TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Shab
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:55 am

TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Shab »

I want to "Print and Cut" using SCAL-3 with my Silver Bullet. I am using Windows 7. The instructions say:

"If too much time passes between commands sent from the computer to the cutter, the software will time out. You will need to exit out of the print and cut screen and restart the process."

THE COMMUNICATION TIMES OUT IN 2 SECONDS FLAT! This is certainly not too much time and it is definitely not sufficient to perform either a calibration or a registration! Is there a way to make the "time out" much longer or is there another solution. This is a very frustrating situation which has not been properly addressed by your software designers.

Shab Levy
shablevy@comcast.net
sstehman
Posts: 1964
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:29 pm
Location: Sandy in PA (PC&MAC,Inkscape .48, SCAL2,eClips, eCAL)

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by sstehman »

I have never had this problem. Have you tried shutting down your SCAL and your computer and doing a restart to see if it still happens? Do you have the most current version installed?
Sandy in PA
Shab
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:55 am

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Shab »

You are very lucky not to have had this problem. The problem is real however. Of course I have done everything I know of in trying to solve the problem. Of course I have rebooted the computer and the software and I do have the latest version of it. But as I said before, this is a real problem which is something that is being acknowledged by Craft Edge, the makers of SCAL. Here is what they say:

"The cutter itself automatically resets itself after a period of inactivity. We have been working on an update to prevent the cutter from automatically resetting itself.

Sincerely
- The Craft Edge Team
http://www.craftedge.com"

So, as you can see, the problem is not in my imagination, nor is it the result of ignorance on my part. The problem, it seems, stems from the Silver Bullet machine itself.

Shab
sstehman
Posts: 1964
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:29 pm
Location: Sandy in PA (PC&MAC,Inkscape .48, SCAL2,eClips, eCAL)

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by sstehman »

Hope they get it worked out for you quickly. I don't have the Silver Bullet so guess I missed that part of your post and probably why I've never had the problem.
Sandy in PA
Thyme
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:10 pm

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Thyme »

Hi Shab,
Actually this info is not completely correct. There is a time out with the machines, but the length of time depends largely on individual computers and the quality of the communication between that computer and the cutter. Using my Mac Pro, Scal 3 and my Silver Bullet the time out I have is over 5 seconds (I timed it). Please also bear in mind that this time out is not related to the time taken to complete the procedure of either calibration or registration, it is the time between commands - the command being the instruction to move the carriage. Even with a 2 second time out there is plenty of time to decide which direction the laser needs to move in and to press the relevant key.
Shab
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:55 am

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Shab »

I agree that 5 seconds is sufficient time to send feedback to the cutter, even 2 seconds is enough, the problem however is that once the cutter times out, it does not respond any longer to any further commands. The communication dies flat out and there is no way to revive the feedback mechanism again, unless you start the process from scratch, which of course brings us to the same problem again.

You say that the length of timing-out depends largely on individual computers.
I use a fast and robust computer which certainly should be good enough to operate the cutter:

Windows 7
Processor: Intel Core i7 CPU 3.20 GHz
RAM: 24 GB
64-bit Operating System
USB-3

I am not a novice at using computers or peripherals and with my robust computer station and the acknowledgment by the software company, my conclusion is that the problem is only with the Silver Bullet cutter and not with my inability to hit an arrow in 2 seconds!

Someone suggested that "It is just a matter of learning how to do it" Hmm...Well, I followed the exact instructions, I can hit one arrow in less than 2 seconds for sure, but after that there is no more response - period!

Perhaps my new cutter which I got only a couple of days ago has an individual problem not found on other Silver Bullet cutters?

The bottom line is that the cutter does not do what it is supposed to do as advertised. Most of my projects involve the feature of "Print and Cut" and this was the main reason I bought this cutter. I hope that the software folks will be able to correct this glitch soon or otherwise I will have an expensive but not very useful machine to collect dust...and I will have to go back to using my trusted X-Acto knife...

Shab
Thyme
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:10 pm

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Thyme »

Hi Shab,
The issue with some computers is not the specification but rather communication.
You agree that two seconds is enough to hit the arrow buttons, so the time out should not be causing you a problem even at so short a period of two seconds. It rather sounds as though communication is dropping regardless of when you hit the arrow button as you should be able to hit it again and again so long as hit each is done within its own timeout (in your case the two seconds). If you would like to contact your reseller we will happily work with you to resolve the problem.
I agree that it will be nice if Craftedge are able to increase the time out, but until or if they do, we have 100's using both the Silver Bullet and the Cougar to print and cut through Scal very successfully.
One option I would suggest is to try a usb 2 port if you have one. We have not tested the machines with usb 3 and it is quite possible that this may be a factor.
Shab
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:55 am

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Shab »

You are not saying that my computer is too fast for the Silver Bullet - are you?

In any event, I do have also a USB-2. I will give it a try and will report back.

Shab
Rachell
Posts: 442
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 2:15 pm

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Rachell »

I have usb 3 also but use the usb2 for my silver bullet as I have not tried it in the usb3 ,
are you using the arrows on the key board or using the mouse to click the on screen ?
Thyme
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:10 pm

Re: TIMING OUT TOO SHORT

Post by Thyme »

Shab wrote:You are not saying that my computer is too fast for the Silver Bullet - are you?

In any event, I do have also a USB-2. I will give it a try and will report back.

Shab
No, not at all. I have a brand new top spec Mac Pro, that is the one I get over 5 seconds timeout on. One of my other computers will timeout in less and it seems to have very little to do with specification or speed.
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