A Guide to using the Silhouette Cameo Cutter

[JohnT]

May I ask where the "type 2" blades are purchased please. Ideally I would like to source one from this country if at all possibl

 

Both holders seem to take the same blades. Just look for CB09 blades on ebay or amazon. There are UK suppliers but they are more expensive.

 

If you mean Type 2 holder suppliers then it is a bit of a lottery as there seems to be no distinction made by the sellers. Personally I would look for a seller who shows the holder in pieces like I have above.

 

John

Edited February 17, 2017 by JohnT

[MikeTrice]

Mine came from this supplier a couple of years ago: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Graphtec-blade-holder-Vinyl-cutter-and-printers-0-9mm-CB09-UK-/201677716359?hash=item2ef4edbb87:m:mn2veihyqY_xiPZXLBvBWKw

[James Harrison]

I bought a CB09 holder and set of blades a few weeks ago from Ebay... turned up yesterday and the holder doesn't fit in the cutter!  Unlike the experience of some others, my holder is actually too slim to fit inside the cutter without wandering around.  I've packed it out with sellotape and noticed halfway through a cut that the holder was still pushing itself out the cutter, and wandering around... so straight lines were turning more into a wiggle.

 

I might need to go and have a think about this- create a plastic sleeve to hold the holder in I think... meantime I'm back to using the original blade which is starting to blunt a little.

[jonhall]

heat shrink as a sleeve? my CB09 holder sat a bit low so it has a circlip as a packer.

 

Jon

[JohnT]

When is a CB09 blade holder not a CB09 blade holder?

 

The variations keep appearing. But not actually fitting in the cutter sounds like a good case for a replacement or refund under the ebay heading "not as described".

 

John

[Stanley Melrose]

I've printed my first few sheets of (white) styrene and am having difficulty seeing the scribe marks.  I've wondered about rubbing something over the surface to mark the lines I've scribed but before doing so, I thought I'd ask if anyone had any tips - is this a good idea?  If so, what is the best substance to use?

 

Any ideas welcomed.

 

Stan

[jonhall]

Whaen doing my demo I dribbled a little bit of ink onto the sheet and wiped it around with a damp tissue so that it accumulated in the grooves.

 

Jon

[Stanley Melrose]

Thanks - that's the kind of thing I had in mind.  I'll certainly give it a try.

 

Stan

[Buhar]

Standard grubby-finger muck does it for me.  I supply my own, but no doubt there's an posh version available on eBay.

[Siberian Snooper]

I rub a pencil across the grooves and then smudge it with a licked finger.

[Biased turkey]

Here is the final result for the TT scale bicabine .

It is  a very interesting project that  make me discover some limits , and some good points  of the Silhouette Portrait.

 

The bicabine behind is 3D printed

 

Jacques

 

[Robin2]

Here is the final result for the TT scale bicabine .

It is  a very interesting project that  make me discover some limits , and some good points  of the Silhouette Portrait.

Very nice.

I would appreciate it if you would share your discoveries.

 

...R

[Y_Rail]

Hi all, new member here.

 

First of all, congratulations and many thanks in advance for the splendid topic offering tons of advice and guidance concerning the use of the Silhouette cutter. I have read a lot about it, its limitations in cutting thicker styrene, the fact that one must think in "layers" when trying to build a structure etc.

 

I am considering buying one for myself (probably the Cameo 3, feel free to advice me otherwise if needed), yet i have some very particular questions about the capabilities of the machine and therefore i would very much appreciate your input/help/guidance.

 

1. I wonder if the resolution/accuracy of the machine is sufficient in order to be able to scribe styrene in order to make passenger car sides (corrugated metal sides, imagine US Budd passenger cars in HO scale). So can lets say the Cameo 3 (or 2) produce sequential parallel lines (scribed) on styrene sheet in order to represent the (1/87 scale) corrugations?In other words is the center-to-center minimum distance that the machine can achieve when scribing styrene sufficient?

 

2. Again with respect to the capabilities of the machine, would i be able to make brick-mortar /  stone-wall patterns on sheet styrene (scale 1/87 again)? Again the aim is to produce my own brick-walls / buildings etc.

 

3. Can i draw / produce the cutting files on inkscape svg format and use these files in order to cut using the Cameo? I am using linux exclusively therefore the bundled software is no-go for me.

 

Many thanks in advance for your time and effort in replying to me. Do let me know if this is the right topic to post my question or if i should have posted a new topic instead.

 

Yannis

[Robin2]

3. Can i draw / produce the cutting files on inkscape svg format and use these files in order to cut using the Cameo? I am using linux exclusively therefore the bundled software is no-go for me.

 

I have been using my Portrait successfully with Linux. I use LibreOffice 4.3.5.2 Draw to make my images as it seems to have more features than Inkscape. I export the drawing as a SVG file and then I use Inkscape with this extension to do the cutting. (Hope I have the correct link, I can't check it right now). The newer version of LibreOffice caused problems - it seemed to add borders to the cut images which caused unwanted cutting.

 

I won't comment on the other issues because I don't fully understand the requirement. I have successfully cut pieces less than 1mm wide and it can probably scribe at closer intervals.

 

...R

Edit to add ...

I have a feeling it is this version of the Inkscape extension that I am using because I remember having problems with registration marks and I believe it was this version that fixed that.

Edited February 24, 2017 by Robin2

[Siberian Snooper]

Hi all, new member here.

 

First of all, congratulations and many thanks in advance for the splendid topic offering tons of advice and guidance concerning the use of the Silhouette cutter. I have read a lot about it, its limitations in cutting thicker styrene, the fact that one must think in "layers" when trying to build a structure etc.

 

I am considering buying one for myself (probably the Cameo 3, feel free to advice me otherwise if needed), yet i have some very particular questions about the capabilities of the machine and therefore i would very much appreciate your input/help/guidance.

 

1. I wonder if the resolution/accuracy of the machine is sufficient in order to be able to scribe styrene in order to make passenger car sides (corrugated metal sides, imagine US Budd passenger cars in HO scale). So can lets say the Cameo 3 (or 2) produce sequential parallel lines (scribed) on styrene sheet in order to represent the (1/87 scale) corrugations?In other words is the center-to-center minimum distance that the machine can achieve when scribing styrene sufficient?

 

2. Again with respect to the capabilities of the machine, would i be able to make brick-mortar /  stone-wall patterns on sheet styrene (scale 1/87 again)? Again the aim is to produce my own brick-walls / buildings etc.

 

3. Can i draw / produce the cutting files on inkscape svg format and use these files in order to cut using the Cameo? I am using linux exclusively therefore the bundled software is no-go for me.

 

Many thanks in advance for your time and effort in replying to me. Do let me know if this is the right topic to post my question or if i should have posted a new topic instead.

 

Yannis

 

I have had no problem scribing lines down to 0.5mm apart, but for any scribe line that has been produced using the cutting blade, you will need to use a "squaker" to open the line to a visible width. Others have used an etching tool.

[aberdare]

Hi all, new member here.

 

2. Again with respect to the capabilities of the machine, would i be able to make brick-mortar /  stone-wall patterns on sheet styrene (scale 1/87 again)? Again the aim is to produce my own brick-walls / buildings etc.

 

Yannis

Hi Yannis

 

With regard to the above part of you post I have cut brickwork on my portrait to fit around some stone windows, after cutting I gave it a rub with some fine emery and just cleaned it up before adding a bit of colour just to see how it looked, it's nowhere near finished yet but seems to look OK. This is in 1/76th scale.

 

 

I hope that helps

 

Jim

[Robin2]

That kept the cutter busy for a while

 

...R

[Y_Rail]

Robin2 thank you very much for the heads up and the links about using a Silhouette with Linux. I can still make the design directly in inkscape without having libreoffice intervene right?

 

As for my requirement about passenger cars, i am trying to scribe styrene plastic in order to repreent the narrow corrugations that appear on the roof and letterboard area of a Budd passenger car (not the wide flutting which appears below the window, although that is handy as well). The idea is to be able to make my own passenger car side and roof. I am posting a link for a walthers' car that shows the corrugations in question as an example for the type of distances i am talking about (the roof narrow corrugations).

 

https://www.walthers.com/85-budd-large-window-coach-ready-to-run-painted-unlettered-silver?ref=1

 

Siberian Snooper, thank you for the feedback! I think based on what i see on the Budd roof from the link i posted, 0.4 to 0.5mm center to center might work. What do you mean by squaker? Scribing tool like an olfa or tamiya line engraver?

 

Aberdare / Jim, this exactly what i am talking about, excellent brickwork and craftsmanship by the way. This is the type of wall i want to make with a Cameo. (As well as cutting windows' frames, details etc....with layering).

 

Many thanks again and i am looking forward to see if the corrugated roof from the passenger car in the link is doable with a Cameo (and some post processing with a scriber if needed).

Edited February 24, 2017 by Y_Rail

[Robin2]

I can still make the design directly in inkscape without having libreoffice intervene right?

Yes. I just mentioned LibreOffice Draw because it seems to have more features and IMHO is easier to use.

 

But I have long experience with LO Draw and almost none with Inkscape. If you are already familiar with Inkscape it makes sense to use it. If not. I suggest you try LO Draw.

 

...R

[BG John]

I've just changed from Windows to Linux, but am setting up an old laptop to run my Portrait, that I've put Windows 7 on. I found that I have trouble using the Portrait with my USB hub, so it means unplugging everything else on my main laptop when I use it. Having a dedicated computer for it means I can carry on doing other things while it's cutting.

 

Keeping a Windows machine also means I can use software that won't run in Linux using Wine on it. SCARM is one annoying example, where the design side works fine, but the 3D view doesn't.

[Y_Rail]

Robin i ll give LO Draw a try definately, although i am relatively used to inkscape. 

 

BG John, true that a dedicated machine can help. OT:I am using xtrackcad on linux which unfortunately does not have 3d view.

 

Sooner than later i ll be getting a Cameo 3 and hopefully i ll contribute to this thread as well.

[Siberian Snooper]

Robin2 thank you very much for the heads up and the links about using a Silhouette with Linux. I can still make the design directly in inkscape without having libreoffice intervene right?

 

As for my requirement about passenger cars, i am trying to scribe styrene plastic in order to repreent the narrow corrugations that appear on the roof and letterboard area of a Budd passenger car (not the wide flutting which appears below the window, although that is handy as well). The idea is to be able to make my own passenger car side and roof. I am posting a link for a walthers' car that shows the corrugations in question as an example for the type of distances i am talking about (the roof narrow corrugations).

 

https://www.walthers.com/85-budd-large-window-coach-ready-to-run-painted-unlettered-silver?ref=1

 

Siberian Snooper, thank you for the feedback! I think based on what i see on the Budd roof from the link i posted, 0.4 to 0.5mm center to center might work. What do you mean by squaker? Scribing tool like an olfa or tamiya line engraver?

 

Aberdare / Jim, this exactly what i am talking about, excellent brickwork and craftsmanship by the way. This is the type of wall i want to make with a Cameo. (As well as cutting windows' frames, details etc....with layering).

 

Many thanks again and i am looking forward to see if the corrugated roof from the passenger car in the link is doable with a Cameo (and some post processing with a scriber if needed).

 

Squaker was a term I picked up from David Jenkinson, in his book on coach building, he made his from old hacksaw blades, but I spotted an Olfa product that looked the same, so I use that.

[MickRalph]

I think more usually known as a "scrawker" - Eileen's Emporium and others) sell them.

 

Mick

[Y_Rail]

I think more usually known as a "scrawker" - Eileen's Emporium and others) sell them.

 

Mick

 

I just checked this out, it is similar to the ones i got from Olfa, Tamiya and Trumpeter to scribe/cut plastic. I presume that the Cameo will provide the accurate/consistent parallel lines which i will then use as a guide to later improve them with the scriber/scrawker.

 

Many thanks again!

[bgman]

I presume that the Cameo will provide the accurate/consistent parallel lines which i will then use as a guide to later improve them with the scriber/scrawker.

 

Many thanks again!

The Cameo will most certainly provide you with accurate and consistent lines assuming the drawing you produce in the software is accurate. As a newish owner of one I am extremely impressed with its ability, especially for consistency when drawing/scribing stonework or brickwork.

I hope this helps.