Complete Pepakura Viewer for CraftROBO guide/FAQ

[Charlieiscool12]

The only time the laser hasnt been able to read the registration marks for me is when i had it in direct sunlight. artificial light is fine for me so far. if you have a problem, just put the hood down and it should read wherever its set up.

 

[jedi tomray]

why don't the robo pro work this sucks i just bought the pro for vinyl stickers and graphics and it does all the same stuff as the others. i make armor and cut it all by hand will they ever make a verison for the pro?

 

[Artek]

so please tell me what im doing wrong... ughh so frustrating!

 

[OptimusWang]

Thanks for the awesome info and tutorial! Mine arrived in the mail today, and after some initial missteps I was getting perfect results

To the dude above me, make sure the paper is perfectly centered on the carrier or your registration will fail every time (occasionally this means pulling off a sheet, tossing it in the trash and reprinting it).

Charlie, my only question is how are you getting the margins set correctly in Pep designer? When I go to Print and Paper settings, I can't set each side individually, just top/bottom as one and left/right as another. So far I've just been opening the file side by side in each program and eyeballing it, but I'm thinking there must be a better way...

Edit: Also, how are you straightening the paper back out? Mine looks a bit like curly ribbon once it's peeled off.

 

[Artek]

this is kicking my ass. im using letter files, with letter settings, with letter registration marks, and at the top and bottom of the page, the cuts are off. in the center of the page its dead on. ive tried foling with the thickness adjustment setnings and small variances in placement on the carrier sheet. killing me. i have a $200 brick.

 

[Charlieiscool12]

@jedi: I really dont know. Ive never tried the craft robo pro, but the pepakura website says its not compatible.

@optimus: you have to eyeball it. As far as i know there is no better way.

@Artek: I really dont know what to tell you. I have no idea what is going wrong...

 

[Artek]

im thinking perhaps it could be my printer actually. that be the next on the list to get a printer with a more solid carriage feed. What printer do you use exactly?

 

[Charlieiscool12]

the samsung clp-315w

 

[Hickeydog]

Artek,

I had that problem for a while. Even though it's not cutting on the lines, the pieces are still the same size.

What I found works best is to the lay the bottom right corner (the side with the two registration marks) DIRECTLY over the corner marker on the carrier sheet. I'm not at home, but I'll take some pictures this afternoon and show you what I mean. For what ever reason, that solved both the alignment problem and the finding registration marks problem.

 

[swisherteets]

Artek,
If the paper is not moving in the carrier sheet when its cutting (due to the carrier sheet being not sticky enough)
And if what Hickeydog has suggested doesnt work.

Then more than like your cutter needs to be calibrated. It sounds like this might be your issue if the pieces are cutting correctly sized and just off center. There is a way recalibrate you cutter but it is a bit difficult i beleive and not a very precise procedure.
Look through the instruction book as I beleive it goes over it in there

 

[Teric]

Thanks Charlieiscool12 for posting this. I'm relatively new to the pepkura world - making a War Machine costume for my son. My fingers are sore from cutting and scoring, so I'm very tempted to get a Craft Robo. If I buy it, I'll use it. My only reservation is how accurate are the cuts and the folds. If a cut/score is even slightly off, the piece could be ruined. So in your experience, do the cuts and scores always land right on the line? Also, how durable are the carrier sheets? Looks like they're $15 a pop - have you had to buy new ones sinec you started using Craftrobo?

 

[Teric]

Disregard my last post - I didn;t scroll down far enough to see Artek's posts - that kind of answered my questions. Now I'm really not sure about this ... Don;t think I can take the frustration after shelling out $200...

 

[Hickeydog]

Okay. I had Artek's problem when I first started using my CR, and I have the solution. You have to cover up the top right corner of the carrier sheet. If the CR still can't find the registration marks, move the sheet left or right when you load it.

Left top will look like this:

 

[Artek]

ok, will try it now

 

[Artek]

no dice, thanks for the attempt though

the only thing i can think of is that the actual printing of the file is off a tad bit. Because in the middle its fine, but at the bottom and the top its skewed, so where the printer has the best control over the paper its spot on, but otherwise its off a tad. Thats the only thing i can think of, because once it reads the registration marks its should just go to town with the measurements provided by the pep file, it isn't looking where its going as its cutting. its assuming that your printer printed it exactly to the measurements on the screen

thats the only thing i can think of anyway (can you tell im an engineer) lol

 

[Charlieiscool12]

@teric: the carrier sheets arent the expensive part. If you just spray on some krylon easy-tack adhesive spray when your carrier sheet is at the end of its stickiness, itll never die. But the craft robo blades die quickly. You get about a full suit before the blade starts jamming edges and not cutting completely.

 

[OptimusWang]

Okay. I had Artek's problem when I first started using my CR, and I have the solution. You have to cover up the top right corner of the carrier sheet. If the CR still can't find the registration marks, move the sheet left or right when you load it.

I get the auto registering failed error quite a bit, but I don't see how this would help it - isn't the SD looking for the mark you're covering up?

 

[Charlieiscool12]

the registration mark error is usually because you have too much light in the room. go to a darker room or just close the craftrobo's hood.

 

[Hickeydog]

I get the auto registering failed error quite a bit, but I don't see how this would help it - isn't the SD looking for the mark you're covering up?

That's what I thought at fist, but after covering up that little corner mark, I haven't had a problem with the machine not finding the registration mark on the paper.

 

[OptimusWang]

the registration mark error is usually because you have too much light in the room. go to a darker room or just close the craftrobo's hood.

I always close it after i load it, and the room is pretty dark. It's bizarre, sometimes I even have to reload it for the second round of cuts, even though the first went through fine. You guys are saying you don't have to mash the cut button 3-4 times before it takes it though?