Silhouette SD

[pnolan48]

Folks,

I posted some results over on the N Scale forum in the My Ships thread.

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=24257.msg239781#new

This is working out much better, now that I realize a mistakenly identified .030 sheet wasn't going to fit in an .020 slot. When I was starting out I spread parts all over the sheets, afraid I could not tell them apart. I didn't have the pen tool, and the multi-layer settings seem a little buggy on my Mac, so I finally just scribed the part numbers. Also, placing two straight pieces so that they exactly butt means only one snap instead of two, and that lines gets double the cuts.

With .020 styrene, I'm using two passes at 3 cm/sec at max force (33). I mistakenly cut one sheet at 10 cm at about 15 force with only one pass--that worked just OK for larger parts like hull bottoms, but not well for cutting slots.

The cutting area seems confined to inside the two white rollers, but can be confusing when it shows up on the settings screen. For me, that's 210 mm wide--just more than 8 inches. I thought it could cut up to about 10.5 inches wide? It's having no trouble with 16" long sheets, and didn't have trouble with 30" sheets.

In all I'm much happier with it once I learned some of its peculiarities. It may not be the best way to build a hull, but it's REALLY good for the superstructure. And I've cut out some cable reels that go together in layers and look like a snap to assemble.

[sirenwerks]

FYI, the Silhouette SD is being discontinued and replaced by the Silhouette Cameo. I haven't been able to ascertain the differences between the two - the only difference I have heard of so far is the cutting size, but not which one has the larger cutting area. Of course, the word "new" means higher price too.

[conrail98]

I'll have to keep my eye out on the 'bay to see if people start jettisoning their SDs,

Phil

[Zox]

FYI, the Silhouette SD is being discontinued and replaced by the Silhouette Cameo....the only difference I have heard of so far is the cutting size, but not which one has the larger cutting area.

http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/silhouetteCameo.aspx

The SD only takes (up to) 9-inch-wide material, so the Cameo's 12-inch capability is greater. Probably not an issue for most N-scale purposes.

[pnolan48]

The SD will accept an 11-inch wide sheet, but only prints 9 inches wide, if that.

[Zox]

The SD will accept an 11-inch wide sheet, but only prints 9 inches wide, if that.

I stand corrected.

[pnolan48]

I stand corrected.

It's a bit of a puzzle to me, Zox. I should really sit down in front of the cutter and watch it for a while, to understand it better. The SD default is to cut from left to right when you are facing the machine, and from back to front. (I haven't checked the "Use Document Origin" box, which seems to flip the image.) So "right" on the screen display is "left" on the cutter, and bottom is top. The cutter head can travel the entire distance, but seems to cut only between the two main (white) rollers. I plotted the cutting area out by drawing cuts 1 cm apart across the width and down the length. I did the length only to find a comfortable margin, because, if the cut is too close to the ends, the material may roll off the rollers, which causes the sheet to skew badly.

I use the metric system because, in N scale, 2 mm roughly equals 1 foot. It's actually 1.95 mm to the foot (the British 1:150!). This drove me nuts as my ships were always a few feet too short--a 300-foot ship is not 150 mm but 154 mm long. For years I'd draw it at 2 mm to the foot, or 150 mm, then double check the length and find it 4 mm too short. Illustrator does allow a ruler at 1.95 mm, which certainly made things easier!

[pnolan48]

Anyone have any idea why the cutter will sometimes stop in the middle of a job? Any ideas on how to restart the job? I've tried everything I can think of--key combinations, clicking on every box in the RoboCutter interface . . .

[pnolan48]

Latest price for a 4 x 8 sheet of .020 styrene (actually about 50" x 100") was $9.93. The wholesaler (Crumbell Plastics in Cincinnati) had a $100 minimum order, but relented and let me buy only 6 sheets.

I'm having trouble finding 4 x 8 sheets on .010 styrene. I'd like to use the .010 for shadow details, such as recessed portholes. That is, the porthole in the .020 will be 16" in diameter, while the inner sheet of .010 would be about 15" in diameter, leaving a scale 1/2-inch recess. These are then backed by 0.005 clear acetate on the inside.

7 x 10 Plastruct sheets of .010 will feed only by the long side, as the rollers are 8 inches apart (or so).

Have had good success with the Silhouette with Aggressive-class minesweeper and Bluffton-class subchaser. But those are more personal choices--I liked these ships. My first commercial venture will be a 210' Reliance-class Coast Guard cutter. I am cutting it today.

[Zox]

7 x 10 Plastruct sheets of .010 will feed only by the long side, as the rollers are 8 inches apart (or so).

Have you tried using a carrier sheet to engage the rollers, and just letting the styrene ride in between? For some of my experiments, I used 65-pound cardstock sprayed with "temporary" spray adhesive as a carrier, and it worked as well as or better than the carrier mats that come with the machine.

(And if you cut into a cardstock carrier, it's disposable, unlike the "official" plastic ones.)

[SkipGear]

I forgot to put an update on my caboose here....

From this....



To this...



All styrene cut with my vinyl cutter.

[sirenwerks]

Stupid question for ya' Tony, by "vinyl cutter" do you mean the Silhouette?

[SkipGear]

My vinyl cutter is a Roland but it functionaly is the same as the Silhouette Sd but about 8 years older. In fact, I think the Silhouette may have faster cutting speed and more blade pressure options than what I am using.

[pnolan48]

Have you tried using a carrier sheet to engage the rollers, and just letting the styrene ride in between? For some of my experiments, I used 65-pound cardstock sprayed with "temporary" spray adhesive as a carrier, and it worked as well as or better than the carrier mats that come with the machine.

(And if you cut into a cardstock carrier, it's disposable, unlike the "official" plastic ones.)

I'd overlooked the carrier sheets. Thanks, Rob.

[pnolan48]

The latest sheets of styrene I bought have one side that is virtually a mirror and incredibly hard. I'd call it phenolic in nature. The "other side" is harder than the soft styrene I am used to. I like it! Although the mirror side shows every ripple that normal soft styrene doesn't show. It seems to glue the same as other styrenes. I seem to be able to clean up excess glue really well, better than soft styrene.

What is this type of styrene? It doesn't snap quite as well as soft styrene (but it still snaps) , and I think it might be HIPP "High Impact PP". I suspect the wholesaler pulled a different (better) grade than I ordered for $10 a sheet.

It's just different from what I've gotten from them before. With care in modeling, it might be better.