A Guide to using the Silhouette Cameo Cutter

[MikeTrice]

Continuing on from my earlier "first attempt" here are the 20thou parts. For these I did scribing of the door lines and ventilator hoods:

 

 

The 20thou was largely snapped out and still needs some cleaning up with files.

 

After laminating the various components together:

 

 

More than happy with the result

[uax6]

How far out / how many times did you score/cut the 20thou Mike?

 

It's a good looking bit of panel-work!

 

Andy G

[MikeTrice]

Taking a leaf out of JCL's book and having the opportunity to add something back: how to cut directly from Inkscape.

 

First off all you need the appropriate printer driver installed. This was found in the driver directory of the software disk that came with the machine:

 

Once installed, from Inkscape choose "Print" and select the Silhouette driver:

 

Click on Preferences:

 

In my case I have selected "Use cariier sheet". Click on "Cutline Settings" tab:

 

Click on "Modify Color" and select "Black" or the colour you have used in your artwork:

 

Finally back on the Preferences screen press "Ok" and proceed to print:

 

The only downside to printing direct is you get less options for cutting, so the speed is pre-set and not configurable, however from a convenience perspective it is worth giving up these options as I can now use the layers in Inkscape

 

[MikeTrice]

How far out / how many times did you score/cut the 20thou Mike?

 

It's a good looking bit of panel-work!

 

Andy G

10 thou panelling was cut twice with cutter depth of 5

20 thou also cut twice at 8 setting.

 

Next time I would use depth of 4 for 10thou and 10 for 20thou.

 

Harder to get, 15thou might be a good option for the base.

[JCL]

Hi Mike

 

It's interesting that you can cut with such a small amount of blade depth (which is great). I wonder why mine is so different.

 

On the Silhouette Driver, I don't have my CD, so I downloaded it from Silhouette http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/faq/solution/driver-concern . Interestingly, I have an extra button called Controller - in red in the form below:

 

 

Now clicking on it, nothing would happen. Then read about, and installed the Pepakura viewer from here http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/download/viewer_crobo.html . At the bottom of the page is an image of the controller form http://www.tamasoft.co.jp/pepakura-en/download/help_cut/index.html with other options on it, including speed.

 

I think you can then uninstall the viewer and it will leave the controller behind.

 

cheers

 

Jason

 

[MikeTrice]

Thanks for all your input Jason. See what you have started?

 

My first attempt after a blow over with primer - showing all the imperfections

 

 

Still lots of lessons learnt for my next attempt.

 

 

[allan downes]

Thanks for all your input Jason. See what you have started?

 

My first attempt after a blow over with primer - showing all the imperfections

 

IMG_4408s.JPG

 

Still lots of lessons learnt for my next attempt.

 

I'd be well over the moon with that, even real coaches were never that perfect and certainly didn't stand up to close inspection.

 

Super stuff.

 

Allan.

[BlackRat]

When we model we seem to go for perfection, and nothing in real life ever is is it?

 

Great modelling here.

[MikeTrice]

re: SVG to DXF file format conversion problem possible fix

1. In Inkscape, select everything (Ctrl+A in Windows)
2. Choose Path --> Object to Path from the menu options at the top
3. Save as DXF
4. Open the DXF file in Silhouette Studio
5. Select the objects in Silhouette Studio and click on Object --> Release Compound Path to "unglue" everything.

Yes, that works well. It did also show up a couple of imperfections in my artwork.

[MikeTrice]

I have had to pack my machine away for the moment, but I have a question that someone might be able to answer. If I wanted to "spot" the position where the door handles go to act as a drilling aid can the Silhouette do this? For example if a tiny circle was put on the spot would the machine cope?

 

Thanks.

[JCL]

Hi Mike, yes, it can be done. I think the circles on the valance on the first post were about .35mm across.

[uax6]

Oh Mike, what have you started?

 

I suppose I'll have to start laminating up the bits I've got to see what everyone thinks now. I'll do it in a step by step way so those that have never built coaches before can see what it's all about (I'm not a coach virgin, I've done two before, and cutting the panels was, err, interesting and very slow!). Mike will probably tell me I'm doing it all wrong though!

 

Andy G

[allan downes]

I would imagine that this cutter would lend itself very well to cutting out the studwork on tudor buildings and it would be very interesting to see how it would cope with a Georgian window frame for example in any scale.

 

I can definitely see so much potential here.

 

Allan.

[uax6]

Following on from my earlier post heres my sides and what I did to them:

 

The first job was to pop out the cut-outs that hadn't quite made it. I found that by putting the knife edge at one of the corners and lifting the sheet slightly and giving a little push the cut-outs would peel out without any ripping:

 

Then I re-scored the door jambs and the repair panels with an old pair of dividers that were much abused by someone unknown:

 

I then went a bit random doing odd bits before I had a full plan. I blame the trains, it was the rush period, so little jobs were done in prep for having time later on. The first thing I did was to trim some of the tabs off the bottom panelling so that when I had the time I could release them easily:

 

Then I laid out the bits that would form the completed side:

Top to bottom we have inner side, droplight layer, bolection layer, outer side and bottom panelling.

You will see a pencil line on the bolection and droplight layers, that is where the tumblehome starts, so those two sides had that area removed.

 

I then laminated the bolection and droplight layers together. I use plasticweld sparingly:

 

I then put my metal ruler on and two handy weights. I don't expect everyone to have lever collars at home, but they were to hand!

 

The sides were left for the duration of a pair of passing trains (about 15 mins) and this is the result:

The sides don't quite line up properly, so will have to check the artwork.

 

I then started on the lower panelling. Having already removed the top tabs I could line up the panelling where I wanted it, and again the registration was slightly out, but with removing odd tabs at the bottom I made it fit! I put a dab of solvent in the top corners of each panel and gently pushed down. When they were all located and glued I removed the bottom tabs and went round with the solvent to secure them properly. The on with the ruler and the collars again:

 

The result was this:

Which looks good to me!

 

Then I joined the front to the bolection layers. Here I lined the two section together and put some solvent on one end and slowly worked my way along keeping a bit of pressure on the sides to force them to stick. Do not flood with solvent! I worked along the top edge first, then did the top panels and worked slowly down the side. Again when it was all done I put the ruler and collars on again to help it all bond.

Result:

Again registration is not quite there.

 

This is the view from the top edge. The cut outs in the droplight layer allow 10thou clear sheet to be dropped (or forced!) into the glazing holes. I think really that the bolection layer should be 15thou as it is a tad tight!

 

This gives us the full side, which just needs the tumblehome forming. For this I just ran my finger along the bottom of the side bending the top layer down. Crude but effective. Then run a small amount of solvent along the edge and then prop the side so that you can get some weight on it. I used my cutting mat:

 

The finished side minus paint:

 

Ok there are some issues, but this process has highlighted them, and I think was worth while. The Portrait still hasn't arrived yet, but when it does I'll be ready for it!

 

BTW If it was for a real side I would not attempt to do all that in such a short space of time. I would only laminate two layers together a day.

 

Andy G

 

 

 

 

 

[uax6]

Allan,

 

Looking over at Al's Bakewell thread, all the basic shapes for his roof trusses, vallancing, and maybe even furniture could be cut by this method. Certainly any item that you are going to need multiples of I would go this way if at all possible.

 

The Studio is very easy to pick up (even with it's odd quirks).

 

Andy G

[gazman424]

Hi All,

 I'm a bit of a lurker on this site, but JCL's excellent thread has drawn me out. This thread has revolutionized my modelling and it's thanks to the contributions of everyone on here that it is the success it is.

I'm having moderate success with my machine, although I've had to alter the thickness setting to 35 to get it to cut through 10thou styrene. My first attempt had to be laboriously eased out, which wasn't easy as the lattice thickness was just half a mm. Talk about running before I can walk!!

 I was already using using CorelDraw for other aspects of modelling, Building design etc, and now I'm getting to the point of my post - has Anybody had problems with scaling when exporting a .DXF file from CorelDraw and importing it to SilhouetteStudio for cutting?

 Most of the time I have to re-size it in SS, which is a bit of a pain. Am I overlooking something REALLY simple?

Gaz.

[uax6]

Hot News: The Portrait has arrived..... In work! Something to look forward to tomorrow I hope!

 

Andy G

[JCL]

Hi Gaz,

 

I think I read that it depends on the units you use when exporting. Try mm, I think that might work, at least it does when I've tried exporting from Inkscape. If you can't do it that way, you could draw a line of an easy length, say 10cm, then when you import to Silhouette, remove the compound paths (see above) and then check the length of the line again. Now you can work out the % increase in size, so select all, go to the resize window (button is in the top right toolbar area) and type in the appropriate amount to shrink it by

 

Alternatively, use Mikes method, which is to install the Silhouette cameo/portrait driver and use file --> print, then choose Silhouette to cut from within Cameo.

 

If you want more control, then look at a trial copy of CutWizard (the link is on the first page of this thread) I think you get a couple of geeks to test it.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

[JCL]

Hey Andy oooooh, you'll be busy making snowflakes Christmas decorations for your "office" windows in no time.

[gazman424]

Jason,

 Thanks for your reply. I am exporting in mm, and also have SS set to mm. SilhoutteStudio seems to randomly size when I open the .DXF. It's not a great problem as I have CorelDraw installed on my laptop, but SS on my desktop so it is handy for using with the cameo cutter. Simple solution has been to install SS on the laptop, and ensure the size is correct in SS before transferring to the desktop for cutting. I was asking in case I had missed something simple but it seems to be an anomaly.

 I'll post some of my efforts once I have assembled them, and thanks once again for your inspiration!!

Gaz.

[uax6]

Hey Andy oooooh, you'll be busy making snowflakes Christmas decorations for your "office" windows in no time.

Now there's an idea, the only signalbox with it's own snow!

 

Does the cutter come with this sort of stuff thrown in?

 

Andy G

[MikeTrice]

CB09 Ali Cutter holder arrived today

[JCL]

Hi Mike, if the cutter hasn't been put away already, any chance of a bit of a review of the CB09 blade holder? Is it easy to set up for example. I'm going to order one myself as it looks like much better value than the proprietary blades.

 

Andy, I might be wrong, but I think you get a gift token in the box to buy shapes from their library. Failing that, and I can't believe I'm writing this, one of the wingding or webding fonts on your computer should have snowflakes on it, just do a large font size. You can type charmap into windows start menu then flick through the different fonts.

[JCL]

Well, I've a CB09 blade holder and some 60degree blades on order to arrive from China before 8/1/14.

[uax6]

I've walked into work, and sure enough the portrait is waiting for me. I just need a gap in traffic to open it and have a look.

 

The Mrs got interested when i said it could do snowflakes, although I also think that the little un should do it the old fashioned way as well!

 

My CB09 is on its way, but guessing everyone elses will arrive before mine!

 

Andy G