GeneK

The blade is dragging the Oramask off its backing while it's cutting, as suggested. Woody has some great pointers.

When the outside edges are cut, the Oramask is well tacked down around the cut, but when the inside edges are cut, there is not much stick to anchor the Oramask against the drag of the blade, so the cut shape is pushed, especially around sharp corners. You can avoid some of that by selecting Line Segment Overcut in the dialog box where speed, force, etc is set -- it's under "More", as is Track Enhancing (which may also help). However, on very small text, Overcut could cut too far into the mask, actually cutting pieces off.

If the problem persists, the best bet, I think, is to cut the inside and outside as separate masks and then layer them. 

For very small text, decals are the way to go.

Gene K

22 hours ago, denders said:

That would mean that the material you're cutting has to go under the rollers. 

Not judging by the picture:

I'm assuming the optional electromagnetic mat's "suck" would be limited to light material - I can't see it holding, for example, cardboard cutting. Will be interesting if we can cut masks on it. I routinely cut tissue, so will be getting that mat. Probably expensive ... .

Gene K

6 hours ago, zaxos345 said:

...  the machine i found is lightly used and almost 1/3 of the price of the new one ... .

 I understand, so Good luck!

The new Portrait 4 will "only" cost a reasonable $200 here in the US. Unfortunately, it sounds like Silhouettes cost more in Europe ... for whatever reason.

Gene K

The new batch of Silhouette hardware (Cameo, Curio, Portrait) is scheduled for "Fall 2023". Read about it here.

After trials and tribulations with my Cameo 4, I purchased a Portrait 3 ... which suits me perfectly for masks. However, the added capabilities of the Cameo 5 will cost me a reasonable $350. 

Gene K 

John,

I assume you mean Portrait 3 and not Cameo 3 - correct? (You said "cameo portrait 3")

The Portrait 3 is great for vinyl masks, but not sure what you mean by "enough power". The machine easily cuts vinyl, and if wanted, the carrier also.

Since the Portrait is relatively inexpensive, I would buy a new machine (which comes with a warranty and no risk of unknown problems) rather than take a chance on a used one. You'll be liking and using the machine for a long time! 👍

Gene K

On 9/9/2023 at 4:38 PM, Dan_103 said:

Scaled for different sizes

What scales?

Gene K

"That Mozart guy" plays sweet music. He's terrific!!!   

👍

Gene K

On 7/24/2023 at 4:35 PM, Lime said:

I hadn't considered removing and placing the second mask down, but that might work better than placing a mask over the top of another, especially for the finer details.

I apply Oramask 810 masks one over the other using this Parchment Paper Perfect Placement Plan  to align the pieces:

Many other parchment videos on YouTube -- works a treat.

Gene K

Hats off to you, Dave, for that in-depth advice!!!👍  Nicely done.

mdb - checking that the blade is fully down and locked, as Dave explained, seems pretty basic  ... but I've suggested doing that more than once in  my small hobby group.

Gene K

Thanks Scan1701. I'll be downsizing your file to 1/72.

Gene K

On 7/25/2023 at 7:54 AM, Benassen said:

... own a silhouette printer for other purpose than modeling.

So you have a big head start for making masks and other items! 👍

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Gene K

I have a good friend who used your files, reduced to 1/72, on the Academy kit, and he thanks you! I'll post a pic once he's finished. 

As an aside, I've reworked your 3D intakes to fit into the Hasegawa 1/72 F-4 series. So thanks again from a lot of us for those "starter" files.

Gene K

On 6/26/2023 at 12:27 AM, Mozart said:

I’m old and retired too ... .

I'm older and more retired than both of you!

DaSWO (sorry I don't know your name),

I did those masks, and I have some other non-mask items for the F-4 that may be of use to you. Drop me a PM.

Since you're in San Antonio, any chance you're retired USAF?

Gene K

The Portrait 3 is on sale again for $150 from SIlhouette America (shipping about $17) or Amazon Prime for $170.

Great little machine!

Gene K

On 6/16/2023 at 1:24 PM, Mozart said:

This is from the WiP ... .

Thanks, Max. To save others from searching out your WIP, here's the link . What a gorgeous build!!!

Gene K

On 1/22/2023 at 2:59 PM, Mozart said:

Sorry friends, only just picked up on this thread. The answer is “yes”, I bought a special blade and cut this: 

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!

On 5/25/2023 at 8:07 AM, panzerrob said:

I am looking for some-one (located in Europe) who can make a simple mask for me.

 

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

14 hours ago, Mozart said:

 I’m going to investigate though whether my old Cameo 2 has the same facility. 

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. 

On 3/1/2023 at 1:57 AM, coolingthunder said:

I have found that the automatic tracing feature of Studio is not really amazing, it struggles making right angles where needed, tends to round them off, and straight lines can go a bit wonky.

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