GeneK

Max, What machine, material, and settings did you use? The canopy frames look terrific! Gene K

Very nice diorama in the work, Rob. The touch ups give the letters character! Gene K P.S. Hope the guy looking for his head finds it!

Rob, If you can't find anyone in Europe, I may be able to help. I am away from home for the next few weeks, but PM me with details ... like the font, size, etc. After I get back home, I can cut the masks for you and send them your way. No charge, but postage would be appreciated. Gene K

Since it's a software feature, any Silhouette cutter, including your 2014 Legacy model, shouldn't matter. BTW, the Portrait 3 is a great little machine ... a bargain at ~$170. Gene K

Thanks, Dave. Would be useful if you included scale in your description. Gene K

Thanks, Red Dog. Well, I goofed! My old brain read .3 INCHES instead of .3MM. In that .3mm = 0.011811in, you are absolutely correct that the Cameo "can cut it" ... as you've shown Like you, I routinely cut .010in plastic, but .015in is the limit of clean, fine cuts for my Cameos and Portrait (using the autoblade in position 1). I'm looking forward to more posts from you here! Gene K

Thanks, Red Dog. Good luck trying to cut .3mm styrene with your Cameo. Not to be negative, BUT I don't think you'll get good results, especially (even) using the high pressure craft blade in position 2 - the details are too fine for the blade to navigate (in my limited experience before I gave up). However, the scores on the outlines will facilitate snapping the plastic. If you find a way to cut such thick plastic, I'd sure appreciate knowing how! Note that Kevin opened a special section for Non-Mask Applications for great posts like yours. Thanks again. Gene K EDIT' See my next post. I "misread" .3mm as .3in. Cameo does well cutting .3mm!

Hello Red Dog, Sounds like you are trying to print cut lines that have not been given any "weight". Those red lines are for the cutter to follow, but if you want to print them, first select all the lines, then use the LINE STYLE (fifth icon down on the right hand side - looks like three parallel horizontal lines - top one is dashed, middle is a thin line, and the bottom is a bottom is a fat line). You can also, while you are there in Line Style, assign different colors to lines/objects that you individually select, and then you are able to selectively send those colores lines to be cut (or sketched, etc) using the Send/Lines tab. In this case, if you'd like to print the design, your Print Preview will show all the colors, as will your print. Suggest you become familiar with the Line Style as well as the Fill tool just above the Line Style icon - you'll be using them frequently as you grow with Studio. Gene K EDIT: The weight (thickness) you give to a line has no bearing on the cut line - that's still present. The line you made is for your visual benefit.

That's an understatement! The Studio Trace tool will pick up every tiny zig and zag that your Threshold setting dictates. The resultant "wonky" vector trace can be simplified by reducing the number of nodes manually, but doing so with the automated Simplify tool will smooth out the trace in places where you need very precise lines or curves. Simplifying a trace of Minnie Mouse is great, but not so for a precise mask drawing. A "real" graphics program like Inkscape has much better tracing capability, but your best option would be to invest some time in learning how to vector trace manually. In that regard, manual vector drawing/tracing in Studio is straightforward, and it's easy to edit as you fine fine tune the mask (by making repeated patterns to trial fit). What you learn in Studio drawing vectors will carry over to other vector programs - so it's an art/skill that will serve you well for many other interests you may have! 👍 As regards the the kind of adjustments you are wanting to make for inside-canopy masking, the Studio Offset tool is one tool you can use - just specify the distance from your main drawing. Refine only one side of the mask, and then use the Mirror tool to make a perfect opposing side . Gene K

You can also get ideas on-line by searching for commercial masks ... to see how companies laid out their masks.😇 Gene K

Justin, After many "comparatives", I've settled on Vinyl Ease - economical (cheap) and just the right amount of stick. The grid lines on the tape are useful for cutting as well as positioning. Probably much more than you'll need for scale modeling, but handy for larger jobs like book covers, wall decorations and such. You can get it in 10,30 or 100 foot lengths on Amazon There are many YouTube videos on the "best" transfer tape , and there are just as many videos on using workarounds like shelf paper, Frisket, brown tape, etc, etc, etc. I suggest just starting with a proven tape designed specifically for the job. Price difference is negligible and you'll save by not discarding rejects. Gene K

Did you draw the mask in Studio, or use a CAD file imported into Studio (very precise)? Gene K

An outstanding site -- thanks, Mike. Gene K

Max, Great job, as always. I'm slowly going through all your posts (as I have the time), and thank you for all the lessons! You do an outstanding "job" photographing and explaining. Gene K

Amazing project, Bill. What settings are you using for .020? On my Cameo 3 and 4, I can't cut more than .015. Thanks, Gene K

Try the settings I suggested above (on .010 or .015), and then stack those clean cut pieces to get your desired thickness. Laminate with Tamiya Extra Thin Quick Set cement to avoid melting/deforming. If you have a Cameo 4, using the the craft blade in the second blade holder (more force) should work well since you'll be making a continuous circular cut vice "Smart Cut" as explained very well here. The poster uses the method you suggested as regards to multiple passes with different force (depth) settings. I found Smart Cut not to my liking since I was cutting small parts (1/72) that had a lot of corners to negotiate. In the end, I was too busy (lazy) to dial the cuts in, so I use my tried and true "regular" method using the "regular" blade holder. Good cutting! I'd be interested to know your final determination. Gene EDIT. I was just reading through older posts and see that you have a Cameo 4 since 2020, so I'm not telling you anything new.

Denders, Using Cameo 4 with a fairly new regular blade in carriage holder 1, the deepest I've cut in plastic is .015 with these settings: Force 31 Speed 1 Passes 2 Depth 8 Takes some trial and error, but the above should be good for starters in "tuning" your specific machine to the plastic you are using (plastic hardness varies - a lot). You may be able to "do" the .032" plastic by scoring with multiple passes and then bending the outlines to snap/tear the scores. The Cameo 4 has increased pressure in carriage holder 2 which will take craft blades to supposedly cut deeper material with more force. However, I've found the way the machine cuts in this mode is not precise enough for my scale modeling. Gene K

Were you successful, Neo? Gene K

I just ordered a $150 Portrait 3 to play with (it's Christmas, after all). Gene K

I have similar problems not caused by camera angle - returned one Cameo 4 for this problem, and the replacement had same problems. My old Cameo 3 works fine, however. I think you use a Cameo 3, right, and have no distortions? Perplexing. Gene K

Mike, Can you give a link to Rob's site, please? Gene K

Dave, It's not intuitive, but there are a couple of different ways to join endpoints, including this on compound paths. Gene

Unfortunately, despite Kevin's efforts, this very useful forum hasn't gotten much visibility. Understandable, in a sense, since the number of cutting machine users is still relatively small. Also, many of the folks who do drop by to view and/or download seem to be hit and run, without so much as even "indicating" any appreciation or providing any feedback ... most of the time. Thanks for being a Prime Mover here. 👍 Gene K

Nice, Tom. Roundels are tricky, but looks like you did a great job, despite your "wonky" description. I assume you had challenges aligning the masks for the different colors? If so, I found that using see-through parchment paper under most of the transfer tape to initially align the circles helps greatly. Gene K Did you mean to have two different letter "L"s? The horizontal portions are different lengths.

There are some good recommendations in this thread for the Silhouette Portrait, so ... if considering buying the excellent little Portrait 3, this $149 price (including shipping) from Walmart is a nice bargain. May be available in the store at your location. No indication how long this price is in effect. For the adventurous, there are currently some less expensive, supposedly new in-box Portrait 3s available on ebay, for example this one for $129 including shipping, but ... it's ebay. Gene K