Vinyl Cutter
From TSAS Library
The library currently has three Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutters—two may be checked out after brief training on use. They have a cutting capacity of 8 x 12".
Things it can cut
- Paper/cardstock up to 350 gsm thick
- Vinyl (stickers! car decals!)
- Iron-on transfer t-shirts!
- Craft foam
- Light weight fabric
How to make something
- Create an image or text in vector (specifically, .dxf) format. Suggested resources are here, and an explanation of vector images is here
- Install Silhouette Studio, plug the cutter into your computer, and load your .dxf file into the program
- If making a t-shirt, mirror your image so everything appears backwards
- Cut a piece of your material to the correct size and press it onto the sticky plastic that comes with your machine. This holds your material in place while cutting
- Click the Send tab and choose your material from the list on the right side
- Follow the instruction manual that came with the cutter to adjust the knife to the depth indicated by the material you chose
- Place the sticky plastic with material on top into the machine according to the instruction manual
- Press Send
Stickers
Once cut, carefully remove the extra material with a knife, then press a piece of transfer paper onto the top of your design. This will allow you to remove the design from its backing without distorting it.
T-shirts
See DIY T-shirts for further instructions.
It draws, too!
Replace the knife with a pen for drawing capabilities. See Vector Resources for tools and inspiration.
Things we've made
See Also
- Inkscape-Silhouette for Inkscape
- Inkcut, though this one waiting for a 1.0 update