Zünd Cutters
General Info
- 3rd Semester or higher
- Completed the Raplab safety introduction
- Completed the digital workshop introduction
- A USB to transfer the files
- Unlock your machine with the ETH card
- Confirm the error message with “OK”
- Import your vector drawing(pdf, dxf) into the Zünd_template
- Use vector colours: Red = Cut, Black = Engrave, Blue = Pen
- Click the Send to Zund Button, select your vectors and press enter
- Follow the command instruction to send the job to the machine
- Press the online button the start the job
Cost: 30.- / h
Area: 800mm x 1300mm
- Cardboard max 3mm
- Corrugated cardboard Max 4mm
- Foamboard Max 10mm
- Set your vector lines to the correct colour. Red to cut through the material, black to engrave the surface of the material and blue to use the pen to draw on the material.
- Make sure curved lines aren’t made up of too many polylines with a minimal amount of control points
- Any curved lines shouldn’t have a radius tighter than 10mm.
- Its best practice to space individual parts out with a minimum 3mm in-between. If you have many small parts very close to one another or touching, you run the risk of cutter tearing material and flipping the parts upwards.
- The 3mm rule also applies to detailed parts such as window frames. If there are area of your parts are less that 3mm wide, the laser cutter is likely to be a better option for your parts.
- Export your file to DXF, DWG, PDF or .3dm
Skip this step if drawing for your job isn’t required
- To activate the pen tool press the following numbers on the control pad
Zund 1 (F3 Enter)
Zund 2 (2 1 1 4 Enter)
- Use the navigation keys (2) to move the pen module over your material
- Lower the pen module by pressing the tool down button (3)
- Place the pen in the pen module. Loosen the thumb screw if it doesn’t go fully down
- Push the pen about 1mm into your material and tighten the thumb screw.
- Push the tool down button (3) again to raise the tool.
- Press Esc to return to the main menu
- Repeat all the steps above when changing to a different thickness of material
- Please remove the pen when you have finished and place back in the pen holder
Tutorial
Machine Setup
Unlock the machine with your ETH card
Zund 1
Acknowledge the error message with “ESC”
Clear the buffer by pressing F7 on the number pad. This is a precaution to delete any jobs from the previous user still be in the queue.
Zund 2
Clear the buffer by pressing 3, 3, 1 on the number pad then enter. This is a precaution to delete any jobs from the previous user that may still be in the queue.
Place the material on the machine bed. When placing your material, please note the orientation of the X- & Y-Axis and the zero position.
If you want to use the pen please refer to the Pen Setup Tab above in this tutorial and ask a raplab staff member for help.
Cover up the area behind your material to ensure the vacuum power as we can only specify the vacuum width not the vacuum depth.
Rhino Setup
Open the “Zund_Template” (Desktop) in Rhino 7
Import your vector drawing (pdf, dxf, dgn) with the command “File” > “Import”
Check your vectors are the correct colour, Cut = Red (RGB 255,0,0), Engrave = Black (0,0,0), Pen = (RGB 0,0,255) by double clicking the coloured box (3) that corresponds to your layer.
Move your job inside the material boarder window. leaving a 5mm+ boarder around your workpiece
Click the send to Zuend button (1) in the Top left corner of the screen
Select your vectors. Confirm with enter
Follow the instruction in the command bar (2) pressing enter after inputting each setting
- Type in the width of your material in the “Y” orientation
- Select type of material
- Type in the material thickness
- Select “yes” to send the job
Press “on-line” (1) on the machine panel to start the task.
If the machine says “vacuum slide blocked”, simply press ESC then on-line again.
If you need to pause a job press online again.
PLease clear the Vacuum table once the job is complete.
Troubleshoot
- Confirm with “esc”
- Continue with “online”
Check that you do not have details smaller than 3mm. If details larger than 3mm still have a bad cut quality, contact a Raplab-Employee
- Zund 1: Click “F7” to delete the buffer
- Zund 2: Press 3, 3, 1 on the number pad then enter to clear the buffer
- Re-send the task to the machine
- Turn off the machine with “shift”+”stop”
- ensure you are logged in with your ETH card
- Turn on the machine with “F1”
This may because your material is too small and therefore hasn’t got enough surface area for the vacuum table to work properly. Cover up the area behind your material to solve this issue. Also make sure you have correctly set the vacuum width.
Select your vectors and click on the properties tab. Change display colour tab to By Layer.
Click on tools in the top menu and select “tool layout”. On the tool layout window. Scroll down and check the box next to “raplab”.
Zünd 1
Press the Vacuum button (4) followed by the number 2
Zünd 2
Press the Vacuum button (4) followed by the number 1
Zünd 1
- Pause the job: online button (1).
- Turn off the Vacuum: Vac Button (4) + 2 on the number Pad
- Clear Buffer: F7
Zünd 2
- Pause the job: online button (1).
- Turn off the Vacuum: Vac Button (4) + 1 Button
- Clear Buffer: Press 3, 3, 1 on the number pad then enter to clear the buffer
- Re-send the task to the machine
