Circut or other scrapbooking tools

[iBorg]

I've seen some amazing things done using scrapbook cutters. I anticipate the chance to buy one in January. Any recommendations for or against? I'd love to cut light weight plastic and maybe aluminum. 

 

Thanks,

Mike

[Psychographic]

Unless it's aluminum foil, I seriously doubt if you are cutting metal with one of these. I have an old Roland plotter and the best I've done with it is score .020 sheet styrene to snap at the score lines.

[Erik Smith]

I have a Silohuette Cameo and it will cut thin plastic, score thicker (can't remember exact thickness off hand). I don't think it will cut metal - can't apply enough pressure. It could probably score, or maybe just scratch, metal. 

 

[peteski]

Metal cutting is out of the question. They are designed for paper and thin cardboard. But like already mentioned, many modelers use it to cut or score thin styrene. Model railroaders use them for cutting out walls of buildings.

[talon63]

Ditto the above. I also have the Cameo. Used it twice. Found it was faster to lay out and cut the styrene by hand. Given the drop in price on 3D printers, looking to add that to the space where the cameo now sits.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Though I'm still waiting to make the jump to 3D printing at home, I can definitely see a need for this "cutter" technology for the way I build.

I do a lot of scratch stuff in sheet styrene, and the most time consuming part is, to me, getting both sides of a single part symmetrical, and getting two of anything to match exactly.

Intelligent design and layout using a machine-cutter to at least score the parts looks to me like it would solve the problem nicely.

This (link below) is one of the most inspiring threads I've seen, combining a cutter, lower-resolution 3D printing, and vacuum forming to blow open the possibilities for building radical designs from scratch. The work shown here, combining all of that, is a quantum leap beyond anything I've seen to date in a single build in smaller scales.

 

[Erik Smith]

You're right, Bill. Repetition, spacing, and precise shapes are where the plotter can help out considerably. It would be perfect if I could somehow replace the knife with a laser.... 

That thread you link above is also amazing and inspiring work. 

[Impalow]

I do a lot of scratch stuff in sheet styrene, and the most time consuming part is, to me, getting both sides of a single part symmetrical, and getting two of anything to match exactly.

 

Yes that is the main advantage!  Thank you all for the compliments!

The cutter has really been an amazing addition to my workshop. Initially I was just looking for a way to make repeat and mirror image shapes with some amount of accuracy. I don’t know if I’m lazy or it’s the creative in me that hates doing the same thing twice, but it has always caused me inaccuracies when I make multiple similar items. I remembered when I went to school we had an early tabletop laser cutter that would run off illustrator paths, so I started researching those. Then my good friend Andy (exesivefire on the forum) and I started talking about modifying a vinyl cutter to be a CNC bladed cutter for sheet… and that led us to this:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/79025-a-guide-to-using-the-silhouette-cameo-cutter/

 It seemed the UK railroad guys had been using it for awhile, so I found a used one on ebay and figured I would be a guinea pig.   He has since bought one of the newer cricut models and it has its advantages over my silhouette, but nothing that has convinced me that I need to upgrade. 

As far as differences between the silhouette and the cricut, from what Andy and I have discussed:  

• The software for the cricut is internet based, so that means you have to upload your files to the cloud and then it processes them, from what I can tell this is more cumbersome than the silhouette software (which operates like a dumbed down version of illustrator)
• The cricut seems to be much more accurate at cutting small circles and will cut clean thru .020 styrene, the silhouette makes ovals sometimes and is more of score and snap over .015
• The cricut is physically larger and has a larger cutting area than my silhouette portrait. (not a big deal to me, but thinking larger scale stuff it is a plus)
• The cricut seems to have more stuff available at local retailers, Michaels and hobby lobby carry the mattes and blades, the silhouette I have to order things online.
•  The cricut has a deep cut blade option, not quite sure how that works.. but ive seen it online.
• The cricut is more automated than my silhouette, the software sets the blade depth, whereas the silhouette has a ratcheting cartridge that you manually rotate to set the depth before hitting “cut”  (I set it to max and never touched it since)  I think the automation is nice if you are using the machine for its intended purpose, but since we are kinda hacking it the more crude feels better to me… less chance of breaking things.

And that’s about all I can think of,  based on me really only having hands on experience with the silhouette.. I hope that helps, both seem like valid options.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Impalow

[Foxer]

I also have a Silhouette Cameo available, my wife's craft cutter,and I find it of great use making curved sheet patterns. It cuts styrene sheets well and will score thick sheets, especially useful for repetitive patterns.

[Aaronw]

My wife and I are getting a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas, so I haven't played with it yet. We both have hobbies that it seemed useful for, and they had a Black Friday deal on these a few weeks back. In addition to cutting thin plastic I know of aircraft modelers using these to create canopy masks and painting stencils to use in place of decals. With ALPS printers being increasingly difficult to get, a stencil could be a useful option.

 

 

Yes that is the main advantage!  Thank you all for the compliments!

The cutter has really been an amazing addition to my workshop. Initially I was just looking for a way to make repeat and mirror image shapes with some amount of accuracy. I don’t know if I’m lazy or it’s the creative in me that hates doing the same thing twice, but it has always caused me inaccuracies when I make multiple similar items. I remembered when I went to school we had an early tabletop laser cutter that would run off illustrator paths, so I started researching those. Then my good friend Andy (exesivefire on the forum) and I started talking about modifying a vinyl cutter to be a CNC bladed cutter for sheet… and that led us to this:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/79025-a-guide-to-using-the-silhouette-cameo-cutter/

 It seemed the UK railroad guys had been using it for awhile, so I found a used one on ebay and figured I would be a guinea pig.   He has since bought one of the newer cricut models and it has its advantages over my silhouette, but nothing that has convinced me that I need to upgrade. 

As far as differences between the silhouette and the cricut, from what Andy and I have discussed:  

• The software for the cricut is internet based, so that means you have to upload your files to the cloud and then it processes them, from what I can tell this is more cumbersome than the silhouette software (which operates like a dumbed down version of illustrator)
• The cricut seems to be much more accurate at cutting small circles and will cut clean thru .020 styrene, the silhouette makes ovals sometimes and is more of score and snap over .015
• The cricut is physically larger and has a larger cutting area than my silhouette portrait. (not a big deal to me, but thinking larger scale stuff it is a plus)
• The cricut seems to have more stuff available at local retailers, Michaels and hobby lobby carry the mattes and blades, the silhouette I have to order things online.
•  The cricut has a deep cut blade option, not quite sure how that works.. but ive seen it online.
• The cricut is more automated than my silhouette, the software sets the blade depth, whereas the silhouette has a ratcheting cartridge that you manually rotate to set the depth before hitting “cut”  (I set it to max and never touched it since)  I think the automation is nice if you are using the machine for its intended purpose, but since we are kinda hacking it the more crude feels better to me… less chance of breaking things.

And that’s about all I can think of,  based on me really only having hands on experience with the silhouette.. I hope that helps, both seem like valid options.

Just pointing out that Silhouette and Cricut are brand names, they each offer multiple machines.

The Portrait is the lower end machine offered by Silhouette (pricewise lines up with the mid range Cricut Explore Air machine at $179). Silhouette also has the Cameo 3 which compares to the top Cricut Explore Air 2 machine (both $249 with similar standard features). Cricut 's entry level Explore One machine is $139 (no comparable machine from Silhouette).

The Portrait has an 8x12" mat size, the Cameo 3 and all of the Cricut machines have a 12x12" mat. The Silhouette Cameo and Cricut offer an optional 12x24" mat.

The Silhouette Cameo 3 does offer an "auto blade" so you don't have to set the blade depth manually, but the manual blades remain an option.

The Silhouette Cameo 3 and Cricut Explore Air 2 both offer a dual blade option. 

Both brands offer standard and "deep cut" blades.

The Silhouette machines offer a pen conversion so the machine can draw instead of cut. Potentially useful for marking thicker materials, or maybe even for use with decal film.

Silhouette offers a combination cutter / embossing machine (the Curio) which appears to be based on the Portrait (uses the same 8x12" mat).

 

I only point this out because your comparison may not be apples to apples, your friend may have the top end Cricut blinged out with all the options.

[Impalow]

I only point this out because your comparison may not be apples to apples, your friend may have the top end Cricut blinged out with all the options.

Thank you for the clarification, i get excited and tend to over simplify. All of this is Outstanding info!  .. and yes i'm sure he has the top of the line one..  

Mine is the smaller Silhouette portrait, which i never really looked into a deep cut blade until i saw your post, and now amazon has 18.00 more of my money this holiday season!  Thank you!  Ill update on how that works, I'm hopeful that will at least get through the .020, I have been tracing everything with an xacto. 

Edited December 21, 2016 by Impalow
I cant spell.... I blame art school.

[Erik Smith]

From what I gathered, the deep cut blade is more for foam and thick materials, I wasn't sure it would cut through styrene better. I think the regular blade extends 1mm and the deep 2mm, so it could get through more on repeated cuts.

The reason I chose the Cameo was the capacity (12 x 12) and the software - seemed like Cricut was geared to the cartridge style format? The higher end machines probably have options though.

I really should use mine more, I think...

[Davoski]

Hi guys,

I have used various Roland vinyl cutters in my former signage business for over 20 years and now have a cheap Chinese 600mm wide cutter at home which I thought could be used for modelling.

I have been too frightened to use it to cut styrene due mainly to potential feed problems through the roller and damage to the head mechanism due to additional side loads. Further, for deep cuts requiring multiple passes I am not sure of the accuracy of repeatability of this particular machine including slippage of the feed.

Also, what happens to the loose pieces once you cut through? I am concerned that they will float around and jam the job.

I would love to hear more about what other peoples experience is.

Meanwhile, while contemplating these issues I have been getting around the marking-out issue by using sticky label stock and my laser printer. If you are going to have to do some hand cutting anyway then rather than marking out with the cutter just print the job onto an A4 "one label to a sheet" label and stick that to your styrene, balsa or metal sheet and manually cut along the lines.

Regarding decals and spray masks there is good potential to use the cutter here. For masking, don't buy specific spray mask material, it will be too thick to conform to your model, simply use a premium (10+ year) signage vinyl which is nice and thin, warm it when applying and remove it it before the adhesive "ramps up" - say 1-2 days max. You may also require Application Tape to hold the cut vinyl together while applying it. (Check some websites of signmaking suppliers for other tools materials too - e.g.matt clear or textured vinyl overlaminate for diorama surfaces, bulk prices on blades etc.).

I, too, am fascinated by Impalalow's project and techniques. Please keep posting :-) I am looking to order a 3d printer in the next week or so and have started looking at vacuum forming machines (cheaper than I expected). 

Looking forward to more discussion on this topic.

[peteski]

Exactly, these cutters can be used to create custom-shaped masks. Things like window masks or flames can be cut out of masking tape (which will be placed on a backing sheet then feed into the machine).

[iBorg]

I started this topic for the great wisdom of the group. Once again the depth of knowledge and willingness to share is fantastic.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Exactly, these cutters can be used to create custom-shaped masks. Things like window masks or flames can be cut out of masking tape (which will be placed on a backing sheet then feed into the machine).

You can get frisket material that's essentially a sheet of masking film with a sticky back that comes on a removable backing. Illustrators use it for masking. 

I've been using it to make masks (using a cutting tip in a compass) for painting nice clean round whitewalls on vintage piecrust slicks.

You may have to do some experimenting to find one that's compatible with whatever type of paint you're using though.

http://www.grafixarts.com/products/frisket-film/

[BigTallDad]

Just to throw another log or two into the fire...

Circles are easy, if you have a drill press and a fly-cutter; for smaller circles, use hole punches.

Although I've not done it, I believe a pantograph could be adapted to house a Dremel tool (with the appropriate bits) instead of a drawing implement; first, make an accurate part, then trace it to cut larger/smaller/same-size parts.

 

Edited December 22, 2016 by BigTallDad

[peteski]

You can get frisket material that's essentially a sheet of masking film with a sticky back that comes on a removable backing. Illustrators use it for masking. 

I've been using it to make masks (using a cutting tip in a compass) for painting nice clean round whitewalls on vintage piecrust slicks.

You may have to do some experimenting to find one that's compatible with whatever type of paint you're using though.

http://www.grafixarts.com/products/frisket-film/

Frisket material (still on its backing) doesn't seem to be sturdy enough to be feed through one of those cutting machines.

Edited December 26, 2016 by peteski

[Straightliner59]

Frisket material (still on its backing) doesn't seem to be sturdy enough to be feed through one of those cutting machines.

I have a friend who always used contact paper for masking when he was lettering race cars. I think that might work better than frisket paper,  and it's a lot cheaper, too!

[OldNYJim]

I used my Cameo for a load of stuff on my Beetle Bus project from last year.  I was making an ice cream truck themed build, so I made a dripping VW logo for the front from styrene sheet:

Made some visors

And cut various masks for the lettering on the side:

Then I scratchbuilt a speedo - I sprayed some black paint on a scrap of styrene sheet and used the cutter to score the numbers and dial detail into this tiny gauge:

The possibilites are nearly endless!

[tom q vaxy]

that's a fantastic looking speedometer. 

 

just came across this:  http://wargameterrain.blogspot.com/2018/12/mayku-new-formbox-tabletop-vacuum.html

most vacuum forming machines I've seen are more limited in size, so a bigger platform might allow body panels to be duplicated.

[Deathgoblin]

I've got one of these I still need to set up.  One thing I plan to use it for is my 1969 Chevelle.  The tail lights are awful on the kit, so I plan to use the cutter to make the frames for new ones.  I wonder about making the correct side trim for Christine? 

[goldfinger]

I recommend the Cricut. Get the Maker it has a knife attachment. I have been using the Explore for a few months now and have used it to cut thin styrene or score and snap thicker styrene. We keep finding new ways to use it. Once you master the design software it gets easier to create shapes and designs . You can also scan and use drawings etc.