# Silhouette Cameo



## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Anyone here own a Silhouette Cameo die cutter? I was reading on another forum about how modelers are using it to cut and scribe styrene and wondered if anyone here had tried that.


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

I don't own one but I'd be supprised if it did a good job cutting the plastic unless it was paper thin.

There was a person who tried out a cricket cutter over at SSM and he said that with plastic it was a total waste of time.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

They were using it on thin styrene .010, .015, .020 with decent results. Using it to scribe in detail works very well, and it cuts well enough for them to "snap" out the cut parts. They were able to scribe house siding and brick patterns with a fair amount of success. Also, the builders were saying that being able to duplicate cuts and make really square ones was working well. It has its limitations though, to be sure.

If anyone is interested, the thread I was reading can be found here. Don't be put off by the first couple of pages which show poor results. As they experimented more with the machine, they got better and better results. Also, the Silhouette SD they are talking about is the predecessor to the newer Silhouette Cameo machine out now.


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## swhite228 (Dec 31, 2003)

Interesting!
Without reading the whole thread it looks like the machine is a lot more advanced than the one they were playing with at SSM.

I'll read the whole thread tomorrow as it looks like they may be on to something.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

swhite228 said:


> Interesting!
> Without reading the whole thread it looks like the machine is a lot more advanced than the one they were playing with at SSM.


Unlike the Cricut, the Silhouette machines include vector drawing software which allows you to create any shape you want. You can also control the depth of the cut and the amount of force used.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Fozzie said:


> Unlike the Cricut, the Silhouette machines include vector drawing software which allows you to create any shape you want. You can also control the depth of the cut and the amount of force used.


That sounds...interesting.

As in perfect for people making model buildings.

Or even plastic detailing on a costume piece like rank tabs or unit badges or the like. 

Seriously. Imagine being able to do with sheet plastic what can be done with photoetch brass. If you can draw it you can make it. Hmmmm.

Keep us posted, please!


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## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

I smell aztec masks.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

SteveR said:


> I smell aztec masks.


Since one of the things it definitely will do is adhesive vinyl, one would think this would be possible.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

The photo below shows the results of a styrene cutting test using a Silhouette Cameo die cutter. The TOS insignia was entered into the Silhouette Studio software as a font character from the _Star Trek Font Pack_ (remember that?). Since the character is a vector, I didn't have to do anything to it to get the cuts the way I wanted.

After a couple of test cuts using 65 lb card stock, I tested cutting .010, .015, and .020 styrene. I fooled around with the settings a bit and got pretty good results in all three thicknesses. The machine cut completely through the .010 and .015 styrene (though it did require the use of the "cut twice" option) and scored the .020 enough that I was able to "snap" the pieces out fairly easily. I would be hesitant to stick anything thicker than .020 into the machine. My guess would be that you'd get scribed lines that would be useful for guiding you in finishing the cut with a knife, but probably nothing more than that. (That, in itself, could be useful though.)

The largest piece shown below (the outline) is roughly 1.5" tall. 










Due to the small size and delicate nature of the "star" in the center, snapping it out of the .020 styrene was a little bit challenging. A couple of swipes with a knife along the lower legs, however, and it came right out. I would imagine that snapping out something with mostly straight sides would be a cinch.

The edges of the cuts showed much less piling up of excess styrene around the cuts than I expected (maybe because the blade is brand new). On the .015 cut it is almost non-existent and on the .020 I think it would be trivial to remove.

While my goal was to actually cut out a shape, I can see how this machine would be very useful for someone wanting to add detail onto a piece of styrene without cutting all the way through it.

I chose this shape because the curves are complex, I could control the size, and it had a couple of different shapes embedded inside of each other. The curves that were cut are absolutely perfect--beautiful.

My total experience with this machine is less than an hour but I can say this: I could never have made those complex cuts by hand without distorting the original shapes.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

THAT is really impressive! I could easily see that as something glued onto a base to create a cast or etched effect, even laminate several together to get a more bold effect.

Wow I just had the most crazy idea in the universe. Take the decals for the 1/1000 Enterprise, cut the names/numbers and StarFleet pennant out of plastic and glue them to the kit, and paint them. That could be....hm. hm. The effect of having those marking appear embossed..hm. well, maybe not but it seems it might be very dynamic and visually interesting. 

OTOH cutting detail panels for a Klingon D-7 would be a snap now. easy to replicate and duplicate shapes.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

I've been creating some pieces with the Silhouette Cameo for a kitbash I'm currently working on. I needed some round pieces and the SC created several perfect "donut" shapes for me. I was working with .020 styrene sheet and while the SC didn't cut all the way through, it cut deep enough that it was a simple matter to snap the pieces out of the larger sheet. I love that I can make_ identical_ pieces and circles so easily!

In the photo below is a piece made of two donuts glued together. The second was made with the same size center hole but a smaller outer diameter to create a "lip" on the piece. I cut the smaller donut and then, without removing the styrene from the machine, I modified the drawing, removing the two circles that defined the donut shape and adding two smaller concentric rings. I then used the line tool to add some lines going between the two rings. Before sending it to the cutter, I set the blade to only half as deep as I do when I cut styrene. My intent was to "scribe" the lines in and the result was the added surface detail shown below. (This piece got a coat of Tamiya spray primer and then a coat of Tamiya spray paint which did not diminish the scribed lines at all.)










I'm not sure, however, if I would call these lines "scribed" as much as "ploughed". As the photo below shows (taken in macro mode), the cuts pushed up material on either side of the cut. This isn't unusual when cutting styrene, or even unexpected. These furrows give the detail a slightly raised appearance and can be felt if you run your fingers over them. Note in the picture above, however, that these are pretty darn small furrows. 










I actually like how these came out, though I'm sure it would be a problem on some projects. In that case though, I wonder if this would still be useful as a guide to where to run your scribing tool?


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## Spockr (Sep 14, 2009)

This is a really interesting thread and I can see the potential to do a lot of good things with this machine. I looked around and it seems like the upfront cost is fairly steep for the every day hobbyist but that could easily be offset if you could maybe make custom pieces for hire. I'm curious about the blade life and cost for replacement blades? Does the manufacturer state any limits for what specific types of materials the machine can handle?

Thanks for posting this I'll be watching to see how you progress. I hope it works out.

Regards,
MattL


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

As to the 'plowed' effect of the scribing, I think it's only an issue depending on the scale of the finished model. If one were using this for a 1/1 scale prop or costume detail I don't think there's an issue at all. 

The ability to run multiples of an item seems a really good thing for someone making surface detail from sheet plastic, such as armoring up a Klingon D-7. 

To quote the bad guy from Robocop: "IIiiii LIKE IT!"


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Spockr said:


> I'm curious about the blade life and cost for replacement blades?


No idea on blade life, but I'm sure whatever they say it is I am not going to get it cutting styrene instead of paper and cardstock. :tongue:

A replacement blade costs around $12.

The blade is TINY, as the two photos below show. The blade can be set to 10 different depths. In this photo it is set at 10, the deepest depth, or roughly 1mm.





















Spockr said:


> Does the manufacturer state any limits for what specific types of materials the machine can handle?


Not that I can find. However, it does list these materials in the manual:

"Thin materials such as vinyl and smooth heat transfer material. Medium-weight materials such as paper, cardstock and flocked heat transfer material. Thicker materials such as textured cardstock and pattern papers. Thick materials such as canvas."

I don't know what they mean here by canvas...probably art supply canvas of some kind.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Steve H said:


> The ability to run multiples of an item seems a really good thing for someone making surface detail from sheet plastic, such as armoring up a Klingon D-7.


Agreed. And, for a project of that type, the .010 and .015 thick styrene which this machine easily cuts would likely be perfectly suitable.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

By the way, the drawing studio/cutting software is free to download here if you want to take a look at it. It is available for Windows XP/Vista/7 or Mac OS X 10.5.8 and higher (Intel only).

The product manual is available in pdf form here.
http://silhouetteamerica.com/support/programs/silhouette_studio_V2.5.0.exe


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Fozzie said:


> By the way, the drawing studio/cutting software is free to download here if you want to take a look at it. It is available for Windows XP/Vista/7 or Mac OS X 10.5.8 and higher (Intel only).
> 
> The product manual is available in pdf form here.
> http://silhouetteamerica.com/support/programs/silhouette_studio_V2.5.0.exe


Wait, what?!

There's nothing in this that, conceptually, should require an Intel chipped Mac! 

arrggghhh. Top of the line G5 with the dual core PPC processors and I'm shut out. 

Oh, there's probably a workaround, and I'm far, far away from being able to buy the machine, and my drawing skills are for crap, but that doesn't change my internet nerd rage!


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

While the Silhouette Cameo is limited in its usefulness due to its inability to cut through thick styrene, what it can do, it does very well--and that is mainly precision cuts in thinner styrene.

Below is a photo of a cut I made into .010 styrene in order to make a part that would have small, recessed panels in it. First, I drew up two identical strips. Then I modified one by putting a series of square panels (3/8" square) along its length. Here's the sheet of styrene fresh out of the cutter.










The shot below better shows the precision cuts made by the machine. The strip with the holes cut in it will be glued to the identically sized solid strip resulting in a piece with subtle recessed paneling. 










The question of blade life was raised earlier. Well, it isn't going to be great cutting through styrene, let me tell you. When I first got this machine, the blade would have cut completely through this .010. In this case it cut _almost _completely through. It was a trivial matter to pop out the pieces, but it does show that a week of cutting mainly .020 styrene has taken a toll on the blade. My styrene blade doesn't get used except on styrene. I have a 2nd blade that I use for paper, cardstock, vinyl, etc.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Awesome stuff. So much potential!

So, how expensive are replacement blades? I assume they're not smart enough to just use easily swappable X-Acto no.11s in a special mount or anything easy and cheap like that.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Steve H said:


> Awesome stuff. So much potential!
> 
> So, how expensive are replacement blades? I assume they're not smart enough to just use easily swappable X-Acto no.11s in a special mount or anything easy and cheap like that.


See post #14 for a picture of the blade and cost.

I ran across a site the other day for someone who is selling an adapter that they say will allow you to use cheaper blades, but I didn't have time to investigate it thoroughly.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Fozzie said:


> See post #14 for a picture of the blade and cost.
> 
> I ran across a site the other day for someone who is selling an adapter that they say will allow you to use cheaper blades, but I didn't have time to investigate it thoroughly.


Thanks, I missed some posts. 

Ya know, that looks alot like the retractable frisket knife I used to have, I think it was an X-Acto product. 

Canvas is a bitch to cut, I imagine you'd have to change blades after just one run.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Today I tried some .030 styrene in the machine. I have been hesitant to try something this thick but I figured that if I loaded it in without the cutting mat, it wouldn't be too thick for the Silhouette Cameo to handle. The piece I had to cut was large with lots of straight lines in it so I thought I'd have a fair chance of being able to "score & snap" it.

Without the mat, the machine had no trouble accepting a .030 sheet. The mat, however, is sticky and used to hold the media in place for cutting, so when you don't use it you have to make sure the rollers really grip the styrene sheet well. Since the sheet was an odd size (8", as opposed to 8.5"), I had to be very careful in my placement. My first attempt was unsuccessful and the sheet moved during cutting. My second & third cuts, placed with more care, worked fine. Chalk the first failure up to "learning curve."

I set the machine to max depth and "cut twice". It did not appear to have any difficulty making the cuts. When it was done, I unloaded the sheet and, to my delight, was able to snap the cut shape out easily.

I don't know how this would work with a small or intricate shape, but for this piece, which had relatively long straight cuts, it worked just fine!


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

BTW, the SC is available at some larger Michael's craft stores.


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## edward 2 (Oct 6, 2010)

how much is one of these, it would be cool to make your own designs.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

At this moment, on Amazon, it is $265.90.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

A little experiment from this afternoon. I need to create a piece of gridwork with round holes in it for the ceiling of the TOS turbolift alcove diorama I am working on.

In the photo below, at the top, is a prototype ceiling grid piece that I cut out of paper using the SC. (Actually, it is two pieces of paper. The lower layer contains the gridwork while, layered on top of it, is a "frame" that the gridwork rests in.) On the right is the full sheet of paper (attached to the cutting mat) that I pulled the gridwork piece out of.

I used some butcher block paper for this which is why the grid piece looks so wavy. The final version will be cut into styrene, but I use paper and cardstock for prototyping.

At the bottom of the photo is the floor of the alcove that I cut out of .030 styrene sheet using the SC. The ruler at the top is a 6" ruler.










The software includes a feature for filling in a polygon with circles. This is used for "rhinestoning". That is what I used to make this prototype. I am fairly pleased with how it came out but I am going to play around with the settings a bit before I create the final piece in styrene.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

I am currently working on a 1/10th scale diorama of the alcove on the bridge of the TOS _Enterprise_. After experimenting with various graphics for the plaque in the alcove, I decided to see what the Silhouette Cameo could do. Considering how small the text needed to be (the plaque is just under 2" wide), I didn't really expect this to work, but it came out great!

This was scribed into .030 styrene.


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## edward 2 (Oct 6, 2010)

can it cut thin soft wood?


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

edward 2 said:


> can it cut thin soft wood?


I wouldn't think so but I've never tried it.


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## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Fozzie said:


> I am currently working on a 1/10th scale diorama of the alcove on the bridge of the TOS _Enterprise_. After experimenting with various graphics for the plaque in the alcove, I decided to see what the Silhouette Cameo could do. Considering how small the text needed to be (the plaque is just under 2" wide), I didn't really expect this to work, but it came out great!
> 
> This was scribed into .030 styrene.


Now isn't that just a beautiful thing to see?

Seriously. I mean, that can be done with photoetching in brass, obviously, but look at the options this gives you! Now that you have the font and spacing worked out as a 'master' you could crank out a dedication plate for ANY of the ships! You can easily and quickly 'redress' your Bridge just like the real set!

So don't forget to make that 'high back' for the Captain's chair just in case. 

Thank you for continuing to share this!


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## g_xii (Mar 20, 2002)

All very interesting indeed. It's nice to have someone share something of this nature and provide suggestions and the like! Thank you for sharing!

--Henry


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

I just hit the 2 month mark cutting styrene with the same blade. And I have cut a LOT of styrene in that time...


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

I finally broke down and got one earlier this week*. So far I've used it to do paper prototype parts - a lot faster and more accurate than I can do by hand.

No I'm moving on to build a library of cut settings for various materials (plastics, specialty papers, etc.). I'm also looking forward to trying my had at some glass etching with their acid paste.

* It came in Tuesday evening - delayed 2 business days because of Sandy. I picked up a super-duper combo pack with a bunch of vinyl, an extra cutting mat (the large, non-sticky one), extra blade, and upgrade to the Designer edition software that let's me import SVG files (and AutoCAD, which they don't mention!). Only a $40 premium, which is what the software upgrade costs.


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Paulbo said:


> Fozzie - I have a couple of questions for you ...
> 
> If I've read correctly, you haven't been able to get the Silhouette to cut 0.02" or above styrene, just scribe it so you can snap the edges. Is that right? That's all I could get it to do. It cut 0.005" no problem. (I don't have any 0.01" or 0.03" on hand but will get some later this week to test.)
> 
> ...


That's correct. I use it regularly on .020" and .030". I tried .040" once but it was too thick to feed. My bridge station was created mainly from .030" styrene sheet.

The way I scribe .020" and .030" is this:
1) Feed the material directly into the machine--don't use the mat. Use the "Load media" option on the Cameo control panel instead of "Load cutting mat"
2) In the cutting menu:
a) Speed: 1
b) Thickness: 33
c) Uncheck "Cutting Mat"
d) Check "Double Cut"
3) Set blade depth to max (10)

Also, check out msg #22 for some additional details about cutting .030" sheets.

I created a "user defined" settings called "Styrene" with those parameters for convenience.

I use one blade for styrene, another for paper, cardstock, vinyl, etc. (I used the same blade for styrene for around 3 months.)

For .010" and .015" styrene I use the cutting mat.

I mock up everything using cardstock before cutting styrene.


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## Paulbo (Sep 16, 2004)

Thanks for the info Fozzie. I take it you use the same settings (other than the cutting mat) for the 0.01" and 0.015"?


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Paulbo said:


> Thanks for the info Fozzie. I take it you use the same settings (other than the cutting mat) for the 0.01" and 0.015"?


I rarely use stuff that thin...I seem to remember trying full thickness and one pass but also a lower thickness and double cuts. Not sure to tell you the truth.


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## Kremin (Sep 26, 2012)

Sorry to dig this out of the depths but I just bought the Silhouette Portrait (only £125 as opposed to £260 for Cameo 2) and wanted to know how you guys were getting on with yours, after years of use. 

I quite like the look of the Curio but too small and more expensive so maybe if it works out it might be something to save for


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## Fozzie (May 25, 2009)

Kremin said:


> Sorry to dig this out of the depths but I just bought the Silhouette Portrait (only £125 as opposed to £260 for Cameo 2) and wanted to know how you guys were getting on with yours, after years of use.
> 
> I quite like the look of the Curio but too small and more expensive so maybe if it works out it might be something to save for


Mine still works as good as ever. No problems with it at all. In fact, I just used it to make vinyl decorations for my new mailbox. I put a Starfleet style red line/yellow arrowhead with my house number embedded in it.


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