Silhouette SD

[Dave Schneider]

Bryan

I think that you can download and use the Studio software without buying the machine to see if it works for you. That is all I have used up to this point as I had some issues with AI early on and haven't taken the time to troubleshoot.

Best wishes, Dave

[DKS]

I'm not at all sure this is a practical approach to making N-scale brickwork. You'd probably be better off printing it than scribing it--it's basically two-dimensional anyway.

What I'm starting to wonder, though, is if the paint were a bit thicker, could the 3D effect be enhanced? The closeup of the cutting (versus the scribing) doesn't look all that exciting.

[sirenwerks]

I've been wondering for a long time if the thermographic printing process (like that used for raised lettering on business cards) would provide enough depth and detail to be viable.

[DKS]

I've been wondering for a long time if the thermographic printing process (like that used for raised lettering on business cards) would provide enough depth and detail to be viable.

Possibly (and I believe it's how Archer's decal rivets are made), but it also produces a semi-glossy, somewhat lumpy finish, and there's a limit to the details it can follow in a printed image. It would have to be painted after the thermo process was done.

[Zox]

I'm curious how the scribed mortar lines and closer to scale brick will hold weathering.

I was able to rub pencil lead into the scribed lines on bare styrene:



...so I suspect that weathering with chalks would work. Other techniques such as drybrushing and washes might, but I'm not in a position to experiment with those right now.

Also from tonight's experiments:

"Double-cutting" with the scriber doesn't seem to make much difference in the width or depth of the lines, probably because the cutter can't exert enough downward force to push the wide scriber point any deeper.

It's possible to snap the styrene on a scribed line, but I wouldn't recommend it. I had to bend the styrene sheets (I tried both 0.010" and 0.030") over double before they would snap, and that's along a straight line. For score-and-snap, the knife blade is a better choice.

From Muppet Labs, this is Bunsen Honeydew. On behalf of Beaker and myself, I bid you good evening.

[Dave Schneider]

Jamie inspired me to order some adhesive vinyl to see how I might use it to make windows. I ordered 9 x 24 inch sheets Expressionsvinyl.com in a variety of colors at $1.59 a sheet.
http://expressionsvinyl.com/catalog/update/9x24-all.html

I received great service from this company. I ordered Friday afternoon and it was in my mailbox today.

Anyhow, I laid out some quick windows this evening as a test. I took the vinyl and stuck in onto clear styrene. It is very sticky stuff, so you need to be careful not to trap air bubbles in it. I was impatient at first and ended up with a bit of a mess. Here is a quick shot of the results. The window openings in the wall are 0.30 inches square, so these are very fine divisions between the panes. I cut it with the blue cap, speed of 2 and thickness of 9.

I see several advantages over other methods. While I like the paint mask method, this provides more depth as the vinyl is 0.003 inches thick, and produces a nice opaque finish. The scribe method also looks nice, but this is easier on the blade and allows for a variety of thickness divisions within a single window.



Best wishes, Dave

[Chris333]

If you have problems with bubbles in the sheets you could try spraying with soapy water and using a squeegee sort of like window tint.

[Dave Schneider]

Thanks for the tip Chris. I will have to try that.

Best wishes, Dave

[sirenwerks]

I see several advantages over other methods. While I like the paint mask method, this provides more depth as the vinyl is 0.003 inches thick, and produces a nice opaque finish. The scribe method also looks nice, but this is easier on the blade and allows for a variety of thickness divisions within a single window.

It would stand to reason that you could also precision cut windows that tilt open or large factory windows with the horizontally pivoting circulation panels in place. You could even make them operating by adhering them to a wire rod running across the backside of the window. Hmmm, the options are mind-boggling. Thanks Dave!

[pnolan48]

I think I'll be ready to go tomorrow. I've been rather limited in workspace, but I'll take possession of my new condo tomorrow. Then I can set up everything and give it a try with .020 styrene--unless I find some .030 while unpacking.

I've spent the last two days learning Illustrator, the only package on my MAC that has enough power to import large Photoshop files of ships without crashing. Tracing hull lines isn't difficult, once I mastered the way Illustrator handles bezier curves. So I've got a Benson- and a Fletcher-class hull drawn--vertical mid-spline, cross-sections, deck, bottom, and outside profiles--just enough to build a hull. I've learned that plans are not always scaled correctly. My sections were too tall for my profiles--edit, edit, edit. My sections may be too wide for my deck plans--I have to check that tomorrow AM. I'm afraid that the sections are too wide. I'm using plans from the Navy's "General Booklet of Plans," which should be good, but there are obvious scanning errors.

I thought this would not be easy. I'm really exercising my high school math to figure how to stretch a piece around a curve.

I think the next ships will be much easier.

[Zox]

Just for completeness' sake, I tried using my scriber on cardstock tonight.

It produced no useful results--an interesting texture, to be sure, but nothing resembling brick.

[Iain]

Pete:
That's why I redraft ship hulls in AutoCAD three dimensionally; it helps with the fairing.  There's a program out called Delftship that has a free version.  It can export in several 2d and 3d formats.  I myself don't use it, but I know several people that do.

Anyone:
Since I can't afford one of these right now, if I were to buy some Delrin sheet and have it sent out with a DXF file, could I get one of you to try to see how well it works?  Once again, the biggest holdup with several of my projects is the ability to build reliable drive components, namely trucks.

Thanks much.

[Zox]

...if I were to buy some Delrin sheet and have it sent out with a DXF file, could I get one of you to try to see how well it works?  Once again, the biggest holdup with several of my projects is the ability to build reliable drive components, namely trucks.

Iain,

I'm willing to give it a try, but I have to say up front that I'm not very hopeful. The maximum cutting depth for the Silhouette is 0.3 mm, or 0.012". This means that with anything thicker, you have to rely on score-and-snap.

How far do you live from Laurel?

[Iain]

I'm in Fayetteville, NC.

[Zox]

I'm in Fayetteville, NC.

Yeah, that's a little far to just pop on over.

I'll PM you my snail-mail address, so we can go ahead with the experiment if you want.