Introduction

The cutting workflow involves some additional elements to those found in the printing workflow since, for example, it is possible to associate a material with many different cutting methods:

To operate in the cutting workflow it is necessary to create (configure) the corresponding associations in the additional tabs of Cutter Tools Configuration:

Once everything is configured, you will be able to automate your production.

Please note that these tabs are available only for some drivers classified as GrandCut and the configuration of each particular machine may vary.

Editor tab: Materials and Methods association

When you open it, you will see that by default CalderaRIP includes a template with one material (DEFAULT) and seven associated cutting methods. In addition to the default template, you can also create your material and method association from scratch.

Materials settings

• GUID: The Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) is the unique identifier of the material. It can be a name (data) or a number (128-bit label) that identifies the material at a computer level. 
• Name / Type / Description: It can be a name such as "Vinyl", "Banner", "Dibond", "Foamboard", etc. This value will help you identify the material at an operative level, which also means that you can use the same name for several media (the GUID value is the one that identifies them uniquely). 
• Thickness (value or range min - max): Here you can set values in millimeters. Either directly the actual thickness of the media (one number) or the range of available thicknesses (min - max). In the latter case, the thickness is a parameter of the association between the printer's media and the material.

Methods settings

• Name: It can be a name such as "Kiss-Cut", "Thru-Cut", "V-Cut", etc. These values will help you identify methods at an operative level (the ID value is the one that identifies them uniquely).
• ID: Just like the GUID at the materials set-up, the ID is the unique identifier of the method. It can be a name (data) or a number (128-bit label) that identifies the material at a computer level.

  Note that some cutters don't need it, in which case the value can be set to 0.

The following values are useful for the driver to specify a color for the method in question since some cutter drivers will be able to display these colors in the preview, while other cutters use color to differentiate the registration marks method from the vectors:

• R: Decimal value of Red (from 0 to 255)
• G: Decimal value of Green (from 0 to 255)
• B: Decimal value of Blue (from 0 to 255)
• Extra: Customized parameters in text form (for example, in the case of Multicam routers, it is possible to customize the list of hardware parameters such as speed and hovering position).

Save/Load Materials and Methods 

Please note that the information in the editor is related to the information in the other tabs "Methods" and "Materials".

Changes need to be saved by clicking Save to be effective. In case of errors, you can always go back to the latest saved state by clicking Load, then confirm that you don't want to keep changes.

Also once changes are made, you must close and reopen the window to refresh other tabs, such as Methods (contours - methods associations) and Materials (printed media - materials associations).

Import/Export a set of Associations

By clicking on the corresponding buttons it is also possible to Import, Save, and Export configurations to another station. Both import and export are supported through the use of XML files.

Materials tab: Materials and Media association

In this tab, it is possible to associate the media (substrate) from your printer with a specific material (correlation of 1:1). 

The "Materials" tab includes:

• A column with the "Media names" (input coming from the Print Module Interface you are using and EasyMedia). Discover how to manage media with EasyMedia by clicking here.
• And another column of "Associations" (input coming from what you have already entered in the previous step / Editor tab).

Methods tab: Methods and CutContours association

In this tab, for each material created in the Editor tab, you can retrieve the methods you have created (Register, Draw, Thru-cut, etc.) and associate them with cut contour names (correlation of 1:1).

CalderaRIP can search in these methods what to do with a contour present in the job, and the search is conducted from the top to the end of the list and stops when it finds a method that suits it.

A contour is compatible with a method if:

• Its name suits the following pattern:
  • “*” means that it can be everything
  • “*Word” means your contour’s name has to end with “Word”
  • “Word*“ means your contour’s name has to begin with “Word”
  • *Word* means your contour’s name has to contain “Word”
• Available with this media is Yes. “This media” refers to the current media chosen for the print. Some cutting methods are not compatible with every media because of the cutter tool used for it.

 Tips & tricks

You can use wildcards to associate several contours to the same tool/method (name*, *name or name). You can also "populate" methods filters: read more about it in this article.

Example of Methods and CutContours association

Step 1: Create a new method for a generic CutContour and another method for a more specific CutContour.

Step 2: Click on "New" to open the settings pop-up and fill it in as displayed (remember to create the specific one first):

Step 3: Click on OK. The new method has been added to the top of the list. This method only works with contours that have CutContourCircle as a name.

Step 4: Now, add the general method. Click on "New" then fill in the pop-up as displayed:

Step 5: Click on OK. The new method has been added just on top of *Register*. Note that it is possible to add, delete or edit as many methods as you wish.