r13 + xp + usb = headache

hi everyone,
new to the forum, ive been using autocad for about 3 years now.
i am employed as a paper engineer and we use cad to design pop up cards, ads etc. recently i aquired a graphtec fc4200-50 flatbed plotter cutter. im in a hard spot now for a few reasons, and hope some of you may have answers.
first, the cad i use (stop laughing) is r13 on a windows xp machine. it is what i was trained in and seems to be only one that functions with our plotters at work. i do have 2000i but only use it to trace images, then i backsave to r13 and go from there.
my laptop computer has only usb connectors (no parallel or serial ports)
im having a difficult time getting autocad to recognize this virtual port (via a usb connector to a parallel connector). i feel like im in back to the future. can anyone suggest an idea of how to figure this out?
thanks,
matt

 

Hi Matt!

I think you need a print to file solution. First, your cutter can
interpret HP-GL emulation, so set it up that way. Then within acad13,
set up a printer device, that uses acad's internal printer choices, like
an hp "pen" plotter (for HP-GL emulation)... hp 7586B, and set it to
print to file and cfg it as req'd for the cutter's option, like paper
size.. Then get a spooler program, and set it up to spool to the cutter
(below is another post you can interpret for that portion). Then you can
plot in acad13 to file, into the spoolers folder and the spooler will
autospool the prn to the cutter's usb port.

Ciao!
~Terry

P.S. Another post... To alleviate the USB/ Printer problem, try a print
to file with a spooler approach as follows...

Install your Lexmark Printer Drivers (do not connect device at this time), only
setup for the port-- FILE; set this printer as default. Now... connect your
device and let winXP install it. Setup a C:\Spool Folder on YOUR PC and map as
drive-- Y: (or what you prefer!). Get printfile (via
http://www.lerup.com/printfile/ ) and set it up as a spooler with a link in the
startup folder, to search for all files in C:\Spool and send to local Lexmark
USB Printer.

Then when printing to Lexmark FILE, type in Y:\ and give a basic name like,
file.prn or plot.plt ...then hit enter and away the print file goes to the
spool folder, then the printfile grabs it and sends it off to the printer!

 

got it to work last night!!! i used a net use command and tricked the computer into thinking it was in a network and sharing a plotter. autocad has so many damn settings it was a matter of tweaking. im finally plotting and cutting. thanks for all the advice, everyone. come see what i'll be making,
www.mattshlian.com

peace,
matt