Scale32 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Thanks Kev I'll look into it. Cheers Bevan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durangokid Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 I have been considering buying one of these and this thread is really pushing me in that direction. Is is difficult to copy a set of decal and have the Silhouette cut it out? I'm not well versed with draw software or vector graphics. I have figured out how to scan 48th scale decals and upsize them to 32nd scale so it would be nice to have them cut on the Silhouette. Also, can it cut out regular tamiya tape type masks? I have some masking sheets that I think are made of tamiya tape stuff. Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade rowlands Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 I got one early last year and so far have only really done some canopy masks, which I admit to cheating on somewhat. I got some of the montex ones from sets I had for kits in the stash. I dont like Vinyl for canopy masks as I find it doesnt like curves and lifts repeatedly. I scanned the montex ones in to my Mac. Measure the size of the sheet the masks come on, use that as your sizing guide when importing to the cutter software and away you go. I use the large Tamiya masking sheets for this purpose as I find they adhere better to compound canopy curves, as an Eduard set would do. I do find however that the supplied cutting mat from Silhouette is quite sticky and have sometimes had the backing sheet tear on trying to remove it from the plastic cutting mat. What I do now is tape the sheet in place using the guide lines rather than stick my material to the sheet itself. I did try de tacking it to no avail, still sticky after many tries. I have set out plans but not yet cut them for several sheets of circles in various tiny diameters for use in projects like masking out instrument panel dials that are a different colour to the instrument panel body, the idea rose from doing a Mitsubishi Zero panel when the dials remain black but the panel is cockpit green and another one when puttying the first third of the Spitfire IX wing as was done in production but needing to prevent the inspection holes from being puttied over on the lower surface as they needed to remain. I also intend to do some strips of straight lines of various widths but haven't worked out how to do that one yet. I maybe haven't used the machine as much as I thought I would as of yet but then, I haven't actually done that much model building in the period I've had the machine either. Its quite small so is unobtrusive and easy to store out of the way. I've found the software supplied to be fairly user friendly and simple enough to follow, though I do sometimes forget if I haven't used it for a while whats what but theres a million youtube videos out there for learning and reminding yourself anyway. Gene K, LSP_Kevin and Durangokid 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade rowlands Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 9 hours ago, Durangokid said: I have been considering buying one of these and this thread is really pushing me in that direction. Is is difficult to copy a set of decal and have the Silhouette cut it out? I'm not well versed with draw software or vector graphics. I have figured out how to scan 48th scale decals and upsize them to 32nd scale so it would be nice to have them cut on the Silhouette. Also, can it cut out regular tamiya tape type masks? I have some masking sheets that I think are made of tamiya tape stuff. Bryan Yes, it cuts the Yellow Tamiya tape sheets no problem. I use the lowest possible settings for my cutting whether its Oramask or Tamiya sheets. A little trial and error earlier in the learning process got me there after the higher settings cut clean through the masking medium, its backing and through the supplied plastic cutting mat. I have scanned in some decals for a Ki-84 in 1/32 as I dont like Hasegawa decals. I never got around to cutting the masks though as mentioned earlier i the thread Oramask can shrink so I was leaving the cutting until the masks were ready but I since sold the kit so never needed the masks. I dont recall any issues in scanning them though and did check that the trace feature would work and dont recall much head scratching. I have also bought the Designer Edition software though. Theres some features that come with it that aren't available with the basic version that the cutter comes with on initial purchase. Durangokid and LSP_Kevin 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ade rowlands Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Out of sheer curiosity I tried cutting some thin Styrene sheet. I think it was 0.2mm thickness and it worked OK, not brilliant, but OK, there was some burr to the cut lines but a light sand got rid of that in no time. I dont think the blade would last too long if doing this a lot though. I had a spare so tried it. For thicker styrene it would probably be wiser to just use the cutter to score the cut patterns in to the Styrene and then do the actual cuts with a scalpel. Again I used the lowest settings of 1 for everything figuring the slower speed and force would prevent blade drag and the chances of killing the blade. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Hi Ade, sounds like you need to try the more expensive heavier blades : https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/shop/blades-and-mats Cuts deeper and lasts longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 hi guys and maybe @Thunnus in particular i have just unboxed a Portrait 3 but haven't actually cut anything yet so wondering did we reach any conclusions on this? also, some other *really* basic questions... I am using Artool Ultramask F506... do i use a cutting mat? i have a file to print some crosses - how do i know how big they will come out? scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashotgun Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 cricut is another cutter device I have the cameo 4 we should also mention https://www.scalemodelpaintmasks.com/ by our own kevin futter it is a great resource with some files others have uploaded for free use Uncarina, Gene K and scvrobeson 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 i have asked on SMPM but it's pretty quiet there i need a zoom call with someone who knows there sh*t lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, nmayhew said: i have asked on SMPM but it's pretty quiet there i need a zoom call with someone who knows there sh*t lol And I’ve just answered your question! on SMPM. nmayhew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Sorry for the tardy reply! I've been using my Portrait 2 pretty consistently since I posted originally about a year ago. I've been cutting masks using the following settings: Blade =2, Force = 5, Speed = 3. These settings have worked well for the Oramask 810 material, which I use mostly, and also for the Tamiya Masking Sheets, which I've used for a few things. I create my own masks in AutoCAD using decal sheets or other graphics as a guide. I import the decal sheet into AutoCAD, scale the decal sheet so that I am working 1:1 and trace over the desired markings. I place a cut box around each marking using 0.5" increments so that the total dimensions of all of the masks put together is a simple number. For example, this is a set of masks that I prepared for a future build. The dimensions of this mask set is 6"x8". I export this file in AutoCAD to DXF format, which is a vector graphic format that the Silhouette Portrait can read. When you open the DXF file in the Silhouette software, it fills the entire work space. Using the window tool to select the entire mask set, the dimensions will be visible so it is easy to resize it to the desired 6" x 8". Troy Molitor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dashotgun Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 autocad has a hefty price tag 1600 a year yikes but I found a few substitute programs which are free since we are tracing it would probably work well. I have the basic design silhouette software and their tracing leaves a lot to be desired. https://all3dp.com/2/best-autocad-alternatives/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanes Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 9 minutes ago, Thunnus said: The dimensions of this mask set is 6"x8". I export this file in AutoCAD to DXF format, which is a vector graphic format that the Silhouette Portrait can read. When you open the DXF file in the Silhouette software, it fills the entire work space. Using the window tool to select the entire mask set, the dimensions will be visible so it is easy to resize it to the desired 6" x 8". That's almost the same workflow I use but instead of AutoCAD I'm using Inkscape which works quite well. One minor or major thing depending a little bit on what you're drawing: DXF format doesn't know splines nor any curvature. Depending on the number of nodes round (more precisely circular) elements can be distorted after importing to the silhouette software, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 31 minutes ago, Fanes said: That's almost the same workflow I use but instead of AutoCAD I'm using Inkscape which works quite well. One minor or major thing depending a little bit on what you're drawing: DXF format doesn't know splines nor any curvature. Depending on the number of nodes round (more precisely circular) elements can be distorted after importing to the silhouette software, So that's what was going on! I tried importing spinner spirals made of spline curves and it would always distort upon importing to Silhouette Studio. I now only use circular arcs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanes Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 6 minutes ago, Thunnus said: So that's what was going on! I tried importing spinner spirals made of spline curves and it would always distort upon importing to Silhouette Studio. I now only use circular arcs. Better during importing than realizing during mask application that something is terribly wrong - ask me how I know... The only real solution seems to be upgrading to the Designer Edition and import .svg instead of .dxf files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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