A Guide to using the Silhouette Cameo Cutter

[BRIDGEMAN]

Has anybody had problems down loading the user instructions from the help menu of the Silhouette Cameo.

Ray.

[JCL]

Hi Ray

 

The user instructions are in an Adobe Acrobat PDF file called manual.pdf that should have been installed as a part of your Silhouette Installation. The file should be in this folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Silhouette Studio\Resources\Resources\SPEC_SS2\manuals. If you don't have it, please PM me with your email address and I'll email it to you.

 

cheers

 

Jason

[MikeTrice]

I assume you have a PDF reader installed?

[Lord Summerisle]

The silver bullet cutter looks like a fantastic bit of kit.

 

Looking through the prices on the UK sellers website though I notice they charge extra for shipping insurance and state;

 

 

Optional Insurance for Cutters We strongly advise that cutters are insured when shipped.
If you choose not to insure then if the cutter is damaged on receipt we will not be able to make a claim ourselves and thus will not be able to replace it.
Insurance prices are as follows - 

 

http://www.thymegraphics.co.uk/products.asp?cat=102

 

Is that even legal?

 

It's little things like that which would put me off purchasing one.

[richbrummitt]

Is that even legal?

 

According to my understanding of the distance selling regulations; no. It's not the first time I've seen it on websites.

 

It probably means that if you don't pay them more you're in for a world of pain if anything did go awry with delivery.

[Metalhip]

You can always collect and have it demo'd,that's what I did.

 

Allan

[MikeOxon]

There's a new version of the 'Studio' software V3.0.293 - 2 April 2014

 

It seems to offer better drawing tools and also has a TWAIN interface to input directly from a scanner.  I've only had a quick 'play' but it seems to be a significant enhancement.

 

Mike

[JCL]

Thanks for that Mike.

 

It must be popular, I've an estimated download time of over an hour!

[JCL]

Well it looks nice, I'm hoping there's a way of turning off the animation as that's unnecessary.

 

On the up side, cutting is a lot more flexible. My method was to output the file from Inkscape to Silhouette with cut lines in red, scores in cyan, and other colours as necessary. Then I had to go into the line type palette and select each colour to turn cutting on or off for that type of line. Then go into the cut palette to either cut or score the selected lines. The cutter would then make a number of passes over the material depending on how many different actions I need to perform.

 

Now I just export the coloured lines as before, then go into the cut palette, click on each line colour and assign an action to it. You can only assign predefined actions, so you need to set these up ahead of time. You can also set the cutter to pause after an action and you can turn some colours off.

 

Well, all I need to do now is run it. I've one sheet of .020" left, so here goes nothing

[monkeysarefun]

I've just bought a Silver bullet - I chose it over the Cameo because I figured its extra capability would be useful in my other hobby of ship modelling where I'm hoping I can use it to cut and emboss copper hull plates amongst other tasks.

 

I've only just started playing with the Silver bullet - but already  boy this things good! Heres just a quickie I was practicing with.

 

Original, photographed with phone camera,

 

 

imported into Inkscape and traced, then cut from .5mm styrene using Silver Bullet...

 

 

The final shot has them just placed on top of each other temporarily, they aren't fixed as yet.

 

 

And the best thing is that if I need 5, 10 or 20 of them, I just put in more styrene and hit the cut button again!

 

[JCL]

And the best thing is that if I need 5, 10 or 20 of them, I just put in more styrene and hit the cut button again!

Absolutely! Its one of the best things about automated cutting. You can do any number, and you know they will all be the same. Nice window by the way.

[JCL]

My advice on Studio V3 is to be careful.

 

• The software crashes if I try to save a dxf file. That said I've only had time to try one dxf file.
• If you use Studio as your drawing software, you will not be able to open files saved in version three in older versions of the software. This is important if you decide to roll back your version to the previous one. You can get around this by saving the file with a new name but you won't be able to access any changes you made using that file in the older software.
• It doesn't seem to allow you to get back to the origin (top left) at the end of a cut, so you can't do a load of cuts.
• When cutting, you can insert a pause between cut commands (i.e. colours). Unfortunately, the origin seems to change after a pause and the cuts are then offset

This is a quick look, and I might have done something wrong, but I'd be interested to see other people's experience if you decide to give it a go.

[MikeOxon]

 

• It doesn't seem to allow you to get back to the origin (top left) at the end of a cut, so you can't do a load of cuts.

There's an option in the 'Advanced' menu on the 'cut settings' menu to either eject the page or return to the origin at the end of a cut.  There are other options that affect the order in which cuts are made.

 

I suppose the backward compatibility issue is inevitable, since the new version has options that the earlier software cannot implement.

 

I found that when I opened a .DXF file, it appeared off the cutting mat area and I had to move it into position.

 

Mike

[Ron Heggs]

I found that when I opened a .DXF file, it appeared off the cutting mat area and I had to move it into position.

 

Mike

 

Hi, Mike

 

It all depends on where the drawing origin is when the drawing was created for the DXF file. The cutting mat origin is bottom left corner. You can correct this 'problem'  by ensuring your drawing's top left corner is set to 0, 305 before saving as a DXF file (assuming you're working in mm)

 

Ron 

Edited April 8, 2014 by Ron Heggs

[JCL]

There's an option in the 'Advanced' menu on the 'cut settings' menu to either eject the page or return to the origin at the end of a cut.  There are other options that affect the order in which cuts are made.

 

Yes, I saw that, but unfortunately it didn't make a difference at the time. Since that post, I've rebooted my computer and a few of the niggles, such as crashing when saving and not going back to the origin have cleared up. Overall I like the upgrade as it fits into my workflow much better, especially the ability to cut using different pressures based on the line colour.

 

On the backwards compatibility, I agree, and I see it only being an issue for people who draw in Studio instead of using Inkscape, Corel Draw, etc, and who may find that they need to roll back to the previous version.

 

On the origin, I tend to just select all and drag, but Ron's correction would be interesting. I'm going to be nowhere near the cutter for the next two weeks, so can't test.

[MickRalph]

I have just taken delivery of a new Silhouette Portrait and I am trying to set it up to print direct from Inkscape. I have installed the Silhouette Portrait driver and will be able to print direct, but I would like the extra facilities provided by the controller, such as setting the speed and thickness.

Prior to buying the Portrait, I borrowed a Silhouette SD, which was recognised as a Graphtec CC330L; the Craft ROBO Controller installed from ROBOv51 provided a "Controller" button on the print preferences dialogue for this cutter. However, the Portrait is installed as Silhouette Portrait and the ROBOv51 software does not recognise this cutter and does not provide the "Controller" button. Likewise, the Pepakura Cameo Viewer does not provide the button (Tama Sotware does say that it doesn't support the Portrait}.

There was discussion of this on page 4, where Jason showed that he has the button available, but he has the Cameo machine.  Has anyone worked out how to get the functionality of the "Controller" button for the Portrait?  Have I missed something?

Mick Ralph

[MikeOxon]

Hi, Mike

 

It all depends on where the drawing origin is when the drawing was created for the DXF file. The cutting mat origin is bottom left corner. You can correct this 'problem'  by ensuring your drawing's top left corner is set to 0, 305 before saving as a DXF file (assuming you're working in mm)

 

Ron 

I've since found an option to 'centre' the image when importing DXF files, in the Preferences | Import menu.

[Roger.s]

Can anyone tell me if the CB09 cutter can be used with a Craft Robo CC100 - 20?

I currently do my drawings in Autocad and then save  them as DXF files which Robo master can load.. So is there any advantage in loading the new version of the Silhouette Studio software? Will it even work on an original Craft Robo?

 

Regards Roger

[Nile]

Cutters hit the big time!

 

There is a (short) article about using a 'digital craft cutter' for modelling in the June Model Railroader. It may get a few more people interested in it.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Nile

[JCL]

Blimey, that was a short article, and not a coach in sight! You're right, it'll certainly raise awareness though.

[ThePurplePrimer]

I bought a silhouette based one this thread and all the great things you guys are achieving but I am having a small problem

 

Using the software that comes with it I don't seem to be able to cut a rectangle properly - it sort of curves in on the corners and seems to be worse the smaller the rectangle

 

Here is a poor freehand drawing that shows the problem ( sort of )

 

Any ideas what I am doing wrong ?

 

[MikeOxon]

......

Using the software that comes with it I don't seem to be able to cut a rectangle properly - it sort of curves in on the corners and seems to be worse the smaller the rectangle

 

Here is a poor freehand drawing that shows the problem ( sort of )

 

Any ideas what I am doing wrong ?

A few questions to try to make a diagnosis:

 

1. does the rectangle look OK on the screen before cutting?

 

2. about how big is it?

 

3. are you using the cutting mat, what material are you cutting,and is it stuck down firmly?

 

My first thought is that the work is slipping slightly during cutting.

 

Mike

[jpendle]

It should cut straight, maybe you have the settings wrong for the material you are cutting. Try cutting the same shape in a piece of paper, the Silhouette has a paper setting. Make sure you set the blade height correctly. If you get good cuts on paper then it would suggest that your settings are wrong for your original material.

 

John P

[JCL]

Hi there

 

I thought I'd write a quick post to let you know that I've been building an Armstrong Whitworth 1-co-1 over the last few weeks. If you are modelling the LNER in the north east in the 1930s, then this is one of the pioneer diesels. There are links to the prototype details on the first page. I haven't finished the model yet, but I'm close, so I've just uploaded the plans to the thread in SVG and DXF format if anyone is interested in using them http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/83896-a-powered-armstrong-whitworth-d9/ .

 

I obviously don't want any money, I only ask that you let me know if you decide to give it a go.

 

cheers

 

Jason

[HAB]

 

Any ideas what I am doing wrong ?

 

badcut.jpg

 

 

I wonder if the answer to your question is to be found here:-

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/84868-scratchbuilding-a-msjar-3-car-emu/page-4&do=findComment&comment=1439130

 

Best wishes,