 8 data bits, 2 stop bits, no parity
Baud rate 38400, 19200, 9600, 4800, 2400 bps
Parallel: I/O Port connector Centronics female
Mating connector Centronics male
T BLE 1-4:
GERBER P2C 1600 INTERF CE SPECIFIC TIONS

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-7
1.2.5 FIRMWARE
Languages DM/PL, HP-GL, and HP-GL/2
(with selectable origin HP7475 and HP
7580/7585)
Supported character sets Standard SCII
Supported fonts Sans serif (single stroke & medium)
ROM-based plots Confidence plot, DIN plot
T BLE 1-5:
GERBER P2C 1600 FIRMW RE
1.2.6 PERFORMAN E
Specifications for cutting on 0.05 mm (0.002") wax-backed vinyl having a total
media thickness not greater than 0.25 mm (0.010").
Axial speed 50 to 1000 mm/s 2 to 40 ips
Default speed 800 mm/s 32 ips
Acceleration 3 G 3 G
Addressable resolution 0.025 mm, 0.1 mm 0.001", 0.005"
Default resolution 0.025 mm 0.001"
Mechanical resolution 0.0127 mm 0.0005"
Accuracy 0.2% of move or 0.25 mm,
whichever is greater*
0.2% of move or 0.010",
whichever is greater*
Knife pressure 0 to 400 gr. 0 to 400 gr.
Pen pressure 0 to 400 gr. 0 to 400 gr.
Pouncing pressure 0 to 400 gr. 0 to 400 gr.
*Excludes differences due to media expansion, stretching, etc.
T BLE 1-6:
GERBER P2C 1600 PERFORM NCE
1.2.7 ERTIFI ATIONS
CE Certificate
FCC Class
Complies with UL 1950, CS 950

Gerber P2 ™ 1600 utters User’s Manual
General Information 1-8
1.2.8 ENVIRONMENTAL ( UTTER WITHOUT MEDIA)
Operating Temperature 15 to 35° C 59 to 95° F
Storage temperature -30 to 70° C -22 to 158° F
Relative humidity 35 - 85%, non con-
densing
35 - 85%, non con-
densing
T BLE 1-7:
GERBER P2C 1600 ENVIRONMENT L SPECIFIC TIONS
IMPORTANT HINT
The use of dimensionally stable media is an essential prerequisite to
obtaining high cut quality. Additionally, media expansion or
contraction may occur as a result of temperature variations.
To improve the dimensional stability of media, allow it to acclimate to
the current environmental conditions for at least 24 hours prior to use.
1.2.9 ELE TRI AL
Main Supply: 48-62 Hz, single phase.
Nominal line Min./Max. line Fuse
100 V C 89 - 108 V C 1.25 , Slo-Blo
120 V C 108 - 130 V C 1.25 , Slo-Blo
220 V C 197 – 238 V C 0.6 , Slo-Blo
240 V C 216 - 260 V C 0.6 , Slo-Blo
T BLE 1-8:
GERBER P2C 1600 ELECTRIC L SPECIFIC TIONS