How to create your bathbomb packaging in 2D Design

3. Printing your net graphics

Before printing your file you need to double-check that you’ve kept your cut lines, your graphics and your dimension lines on separate layers.

Click on the Layers button at the top of your screen. Un-tick ‘visible’ for your graphics and dimension lines.

You should only be able to see your cut lines.

Click on the Layers button at the top of your screen. Tick ‘current’ for your graphics layer, then un-tick ‘visible’ for your cut lines. You should only be able to see your graphics.

If you find something is on the wrong layer, highlight it with the Select tool, then click on the Layer button and select the correct layer for the item.

Remember that your graphics have to be within the area marked by the grey dots, otherwise the plotter won’t be able to cut out your net. Make sure you don’t have anything on the page selected, because 2D Design will only print the highlighted object.

To print your graphics first make sure you have put lightweight A3 card in the printer.

Go to FilePrint Setup and set the paper size to A3 and the orientation to landscape. When you press Ok a window will pop-up, click on the No button oryou will loose the grey dots. Then go to FilePrint and print a copy of your graphics.

4. Preparing your print for the plotter

Use one of the carrier sheets that are kept next to the plotter and use masking tape to tape each corner onto it.

Arrange your print on the carrier sheet like shown below, making sure you don’t cover up the black dots on your print. Fold the overhanging bits of masking tape neatly to the back of the carrier sheet.

5. Loading your graphics into the plotter

Put the lever on the back of the plotter down. Feed the carrier sheet into the plotter as a landscape format. Try to get it in as straight as possible, aligning it with the plastic ridges on the plotter.

The rollers on top of your print have to be within the white stripes marked on the plotter. Move them so they also are as close as possible to the edge of the carrier sheet.

Move the lever up, so the rollers grip your print.

On the small display on the plotter you will be asked what you want to load: using the arrows (▲▼) select Pieceand press the Enter button. The plotter should start loading your sheet, scanning for the black dots on your print.

If the plotter can’t find the black dots, or says that the sheet hasn’t been loaded properly press Menu, Unsetup, then Enter.Press Menu and Enter again, then put the lever down to unload your sheet and start the loading process again.

6. Cutting out your net

Basically the plotter works like a printer: have your file open on the computer that is connected to the plotter.

Make sure only your cut and score lines are visible.

Go to FileCNC Output.

Make sure Roland Camm 1, GX-24 is selected as the output device.

Click on the Tools button.

In the window select Cut by colour and Both.

For the black score lines set No of passes to 1 and Force to 50.

For the red cut lines set No of passes to 1 and Force to 200.

Click Ok, then Output. The plotter should start cutting out your net.

Voilá!

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