View Single Post
 
Old 11-01-2017, 04:40 PM
sgoti's Avatar
sgoti sgoti is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,750
Total Downloaded: 452.18 MB
Ok, I am at home now, so I can type on a real keyboard instead of pecking at my phone...

I originally purchased the Cameo for cutting paint masks for some HO scale model railroad projects a friend and I were working on. We needed a repeatability and speed that neither of us felt we could accomplish given the timeframe we had to meet a deadline.

Setup and connecting to my Mac computer was fairly easy and straightforward, I'm assuming Windows users would have the same experience.

The Silhouette Studio software was included on CD with the cutter, I downloaded and installed a slightly newer version from their website.

About that software: I use Adobe Illustrator quite a bit, and have dabbled with CorelDraw and Inkscape. Because of this, I found the interface at least familiar.

One important feature: The free version of Silhouette Studio is VERY limited in file compatibility. You can import a DXF file, but that's about it. Upgraded versions will let you open PDF and other file formats. There is also a paid plugin that will let you drive the cutter directly from Illustrator or CorelDraw.

Using the machine was simply a matter of drawing the pattern or letters to be cut in Illustrator, exporting as a DXF, and then importing the DXF into Silhouette Studio. From there, all cutting speeds, material type/thickness selection, etc was done with the Studio software.

This past summer, I did purchase the Silhouette Connect plugin to cut directly from Illustrator, bypassing the DXF export/import steps. This pluging works with both Illustrator and CorelDraw, but only with certain versions. Check Silhouette America's website for complete info.

The machine can/does use registration marks to align itself properly for cutting images and graphics. Obviously, this is not necessary when cutting paint masks and/or vinyl,so I haven't had too much experience with this feature.

I've tried to touch on what I thought would be important highlights, by all means please ask if you have other questions!
__________________
Glenn
Reply With Quote