I have been trying to troubleshoot my 12" USCutter MH Series vinyl cutter for the last couple of days now. When I try to send a test cut through Sure Cuts A Lot, I get an error telling me the cutter can't be found. I'll spare you all the drama I had to endure and just list what/where I'm at now and hope for the best - your help.
Specs & Current Set-up
I'm working with a MacBook Pro OS X version 10.7 with Intel processor and have the cutter hooked up using a keyspan USB to serial adapter. I downloaded and installed the driver as directed and provided at http://start.uscutter.com/mh/osx, and changed the Baud Rate settings on the cutter to 4800. I also installed the FTDI USB driver via the Help menu in SCAL.Mac OS X
Version: 10.7.5
Processor: 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
Software Version: Sure Cuts A Lot 3 Pro (disc copy that came with my cutter)
Drivers Installed: Keyspan OS X 10.7 LION, FTDI Chip USB driver
Cables Used: Null Modem Serial Cable (that came with the cutter), USB to Serial Adapter DB-9 (I bought this for $5.54 from http://www.monoprice.com instead of the $45 offered separately through USCutter)
And prior to attempting to run a test using SCAL I rebooted my computer. The USB connection is seen by my computer as evidenced when I look it up in my computer's Utility/System Information under Hardware > USB as "USB-Serial Controller D" in the USB Device Tree below USB High-Speed Bus > Hub.
Now to the Problem...
With everything plugged in and turned on, I add some text to the work area in SCAL, select it, choose my cutter, and send it to cut. It then shows the "Cutting..." queue window grayed out with the word "Initializing..." for a couple of seconds before an error window titled "Cutting Machine Not Found" pops up. In this window it says the following block message:
My QuestionUS Cutter machine could not be found. Please make sure it is connected and turned on.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Make sure the cutting machine is turned on and connected to your computer.
- Make sure the USB cable is not loose at either end.
- If the USB connection looks ok, try the following:
1. Turn the cutting machine off.
2. Unplug the cutter's USB cable from the computer.
3. Unplug the Power Source from the cutter.
4. Wait 10 seconds and then plug in the Power Source to the cutter.
5. Plug the USB cable back into the computer.
6. Turn the cutting machine on.
What am I missing or doing wrong? I am at my whit's end on troubleshooting this whole thing. I consider myself pretty techie, but this is the first time working with a cutter. Would someone please help me? Your time and assistance would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you so much in advance!