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Help Needed! - Graphtec FC4100-75 - Software/Compatibility/Drivers/Communication/Blades/Setup
Hello all, I am new to owning a plotter and in need of some help. I recently inherited a working Graphtec FC4100-75 in amazing condition -near new - from a closing vinyl/tint business. It has a new cutting strip already installed and came with a blade (not sure what blade). The previous owner was using Tint-Tek and Flexi 6.1 on an archaic PC that cannot even connect to the internet anymore. As a side note I am not very tech savvy when it comes to terminology or linking the devices together, but I can read and comprehend things just fine. Part 1: I am trying to figure out how to get the Plotter properly connected and communicating to a new 2024 MacBook Pro M3 (OS Sonoma 14.4.1) or my 2022 Microsoft Surface Pro X (Windows 11) using the Serial-Com Port with a RS-232C adapter to USB-C. Currently I was able to get the plotter set up and even dialed in the test cutting properly for Vinyl and PPF with the blade it came with. On my old 2019 MacBook Air, I was also able to register the plotter as a "printer". At the time I had an active trial for Core just to test cutting capabilities, but it never cut any patterns once set up when I selected send to cut, it would only roll the material in/out. Since upgrading my Mac, I cannot get the Plotter to connect at all to the new Mac Book Pro - Have not tried with the Surface Pro yet - Need advise/help here, I was thinking of just designating the Surface Pro X to the shop if I can get it to work, but also happy go buy whatever will work (including a whole new PC with Windows 10). I am not able to find drivers for the plotter, so getting it to communicate properly is my main goal. Part 2: Knowing that this is an older legacy Graphtec plotter, I can imagine there isn't a ton of options out there that provide tint/ppf cuts that are compatible anymore and I need some help tracking down what will work best. As much as I love Core, I am not a high enough volume shop right now to spend what they want per month for both tint and ppf patterns - any solid alternatives that could work well? Avery VDT, Suntek, Llumar, or any ideas would help. I also plan to make custom vinyl decals so advice on other programs that work for this would help too, something like Digi-Cut, Flexi, or...? Part 3: Once I get everything set up and working properly, I am in need of some help picking out the right blades for cutting patterns for Carbon Tint, Ceramic Tint, PPF, & Vinyl. I can already set up all the specifics like Force, Speed, and Quality, but I am trying to figure out what blades I should be using with each material as there are a million options out there. I prefer Graphtec's Blades but I am coming from hand cutting everything. So not up to par on what works with what. Final Notes: I have read the entire Users Manual for the Plotter. Cover to cover, twice, and have only gotten this far. I spoke with Graphtec support but they did not have any help to offer, they told me it is an outdate model they no longer offer support with and recommended me asking around on forms or using a computer repair shop to get things connected. I spoke with a Computer Repair shop I have used for many things and they told me it would be $600 to $1,000 to have them come out just to get it connected to the computer and working properly. I am hoping with some guidance and industry knowledge here I can get it up and running for my business needs. I truly appreciate all the help I can get, otherwise I am just going to sell it and continue hand cutting everything (not ideal with the technologies we have available now-a-days). It really is like new and I'd hate to see it gone when I know there are answers. Thanks in advance for any help with this. -
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At What VLT% does visibility start being impacted
It is all subjective. You can NOT get a real answer except for yourself.- Visibility
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Automotive Tint Comparison
It's probably worthwhile mentioning that I live in a gets very hot in summer and mostly year long, and never gets to a point where snow fall is a concern. Record High Temperature: 48.9 Celsius or 120 Fahrenheit Mean maximum °C (°F): 38.8 C or 101.8 F Mean daily maximum °C (°F): 31.2 Celsius or 88.2 Fahrenheit Mean daily minimum °C (°F): 3 Celsius or 37.4 Fahrenheit Mean minimum °C (°F): 1.6 C or 34.9 F Record low °C (°F): -6 Celsius or 21.2 Fahrenheit To the USA based forum users, think: Dallas-Fort Worth Texas region (in particular around Denton/Sherman) Houston Texas Harlingen, Texas Orlando, Florida Tampa, Florida Lawton, Oklahoma San Diego, California Los Angeles, California San Jose, California Fresno, California Sacramento, California Puebla de Zaragoza in Mexico For Europeans, think: Spain (Cordoba) Italy (Palermo) Portugal (Lisbon) Greece (Athens, Crete, etc) -
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At What VLT% does visibility start being impacted
Yes, I'm aware that any level of tint reduces driver's visibility (part of the reason regulators impose maximum tint % is due to safety concerns), but my question is more regards any noticeable difference between VLT% & therefore subsequent increase in accident risk as a consequence when it comes to comparisons of the aforementioned tint %s. Given the government where I live don't allow anything darker than 35% in the front side, but allow 20% in the rear side and rear window, my presumption is that there's a noticeable difference between 35% and 20% in low visibility conditions (which makes me wonder why the rear window is allowed to be 20% and not 35%). But where does visibility impact start occurring? Is there a particular variance between VLT that the driver notices a perceivable difference (obviously this would differ between ever driver due to inherent individual characteristics, hence I'm wondering whether a study has ever been conducted on this)? For example: Would 35% be noticeably worse than 45% for driver's visibility in front side windows? Would 20% be noticeably worse than 33% for Rear side windows?- Visibility
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At What VLT% does visibility start being impacted
2024 Toyota RAV4 GX Auto 2WD My region is humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa/Cwa) somewhat similar to Dallas-Fort Worth Texas.- Visibility
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At What VLT% does visibility start being impacted
The answer is YES.... Any tint will impact your vision. How much you can tolerate is really subjective and situational. Are and vision impact, where you are driving impacts, the type of car and window angles impact......- Visibility
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Automotive Tint Comparison
I forgot to ask about Low Angle Haze (LAH), do any particular films have less LAH than others? Is LAH so much of a problem that it's better to avoid ceramic tint and go another kind of tint like SunTek CXP (CarbonXP) CXP -
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At What VLT% does visibility start being impacted
In the jurisdiction in which I live, we are allowed to have 35% in front and 20% in rear. I'm wondering @ what VLT% does the driver's visibility in adverse conditions like night time driving, storms, cloudy weather, fog, floods, etc., start being impacted? Front side windows: 45.00% 43.00% 42.00% 41.00% 40.00% 39.00% 38.00% 37.00% 36.00% 35.00% Rear Side Windows: 38.00% 33.00% 32.00% 31.00% 30.00% 29.00% 27.00% 25.00% 23.00% 22.00% 21.00% 20.00% Rear Window: 45.00% 43.00% 42.00% 41.00% 40.00% 39.00% 38.00% 37.00% 36.00% 35.00% 33.00% 32.00% 31.00% 30.00% 29.00% 27.00% 25.00% 23.00% 22.00% 21.00% 20.00%- Visibility
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