whats your favourite feature of your cmc

[stcstc]

hey guys

just thought might be interesting to see what people see as their best features of their cmc machines

there is a new feature in the gunnar software which i love

input a whole bunch of mounts of varying sizes and click the "calculate how many boards button" and it nicely works out how many sheets you need

man i am using it for all sorts, even working out how many bits of glass i can get out of a sheet!!!

[Trinity]

If it were just one, Sam at Framers Corner.

[stcstc]

ah yea goes without saying, same with sarah from gunnar

but did mean things that machine did lol

[Trinity]

Ok then. Dream on Grandad, dream on.
Nesting. It works out from the largest mount the number of diminishing mounts you can get from what would otherwise be the drop out and cuts the lot in one go, starting with the smallest.

[stcstc]

ya like that about the gunnar, i often nest 50-80 mounts of varying sizes in one go, and it works out the most efficient cutting over multiples sheets at one, not just one sheet

i actually like that i can adjust how close the the internal of one the external of another can be too

[Roboframer]

I like the ability to stick up to three boards together, any thickness/combination of thicknesses then emboss (or draw if I had the pen head) a design on the top board and then cut all three boards.

[Tudor Rose]

I think my favourite feature (after remembering to switch it on of course ) is the ability to save designs so that regular customer orders are just a case of opening the design and cutting the mount. I suppose really it is all about the main reason we got it in the first place, which was to save us time. All the additional stuff it can do after that is a very useful bonus really.

[stcstc]

actually yea i like being able to save customer stuff

in fact i have the gmc software on 3 machines, so when i am doing anything complex, rather than stand at the machine, i sit at my desk with 2 nice big monitors and able to design there, save on my server and pick it up on the cutters machine

this has 2 big benefits

not tying up the machine while designing
being able to use big monitor and wacom tablet means easier to design on

[markw]

slightly lame favourite - but its cutting circles and ovals that are perfect. I remember just how painful it was to get out the cutter and cut by hand - now its so easy. Of the additional stuff, and there are so many things that you can do with the cmc, possibly cutting strips out of foamcore - new function on V Studio - makes lining boxes a breeze. I don't do much production framing so rarely cut lots of mounts of different sizes in the same colour - if I did I would be very envious of the obviously beneficial ability you have to nest automatically.

[Abacus]

I like all the fancy (and mostly unused!) features, but my favorites are the simple stuff:

I've just cut 3 mounts from a sheet using tiling, and while they were cutting I cut the glass & backs.

I cut a 5 aperture double mount (with 3/16ths reveal) perfectly, every time.

I cut jumbo mounts as easy as 10 x 12

[Trigger]

Speaking as someone who started off in the family business using a flatbed mountcutter before moving on to a Valiani pneumatic - it is the ability to be able to see the layout you are creating on the screen with the CMC, particularly useful for multi apertures where you know that the measurements are correct and that it looks right. You can move things around and consider the best way to place things, all before you actually cut anything. And you can also use it as a design tool with customers where they want something a bit different and show them the design on screen. It has been a great help on many occasions.

[DCS]

The amount and time it saves is unreal. What used to take 15 minutes now takes one with no effort at all.
What I don't like is the price of the blades (50 x 90 degree cut blades £100)

[stcstc]

consistency is another thing, doesnt matter who cuts the mounts, they look the same

how many cuts d you get out of a blade, if you work out per mounts is not a lots is it?

[DCS]

The blades now last a lot, lot longer than they used to. If the edges on the mount board start to look a bit dodgy then and only then do they get changed.
Having said that we do get quite a lot of mounts from one blade but no idea how many!

[benjiman grapes]

Nesting.
Ovals.
Designing layout to calculate spacing.
Templates for comlicated float mounts.
Pen Tool.

I also like the software, it's no Adobe Photoshop but i'm getting faster at it.

As for the idea of having the software on 2 machines is brilliant, I'm trying to push the boss to do this as I hog the machine.

[misterdiy]

The mighty Trucut gives us endless amusement. It has a mind of its own and will decide independantly if it will cut a side or not. We find it very entertaining.

The Trucut is a fast machine and excellent for cutting volume mounts.

On the blade issue we have frequently cut 500 mounts from a set of blades, but on another day it will cut half that.

Still love it though

[prospero]

I think this thread in unfair to those members of our profession who are CMC-deficient.

[stcstc]

ah ya grumpy fecker

you could always get one )

[Steve N]

I love everything about my Val

On the blade issue, we are now getting through at least a box of 100 a month some of the mount designs we cut are quite complex and can take between 5 to 10 minutes to cut each mount, have been known to change the blade every 3-4 mounts
On normal rectangle/square and circle/oval mounts the blade wear is good

[benjiman grapes]

We eat blades mainly die to the fact we stock a really cheap board we put in our ready frames. The board is riddled with foriegn objects that chip our blades. Much like the neildon mount board we stock haha