Plot to a HP DesignJet 500

[blockandahole]

Has anyone successfully setup a pcf file to plot to a HP500?


Our plots are always clipped when using the pcf from the HP750.

 

[Dell_Boy]

Have you compared the physical plotting margins of the 500 to the 750. This is probably the source of your problem.


DB

 

[willwad]

Maybe this article on PTC's Knowledge Base will help. Itprovided megreat help with clipping issues. I havepasted part of it below.
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<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">


[url]http://www.ptc.com/cs/cs_26/howto/plt107/plt107.htm#Procedur e2[/url]


Procedure for Troubleshooting Clipped Plotted Output


Clipping occurs when a plotter has a predetermined "hard clip limit" or "plottable region" on the paper that is smaller than the image to be plotted. This region could be smaller due to accomodations for rollers, the pen carriage, etc. There are several techniques that may be used to resolve this issue.
<HR>

1. 
   <LI>The origin of the plot can be moved because of functionality that was added in Release 16.0 of Pro/ENGINEER. The Offset option can specify a positive or negative offset in the X and Y direction. This allows the lower left corner of the plot to be translated to prevent clipping.
   <HR>
   
   <LI>Another technique for solving a clipping problem is to plot to a larger size sheet of paper. The use of a larger sheet guarantees that the plottable region is large enough to encompass the entire plot. In this case, it is recommended that a sheet one size larger than the actual drawing size be used for the plot. For example, to accomodate an A size drawing you would plot to a B size sheet of paper. Pro/ENGINEER can be informed of the larger media by selecting B for the paper size when creating the plot file. This pick will not scale the plot file up to a B size image, it will only inform Pro/ENGINEER that a "B" size (11 inch x 17 inch) space is available to plot the image.
   <HR>
   
   <LI>A better long term alternative to using a larger sheet of paper to solve clipping is to create a new format. A Pro/ENGINEER user may create a format that takes into account the hard clip limit of a specific plotter. By consulting the appropriate plotter's manual, the user can determine the clip limit of the plotter in question. The user can create an internal format border which is slightly smaller than the size of the paper to correspond with the plotter's plottable area. This method will allow the user to plot a nearly B size drawing on a B size sheet and guarantee that none of the drawing items will be clipped.
   <HR>
   
   <LI>If the user is not concerned about plot scale, the plot may be scaled down to better fit within the paper borders. A scale of 0.97 will usually fit the image within the plotter's plottable region. To scale a plot select Configure from the Print dialog box then select the Model tab of the Printer Configuration dialog box and enter the desired scale in place of the default 1.0 value. </LI>

<HR>



Many pen plotters with large hard clip limits have a selection known as expand mode. Expand mode allows the pen carriage to extend beyond the boundaries normally allowed. Pro/ENGINEER does not support expand mode, and users should turn this setting off when plotting Pro/ENGINEER plot files. The use of expand mode with a Pro/ENGINEER plot file may cause the plot file to plot off center by an amount equal to the difference between the normal hard clip limit and the expanded hard clip limit. Therefore, if your plotters expand mode allows an extra 15 cm in the x and y direction, the resulting Pro/ENGINEER plot will be off center by 15 cm in the x and y direction. If an off center plot is encountered, verify that expand mode is off before contacting PTC Technical Support.


Copyright 1987-2006

 

[Dell_Boy]

I have years of experience of running an HP650c permanently in expanded mode and it can be done.

Using suggestion 3 to set up the worst case limits for all of your intended plotters and plot offset to adjust for variations between individual plotters you can get can all plots reasonably well centred on standard sizes of paper.

With pen plotters the outer border can be fractionally inside the limit. With raster plotters you must be at least half the "pen" thickness inside the limits.


DB

P.S. With all the problems they have had with it over the years, I never expected PTC to have a handle on the metric system and from their describing a 15cm difference between the soft and hard clip limits just reinforces this