A Guide to using the Silhouette Cameo Cutter

[2ManySpams]

A Silhouette newbie here, with my Portrait model acquired from the estate of a friend. Having looked at the machine it looks like I need a replacement 8"x12" mat and a blade.

 

Questions to the assembled experts:

1. What mat do people recommend?

2. What's the best blade to use for plasticard?

3. Where would you recommend buying these items from?

 

Oh, and a stupid one - how do I work out if I have a Portrait v1, v2 or v3? I'm guessing it's a v1:

 

 

 

Many thanks in anticipation.

[CloggyDog]

On 15/01/2023 at 20:53, 2ManySpams said:

A Silhouette newbie here, with my Portrait model acquired from the estate of a friend. Having looked at the machine it looks like I need a replacement 8"x12" mat and a blade.

 

Questions to the assembled experts:

1. What mat do people recommend?

2. What's the best blade to use for plasticard?

3. Where would you recommend buying these items from?

 

Oh, and a stupid one - how do I work out if I have a Portrait v1, v2 or v3? I'm guessing it's a v1:

 

 

 

Many thanks in anticipation.

 

Definitely looks like a Mk1 Portrait. 

 

Blades - I buy proper Silhouette blades via Amazon, you'll need the basic manual blade. Non-branded blades just don't last or stay sharp as long. 

 

Mats - 'low-tack' non-branded mats via ebay - I got 3 for about the price of 1 Silhouette-branded one and they work fine, just make sure 'Portrait' is in the search/item name. 

 

 

[Stubby47]

@2ManySpams

Mats - I've bought these:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Standardgrip-Silhouette-Cutting-Healing-Scrapbooking/dp/B07W4C2VV5

[2ManySpams]

12 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

@2ManySpams

Mats - I've bought these:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Standardgrip-Silhouette-Cutting-Healing-Scrapbooking/dp/B07W4C2VV5

 

Funnily enough so have I now...

[MJI]

Quick question about Cameo 4

 

When cutting does it scuff or pass over the top?

 

Just spent ages hand cuttting a window, so gave up and drew up a lot, so trying to work out if I can cut 5 thou clear plastic card without scuffing it?

 

Or if I need to buy sticky paper to sandwich it.

[ChrisN]

40 minutes ago, MJI said:

Quick question about Cameo 4

 

When cutting does it scuff or pass over the top?

 

Just spent ages hand cuttting a window, so gave up and drew up a lot, so trying to work out if I can cut 5 thou clear plastic card without scuffing it?

 

Or if I need to buy sticky paper to sandwich it.

 

Martin,

Never known it to scuff on cutting.

[aardvark]

Me either - I score-and-snap clear plastic using a C4 AutoBlade without mishap. I'm not sure how thick my plastic is - but certainly thicker than 5 thou.  Which blade are you working with, and what blade depth?

 

My immediate thought is that perhaps your plastic wasn't adhering to the cutting mat.

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by aardvark

[MJI]

1 hour ago, aardvark said:

Me either - I score-and-snap clear plastic using a C4 AutoBlade without mishap. I'm not sure how thick my plastic is - but certainly thicker than 5 thou.  Which blade are you working with, and what blade depth?

 

My immediate thought is that perhaps your plastic wasn't adhering to the cutting mat.

 

Autoblade.

 

I tried ages ago with thicker stuff,  but the thin stuff is pricy.

 

Just wanted to know if it would scuff because if it did i would laminate with sticky paper.

 

Cutting complex window shapes.

[MJI]

Small amount of scuffing but acceptable, will be doing these later

 

Will start on these, the Airfix BSO and Triang Hornby BFK first

2A TSO x 1 TH

2A BFK x 1 TH

2B TSO x 2 L

2B FK x 1 L

2C TSO x 1 L (I think, may be 2)

2C FK x 1 L

2C BSO x 2 A&L

 

[CloggyDog]

I'm doing some windows for my H0 24/1 on my Portrait 1 - it won't cut through the 20 thou(ish) clear plasticard I scavenged from a DPM building kit - even on max blade/downforce/10 passes - but certainly no scuffing experienced.

 

Just awaiting some Evergreen 10 thou clear and I'll give it another go.   

[MJI]

gave up on 10 thou.

 

Just glad most stuff can have Laserglaze, but the 2ABC stuff was sized too small to hide behind the frames.

 

First 2C BSO is in an all Airfix set 2CDEF, the Triang BFK a 1 2A 2DEF set.

[Richard_A]

Are you making the glazing or the window frames? 

[MJI]

Extreme Etching frames, his glazing was edge visible and so few people want it I just trialled some he made for himself.

 

This is not great glazing, but much better than strips behind, or none.

[CloggyDog]

On 06/03/2023 at 15:58, CloggyDog said:

I'm doing some windows for my H0 24/1 on my Portrait 1 - it won't cut through the 20 thou(ish) clear plasticard I scavenged from a DPM building kit - even on max blade/downforce/10 passes - but certainly no scuffing experienced.

 

Just awaiting some Evergreen 10 thou clear and I'll give it another go.   

 

Clear styrene sheet seems much 'harder' than normal styrene sheet - where my Portrait will cut through 10 thou white evergreen sheet (3 passes/blade 10/force 33/speed 5) with the Evergreen 10 thou clear it won't cut right through. Even with a brand new blade and upping passes to 5, 8 and then 10 it still only scores, not cuts.  😒

[ISW]

22 hours ago, CloggyDog said:

Clear styrene sheet seems much 'harder' than normal styrene sheet - [snip] -  Even with a brand new blade and upping passes to 5, 8 and then 10 it still only scores, not cuts. 

Or the clear styrene is slightly 'softer' and, as such, tends to self-heal (to an extent) after each cutting pass, thus reducing the effects of the cutting blade.

 

Ian

[MJI]

[BG John]

It seems it's about 6 years since this question was last asked, so maybe things have changed for the better, but I doubt it! Has anyone managed to get Silhouette Studio running, and cutting, in Linux? The computer in my machine room almost got thrown out of the window today after Windows 10 refused to find a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint on my network. I can control every other machine from Linux, so I gave up and installed Linux Mint 21.1 on it! For some reason dual booting with Windows wasn't an option. But now I need to find a way to control my Portrait. I'll probably just use an old laptop that has Windows 7 on it, but I'm running out of space in the room!

 

Alternatively, is there anything currently available for Linux that works well?

[rab]

I guess the answer to my query is somewhere in the 100 or so pages of this thread and I admit I'm being lazy in going through them all to find it but, will the cameo 1 cut plastcard, and if so, what thickness. I'm looking for cut right through, not score and break.  Thanks 

[jonhall]

1 hour ago, rab said:

I guess the answer to my query is somewhere in the 100 or so pages of this thread and I admit I'm being lazy in going through them all to find it but, will the cameo 1 cut plastcard, and if so, what thickness. I'm looking for cut right through, not score and break.  Thanks 

 

There is some variation from machine to machine, so what one person can cut cleanly another can't.

 

jon

[ChrisN]

1 hour ago, rab said:

I guess the answer to my query is somewhere in the 100 or so pages of this thread and I admit I'm being lazy in going through them all to find it but, will the cameo 1 cut plastcard, and if so, what thickness. I'm looking for cut right through, not score and break.  Thanks 

 

 

Hi, 

The answer on the machine I have which is a Cameo, but is also true for a Portrait is yes.  Definitely up to 15thou, but I usually use 10thou.  

Depth 5, 

Speed 1

Force  33

Passes 1, (some use 2)

 

HTH

[Siberian Snooper]

Mine doesn't always cut 10 thou, it seems to vary between sheets. Not to difficult to break out at that thickness.

 

 

[ChrisN]

55 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Mine doesn't always cut 10 thou, it seems to vary between sheets. Not to difficult to break out at that thickness.

 

 

 

Mine cuts, but sometimes where the different lines meets, there is a small piece of plastic that needs a cut.

[Janjy Giggins]

Hello! I just got a Silhouette Cameo 4 yesterday and am slightly overwhelmed with all the variables. I have been reading through this thread, but obviously there's a lot of it and if anyone could point me in the right direction for the settings to cut 2mm Cricut chipboard, I'd be very grateful. I have the standard autoblade and the 3mm Kraftblade.

 

Also, has anyone got experience of cutting the embossed Slaters brick plasticard with it (4mm scale)? Can you just treat it like other kinds of styrene? My assumption is that it would probably cut better face-down.

 

Thanks!

[ChrisN]

1 hour ago, Janjy Giggins said:

Hello! I just got a Silhouette Cameo 4 yesterday and am slightly overwhelmed with all the variables. I have been reading through this thread, but obviously there's a lot of it and if anyone could point me in the right direction for the settings to cut 2mm Cricut chipboard, I'd be very grateful. I have the standard autoblade and the 3mm Kraftblade.

 

Also, has anyone got experience of cutting the embossed Slaters brick plasticard with it (4mm scale)? Can you just treat it like other kinds of styrene? My assumption is that it would probably cut better face-down.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,

I cannot help with the Circut but maybe I can with the plasticard.  @Mikkel in his blog says that he has problems with Slater's embossed sheets, and yes you should cut them face down.  I have never cut embossed plasticard myself but for plain plasticard my settings are

 

Blade depth :  4

Thickness:        17

Speed:               1

 

Hope this helps.

 

[Siberian Snooper]

I have never been able to cut Slaters 4mm embossed brick sheets, SEFinecast sheet is marginally better, but needs to be broken out. I have a Cameo 3.

 

 

Edited January 17 by Siberian Snooper
I got the wrong name of the SEFincast sheet. Sorry for any inconvenience.