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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 13:38:55
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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Hey my wife is getting a plotter to cut all her card making designs and I was wondering if anyone on here has ever used one for cutting/scoring Plastikard. It says on the tech specs that it will cut up to 0.5mm thick plastic, so it sjould be ok with scoring .75 and maybe even 1mm
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 13:58:59
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Regular Dakkanaut
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That would be pretty awesome if it works.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 15:55:01
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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There is a video on YouTube of a guy using the previous model plotter to create buildings
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 16:10:42
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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They work quite well.
I've been using a Silhouette and it can cut through 0.5 mm card without too much of an issue. I normally use it for scoring though - then I can quickly finish it out by snapping and then sanding the edges.
Keep in mind though - that if you are looking to use existing templates you will want to modify them a bit. The Silhouette can read registration marks - but sometimes things go a bit off on it.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 16:50:57
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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It's a silhouette cameo that she is getting should be good how thick Plastikard have you cut / scored with yours? And how does it affect the blade?
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 17:32:55
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Dakka Veteran
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I have one and it will definitely cut plasticard. Keep in mind that it will only cut through relatively thin stock. When approaching the maximum thickness that it can feed into the machine it will only score it - which you can then break, but it is a less than perfectly clean cut.
I bought it primarily for doing stencils, but plan to use it for some terrain projects as well.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 17:41:02
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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soitra wrote:It's a silhouette cameo that she is getting should be good how thick Plastikard have you cut / scored with yours? And how does it affect the blade?
Out of the box - it cut a hair under 0.5mm (just to test to see what it could do). You can double or triple cut with it as well in order to get nearer to the blade length of 1 mm, but as I said - I normally score, snap and clean up with files.
For the blades, I normally change them every 3 months or so. I don't wait till it is dull though, just part of my yearly routine...change the oil in the cars, replace the blade on my Silhouette.
For the rest of the details - I recommend this thread here:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/79025-a-guide-to-using-the-silhouette-cameo-cutter/
It wasn't around when I got mine, so I had to figure out things on my own - but that is a fairly exhaustive thread covering a variety of different tasks from file creation and building up designs from 2D panels. Automatically Appended Next Post: Sorry, had to dig out my other links...
Sometime in the near future I plan on upgrading my cutter to something like a Silver Bullet or Black Cat:
http://silverbulletcutters.com/comparison-chart/
They are a heavier duty machine and are able to handle plastic more easily as well as wider stock than my Silhouette.
Just have to decide if I want that first or the laser engraver. Both are on the list - but for various reasons I get more use out of the cutter than the laser engraver.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/04/13 17:49:29
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/13 20:54:05
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Revving Ravenwing Biker
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I've never seen these things before, but they appear to have immense potential for modeling terrain and the like
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/14 04:34:49
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Most Glorious Grey Seer
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This could solve the problem about laser cut mdf, assuming you're very patient with your clean-up work.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/14 04:55:32
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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Breotan wrote:This could solve the problem about laser cut mdf, assuming you're very patient with your clean-up work.
Which problem with laser cut MDF?
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/14 06:32:06
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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V interesting for those of us who don't like MDF (sorry, it looks too wooden  ) and have plenty of plasticard experience - one of these machines would be great for creating consistent basic plasticard shapes to then be super-detailed.
Not cheap though - maybe I should just save up for a 3D printer instead...
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/14 08:54:10
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf
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Clang wrote:Not cheap though - maybe I should just save up for a 3D printer instead...
Doesn't seem too bad, $270 in Australia for the Silhouette Portrait. It can only do 8" wide sheets, but surely that's enough for your typical war gamer? If you need something wider than 8", just do the halves separately and join them.
Or is there some other costs involved that I'm missing?
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/14 20:05:31
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Dakka Veteran
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AllSeeingSkink wrote: Clang wrote:Not cheap though - maybe I should just save up for a 3D printer instead...
Doesn't seem too bad, $270 in Australia for the Silhouette Portrait. It can only do 8" wide sheets, but surely that's enough for your typical war gamer? If you need something wider than 8", just do the halves separately and join them.
Or is there some other costs involved that I'm missing?
If you need a wider cut than 8" you choice it to make that the length or to do it in sections. Length-wise it will do something like 10'.
Well, the hidden cost is the materials you'll be cutting. I recommend finding a good plastic stock size that works for what you want to do, then buy it by the 4x8' sheet. It's the cheapest way to get plastic stock.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/14 20:42:15
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Most Glorious Grey Seer
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Sean_OBrien wrote: Breotan wrote:This could solve the problem about laser cut mdf, assuming you're very patient with your clean-up work.
Which problem with laser cut MDF?
Most MDF terrain is made overseas and is thus very expensive for purchase and delivery to the USA. MDF is also surprisingly heavy.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/15 00:12:33
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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Ahhh, that problem with MDF - would explain why it wasn't so much an issue for me, I design my own and have them cut by a laser service.
For getting the material - yes, unless you are doing a one off project and never touching plasticard again - don't buy flat sheets from Evergreen or Plastruct. You can get 4x8 sheets for a little more than one of the small packages from one of those companies, and if you use a lot of it (normally I go through a couple of those a month of various thicknesses) the savings alone allows you to pay off neat toys like these cutting plotters.
Additional costs...
If you get pretty involved, you will probably want to invest in a more full featured graphics program. The ones which come bundled work alright for simple stuff - but there are a lot of projects which would have taken hours and even days longer to design using their rudimentary toolset.
There are other free options - but a good vector program like Illustrator or CAD program sure does make things go a lot faster.
Keep in mind that it is possible to recoup some of these costs too. I probably make $200-300 on the side each month just doing little jobs - that is without even advertising of any form, just people who track me down. Someone who was more motivated could get their money back pretty quick and help cover other toys.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/22 16:50:26
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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I recently got a Portrait for my birthday. I'm using it to cut out templates so I can then cut out foam with a hot wire cutter for some buildings. Only had it for less than 2 weeks so far, but it is a lot of fun.
http://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-SILHOUETTE-PORTRAIT-Portrait/dp/B009GZUPFA/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398184770&sr=8-1&keywords=silhouette+portrait
I'm also really looking forward to using it to make some counters for Malifaux and Infinity.
Here's my first building I cut out from the template I created on the Portrait. I'd tried to hand cut templates before, but cutting foam with a hot-wire cutter needs a level of exactness that I couldn't achieve until now.
So far I'm just using cereal boxes for material, but eventually I'll buy some plasticard and try that.
This is the guy who has some videos of using the machine for plasticard: https://www.youtube.com/user/kiblams
Also, Silhoutte has a youtube channel with lots of videos about using their machines that might be good to check out if interested. https://www.youtube.com/user/SilhouetteAmericaInc
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/22 18:37:13
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Dakka Veteran
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Breotan wrote: Sean_OBrien wrote: Breotan wrote:This could solve the problem about laser cut mdf, assuming you're very patient with your clean-up work.
Which problem with laser cut MDF?
Most MDF terrain is made overseas and is thus very expensive for purchase and delivery to the USA. MDF is also surprisingly heavy.
You can lasercut plastic rather easily. I had some 4 mm acrylic cut for a project, recently. The machine was a mid-size wood&plastic-only machine IIRC, but the guy said it can go through up to 20 mm of plastic. As you don't need too much power, I suppose most small companies that do laser engraving etc. should have a machine powerful enough to cut styrene sheet.
Anyway, back to the topic: if you're getting an all-purpose cutter, it probably makes sense to invest a few bucks and get a good one from the start. I can see it being useful in tons of projects, especially if both of you have use for it.
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This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2014/04/22 18:52:22
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/22 22:28:42
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Regular Dakkanaut
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I have always wondered about if these would work or if they were just not beefy enough. Now I just need to order one.. lol
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/24 08:16:50
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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We'll it's been ordered gotta wait till tomorrow for it to turn up now. Will post some pics of my first attempts with it
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/26 10:27:44
Subject: Re:Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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Well it arrived yesterday and so far we are both happy with the cutter... However I have noticed some limitations to cutting plasticard on it.
It won't cut through anything over 0.4 mm thick! This is ok for fine details such as aquillas but for larger structural pieces the fine detail is a struggle.
My first project with it is going to be a drop pod the fins have been cut out of 1mm plasticard which it will score to an unneeving degree of accuracy these can then just be snapped out.
Will post some pics when I get some more plasticard so far I just have the main fin structure built.
This is the smallest thing I have cut so far, slightly to thick to cut through but the detail is amazing.
All in all I think the will revolutionise my scratch building efforts!
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/26 12:30:21
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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The thickness is probably due to the blade holder design. The old design for my SD used little caps. To cut the thicker materials, I had to sand down the bottom of one cap so more of the blade sticks through. The new blade design doesnt use multiple caps, but a ring that you twist.
I have found that it scores plenty deeply to snap even 1 mm card with the regular caps though. If you do want to go deeper, you should be able to get a hold of the old blade holder and switch them out.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/27 09:40:06
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Battle-tested Knight Castellan Pilot
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You want one of these
http://www.esko.com/en/products/overview/kongsberg-xp/overview/
I've got one at work and it will tackle pretty much anything you could conceivably need for plasticard/foamex/foamcore/dibond/dufaylite cutting
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/27 10:24:16
Subject: Re:Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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How much is one of those? The cameo was £270 including postage
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/27 11:13:23
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Battle-tested Knight Castellan Pilot
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A lot more expensive than that lol and not exactly sized for the home
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/27 15:35:11
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Regular Dakkanaut
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Soitra: Did you double cut the Aquilla? From some descriptions you can run it twice and cut through.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/27 15:36:35
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Boosting Ultramarine Biker
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Lol I'll stick with the cameo then. Should have some more plasticard tomorrow evening so my drop pod should progress abit further
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/28 06:49:25
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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Anyone tried the new Epson Scan 'n' Cut? As the name suggests, it both scans and cuts, not needing a PC at all (but can still connect if you want to). The hypothetical advantage is that you can just draw building/vehicle component outlines on paper then it will scan and cut them, no programming required.
Reasonably priced too (compared to others I've seen locally) - although still not cheap.
If I was still bulk-building war-gaming terrain, I'd probably get one - it'd be great for building e.g. a whole military camp or industrial complex or barricades. And also for vehicle conversions, instead of trying to cut multiple complicated identical shapes by hand. So tempted...
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/29 19:21:24
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Longtime Dakkanaut
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One potential use which I forgot to mention with these (Silhouette in particular) which I haven't had a chance to test as of yet are decals...
You can get pens which ride in place of the cutting blade on the plotter. They write/draw on your paper or other material. You can get a white pen...
http://www.amazon.com/Silhouette-Sketch-Pen-Starter-Kit/dp/B00B4AUF3M/ref=pd_sim_ac_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VE90QPH0CVRWV07R9FD
When doing DIY decals, white has always been difficult and after ALPS went off the market, it has become an even bigger pain. There are several work arounds - but depending on the nature of the white ink used by the pens...it may allow you to preprint your white regions on the cameo and then print the color portions using your regular printer over that. Resolution would not be as fine - but quite often when dealing with white on decals all you need is a white disk for the background of a symbol or something else that is simple like that.
I have been meaning to try it out for awhile (and just ordered up a starter set of the pens) but haven't had a chance to. In theory though, it should work well enough.
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/04/29 20:19:19
Subject: Plotter for Plastikard?
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Dakka Veteran
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Thanks for the heads-up about the white pen. That means I'll have to experiment with that now.
I've used mine to cut some stencils and I make some nice palm fronds for jungle terrain that I'm planning in the near future. Automatically Appended Next Post: Thanks for the heads-up about the white pen. That means I'll have to experiment with that now.
I've used mine to cut some stencils and I make some nice palm fronds for jungle terrain that I'm planning in the near future.
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This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/04/29 20:31:33
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![[Post New]](/s/i/i.gif) 2014/05/05 14:18:16
Subject: Re:Plotter for Plastikard?
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Dakka Veteran
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So, here's my latest experiment with my Portrait:
You can see the frond-making process here - http://jayadan.tumblr.com/post/84536275322/a-while-back-i-discovered-the-silhouette-portrait
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