A big announcement came from KNK USA today! At the end of October, the first Bluetooth KNK’s will begin shipping!
I cannot count the number of times customers have asked me if there would ever be a wireless Klic-N-Kut and I always responded, “I doubt it.” Alas, I was wrong! The time has arrived and I’ve been told that it is working flawlessly. I cannot wait to get one!
Going wireless means that owners can set up their KNK Maxx Air anywhere within ~ 30 feet of their computer and not be burdened with the USB or serial cable previously needed. This will certainly lead to an entirely new arrangement within my own office/craftroom and I can’t wait to do that. For anyone preferring to stick with the old school connection, no problem! A USB cable and serial cable will both continue to be provided with every Maxx Air shipped. For those who do not have Bluetooth already available in their computer, an adaptor will be provided for free by KNK USA.
Bluetooth technology is not the only enhancement to the latest Maxx product line. The Maxx Air will also feature:
A more powerful motor for faster and quieter cutting.
The maximum cutting speed will now be 800 mm/sec compared to our previous 600 mm/sec.
There will be 168 cutting speeds, which will be more than sufficient for any application, from cutting very thick dense materials to drawing or engraving at super fast, time-saving speeds.
The maximum cutting force is now at 1500g with more settings (255 versus the previous 160).This will keep me busy for the first few months, as I will need to retest the wide range of materials capable of being cut on our machines. Just as with the previous KNK’s, I want to provide a detailed table of recommended cut settings so that new owners have a good starting point for their test cuts.
The control panel on the new Maxx Air will feature a few other changes:
Pressing the Origin button while online will toggle the laser on and off. This will make it much faster than the previous method of needing to go Offline and pressing the Menu button before pressing Origin.
A menu setting called Dwell which will delay the start of a cut. This function will be used with the future rotary tool where a delay is needed so that the tool has a chance to drill down to the depth needed for the engraving of metal or wood.
A menu setting called Soft Landing which will change the force used when the blade is first dropped to penetrate the material.
These new models will come with the same outstanding features as our prior models, including:
Bolt-on flatbed tables
A fully-adjustable blade holder seat (which permit a wide use of pens, markers, and other accessory tools)
Adjustable pinch rollers
A large (13″ x 22″) extra-thick long-lasting cutting mat
A built-in laser for spot-on print and cut applications
The $300 bonus package of free blades, crafting tools, and miscellaneous cutting materials will also continue to be shipped with every Maxx Air NOTE: the $300 bonus was discontinued when the price of the 15″ Maxx Air was decreased from $950 to $799.
Superb technical support, customer service, and educational resources: I will be writing the user manual for the new Maxx Air and providing tutorial videos, as needed. 😛
To further compare how the new Maxx Air compares to the prior Maxx models and to the amaZing Zing, view the comparison table updates also available here at this site. Be sure to also check out the opportunity to save $50 on the new Maxx Air by putting down a $100 deposit in advance of shipping. Go to KNK USA and then click on Maxx Air, in the left column, to learn more.
Make The Cut has been around for only 3 and a half years and is programmed by one person, Andy Heinlein, the owner. He has had numerous free updates that have greatly enhanced the number of features available. He has a knack for making things user friendly and efficient. The three strongest features of Make The Cut (in my opinion) are the vectorization, the automatic reduction of nodes option, and the print and cut process for laser alignment. While KNK Studio has all three, they pale in comparison when it comes to ease of use.
KNK Studio is a reduced version of Sign Lab which is produced by CADLink corporation. Sign Lab, which is used for printing, cutting, routing (and probably more), has been around for years and there are many versions, like KNK Studio, sold under 3rd party names. For example, Graphtec calls their reduced version i-DesignR. Most new owners find KNK Studio complicated to learn, especially since the Help files are not modified by CADLink to only show those features available in KNK Studio. Plus there are settings in some windows which don’t do anything because they are not applicable. Further, it takes a very long time to get updates. The one we currently have available is over three years old! We are working on having a version 9 to sell soon, but it could still be months away. On the other hand, KNK Studio has some very important features that make it desirable for some of our customers to own. The node and segment editing is considered excellent. I’ve had quite a few customers who were using Adobe Illustrator prior to learning KNK Studio tell me that once they gave the node editing in KNK Studio a chance, they realized how much better they liked it. Some of the other important features, compared to MTC, would be the ability to easily switch between inches and mm, weeding and power weeding, engraving fill, custom guidelines/toolbars/shortcuts, and cut by color.
Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any other questions you have.
Your 8-page comparison of features in MTC and KNK Studio is excellent and quite unexpected. Not only is it thorough and well organized, but your assessment of each (Standout Feature vs. Regular Feature vs. Feature Needs Improvement) is very helpful.
Clearly both packages have unique strengths and relative weaknesses.
What is the current status of each from a development perspective? Is each being upgraded and enhanced by (hopefully) its original programmer?
If I’m asking questions that have already been well-discussed, then a link would be fine.
Good to hear everything worked. I created a comparison of features between MTC and KNK Studio here:
https://www.iloveknk.com/wp-content/uploads/Info/MTCversusKNK.pdf
This chart just shows the positive features. There’s a link at the top that provides a longer comparison table which lists all features: positive, standard and then needs improvement.
You can download the trial version of Make The Cut here: http://make-the-cut.com/Download.aspx?ref=lp
I will have to find out from KNK USA the extra cost of KNK Studio. It will probably be ~ $75.
Just ignore the registration since you do not have a pin to use.
The import into KNK Studio was as success: From MicroStation I exported my drawing to a DXF-formated file. Then, From KNK Studio, I selected File>Import and browsed to my DXF file. On clicking it, the DXF Import Options window came up. This options window allowed me to specify some additional import parameters. I then clicked OK and it was done. A success. I noticed that the origin of my drawing was mapped to the lower-left corner of the “Sign Blank” area, and that if I wanted my drawing to import differently, then I would need to redefine the origin of the Sign Blank. Good stuff. I would have also checked out the Export capabilities, but I see that on this Demo Version that that can’t be done. Makes sense.
I’ve got KNK Studio’s online manual open and will review other features as well. It would be interesting to compare them to Make-the-Cut features.
Michael
Solution: I simply dismissed the registration window. It appears to be working in Demo Mode.
While I’m at it, could you also provide me with a link to MTC that I can use in demo mode. I’d like to review the capabilities of that software too. If I purchase the MAXX Air, I assume that I would be sent one software package and, if I wanted both, would need to purchase the other. What would be the cost?
The install of KNK Studio Maxx Demo went smoothly. However, it is now asking me for a Software Activation PIN. What shall I enter? It does not accept being left blank.
KNK Studio has about 20 different import filters. If you like you can download the trial version and experiment with the various available export formats you have available to see which one or ones work best. The trial version doesn’t allow you to save or export but the import should work just fine. Here’s the link:
https://www.iloveknk.com/Support/Software/KNK-Studio-for-Maxx-and-Groove-E/
Alternatively, you can email some of these files in the different formats and I can see if they import correctly. I just figured it would work better since you will be able to make sure all of the lines appear and are the correct sizes.
My drawing files were created using Bentley Systems’ MicroStation. The drawing files are “filename.dgn”. How would I import drawing of this kind into MTC or KNK Studio? If there’s no direct translation (which I expect), I can translate my drawings into AutoCAD’s DWG or DXF format. Will that get me closer?
Hi Michael, Our KNK Studio software will import PLT files which are HPGL. You can optionally get KNK Studio instead of MTC with a Maxx Air. I sent you an email privately this morning answering other questions you sent to me. Hopefully, you received that email just fine. If not, post another comment here and I will see it.
Does the Maxx Air accept HPGL-formatted files? I currently send such files to another manufacturer’s plotter. I don’t see in the Maxx Air specs that the HPGL language format is accepted.
Yes. With the AI file, it should already be a vector and ready to cut. The PDF will depend on whether it was a raster or vector format when it was created. If it was vector, it will be ready to cut. If it was raster, then you can use the Pixel Trace function to vectorize it. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Hello, I am looking at purchasing the Maxx Air 24. I do have one question. WIll it be able to take a .ai or .pdf file and cut along an outline to cut the image from the file. Thanks
Hi Teresita!
SO very sorry! Some of the Maxx videos work great with the Maxx Air and some do not! The laser is now turned on when you are in Online mode. Same button but you do not have to press Menu.
Have you accessed the Maxx Air support page? You might want to go through some of the instructions in the User Manual for the MA instead of relying solely on videos. Sorry about that! Here’s a link to that page:
https://www.iloveknk.com/support/knk-maxx-air-support-page/
Feel free to send me more questions or issues! I’m happy to help!
Hi Ms. Sandy
Just bought a KNK Maxx Air through your website and it arrived today. I’m trying to follow your video about doing your first test with the pen. The laser light doesn’t turn on so I can set the point of origin. I followed the instructions in your video and the manual. While the machine is on press the Online button so its says offline>press menu>then press the origin button with the circle and crosshairs. Nothing happens. No light ever turns on altho I’ve turned the machine on and off. Is the cutter defective?
The best decision may depend on your application! How do you plan to use your new cutter?
Thanks Sandy,
For the quick response. You’re very helpful and knowledgeable, I’ve seen you answer many people’s questions while I’ve be researching various cutters. Keep up the good work. I have to decide if I want to Zing or take it to the Maxx Lol.
Kathy
The rotary tool will be for the Maxx Air models. I believe it will also be able to work on the older Maxx, however the dwell function won’t be available on those.
No problem not having Bluetooth – Every Maxx Air ships with a free USB-Bluetooth adaptor!
I was leaning towards the 15″ Zing but now I’m considering a Maxx Air 24″. It looks amazing. I’m trying to learn about the Dwell feature but looks like you covered that here. I have a question about the Dwell feature for the future rotary tool. I’m wondering if this rotary tool will be available for the maxx air or is it for futur cutter?
My computer isn’t Bluetooth so will that be a problem for me?
Thanks, Kathy