Silhouette Cutter

[Red316]

I'm currently working on a scratchbuilding project that requires a lot of intricate pattern cutting of styrene sheet.  It's been suggested a silhouette cutter could help.  There seems to be one option on the market - Cameo at £150 ish which is probably too costly for this project.

 

Has anyone used/owned one of these - if so how good are they, what thickness styrene will they cut, how detailed can you go?

Edited March 6, 2017 by Red316

[John Laidlaw]

I have a Portrait, bought after thoroughly perusing this thread at RM Web:

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

 

The short answer is that yes, it will do it, but really up to only 20 thou.

 

Mike @bootneck also uses one to great effect.

[bootneck]

Hi Red316,

 

I have a larger cutter called a Silver Bullet and, although much more expensive, I find it saves me a lot of time, effort and frustration when cutting out complex pieces from styrene sheet.  It helps to think of the expense as an investment into lots of projects and not just the one you are planning at the moment.  You might find this extensive article on the Silhouette Cameo of use.

 

HTH

 

Mike

 

Here's one complex design that I did using the cutter.  The principles of the Cameo and Silver Bullet are basically the same and the Cameo should be capable of making these parts.

 

EDIT: you beat me by a few seconds John!

 

[bootneck]

17 minutes ago, John Laidlaw said:

The short answer is that yes, it will do it, but really up to only 20 thou.

 

There is a way to get thicker sized pieces done and that it to make multiples from a 20 thou sheet.  The cut out pieces can be laminated together until you have the desired thickness.  That is the beauty of having a cutter, once you have designed the piece, you can just cut as many pieces as you want.  You could even scale up or down the design so that you can cut the parts in different scales, which is ideal for dioramas with similar items in the background etc.

 

Mike

[John Laidlaw]

19 minutes ago, bootneck said:

The cut out pieces can be laminated together until you have the desired thickness.

 

Just out of interest, Mike, which adhesive do you use for laminating?

[Greenshirt]

You can use a vector graphics app to create your designs. Really very easy, then "print" them to the cutter via direct connect or USB drive. I've done the latter and was able to make details for a 1/157 LCI model in less than an hour. I would try more than 20 thou card, but as mentioned above, you can laminate copies for greater thickness. 

 

My next project for the cutter is a 1/72 Boeing FB biplane. It's designed, I just need to cut the sheets and start the model. But I need to finish some other projects first. 

[bootneck]

3 minutes ago, John Laidlaw said:

 

Just out of interest, Mike, which adhesive do you use for laminating?

Hi John,

 

I use a normal plastic glue, such as Revell Contacta. I don't use liquid cement for this as that doesn't penetrate right through between the parts.  If I use liquid on each side before bonding I find that the glue evaporates too quickly.

 

Mike

[John Laidlaw]

Hi Mike,

 

Many thanks - that was where I was going wrong, then . I appreciate the help.

 

John

[Rob G]

I did see laser cutters on eBay a while ago, for not a lot of $€£. No idea how well they perform, but a possible option.

[Red316]

Thanks for the speedy replies - collectively I think you've sold it to me.

 

 Mike - that terminal building looks really good and as one of my next projects is an Art Deco hotel (lots of straight lines and simple curves), followed by a race car transporter I can see some real time savings.

 

John - thanks for the link - really useful  - I'll be reading through that tonight. 

 

Greenshirt - do you have a favourite/recommended app? 

 

One final question - is a "half etch" possible or do you still scribe panel lines etc?

 

Watch this space  for some output in the coming weeks.

 

[hacker]

https://youtu.be/opxLWgBLs3A

[bootneck]

On 06/03/2017 at 15:01, Rob G said:

I did see laser cutters on eBay a while ago, for not a lot of $€£. No idea how well they perform, but a possible option.

 

Hi Rob, Laser cutters are a completely different concept to the blade cutters we are discussing here.  It's best not to confuse the two.

 

On 06/03/2017 at 15:46, hacker said:

https://youtu.be/opxLWgBLs3A

 

I've had a go at making some masks, it is basically the same principle as cutting plastic, but the blade depth is set much shallower so that it only cuts about 0.10mm.

 

 

 

On 06/03/2017 at 15:07, Red316 said:

Greenshirt - do you have a favourite/recommended app? 

One final question - is a "half etch" possible or do you still scribe panel lines etc?

 

There are quite programs out there for doing the vector designs; the one I use is Inkscape and is a free dowloadable.

 

With regard to panel lines and half-etch type cuts;  yes; you can set the cutter to a lesser depth so that it only scores the plastic, and using less pressure via the adjustable pressure setting.  The scoring is clean and can be used to make panel lines.

 

HTH

 

Mike

[Rob G]

My apologies. I'll stay well clear.

[Red316]

Well that's it - just purchased a Silhouette Cameo.  Should arrive by the weekend - gives me a few days to read the various articles and tutorials. 

[Greenshirt]

Yep, I use Inkscape. Free and no more difficult than any other app. 

[Red316]

Hello again, I thought I would add a follow up to this thread.

 

I have now hud the cutter - actually a Cameo - for a couple of months now and beginning to get to grips with it.  The first completed items were the fascias for a set of pumps in 1/24 scale for a petrol station diorama.  In addition to taking the repetition out of cutting the panels the accuracyis  far better than I could achieve by hand and enabled the small vents to be cut individually.  .  The pic shows a cut fascia, what isn;t easy to see on the pic is the half etch type panel lines.  The second pic shows a completed pump.  A few more projects lined up but so far I'm impressed.

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2017 by Red316
Attach pics

[krow113]

When this work is done its helpful to make a number of copies of the work, pile them all on top of each other and send it to the cutter that way. The cutter will work its way through the plastic slowly and all that's left is a 'snap-off' , like a vac kit.