Vinyl Cutting:
This week I received a Silhouette Cameo 4 vinyl cutter. I set up the software following the included instructions then created some stickers. I started with a train because that is what my 27 year old sister requested for some reason. I imported a dxf file created in illustrator into silhouette studio, set its dimensions and cut settings. After choosing the material, the software knows how deep / forcefully the cut should be. The machine auto sets the blade height.
Next I adhered the vinyl sticker paper to the sticky cutting mat and fed it into the machine then sent the file to be cut. The sticker came out perfectly on the first try.
After that I decided to stay on brand and create a dichroic Macbook pro detail. It took a couple of tries to get the dimensions exactly right but I was able to apply the sticker to the led backlight apple logo creating a pretty fun effect.
Later in the week I experimented with vinyl cutting thicker material, testing a design on cardstock then using lenticular lens. The blade couldn’t cut all the way through but ended up being deep enough to rip off the edges on the sold lines and fold on dotted lines.
Online Fabrication:
This week I created a machinable part and got some online quotes for fabrication in different materials. It is .5 inches high and 3.25 inches in diameter. There are two pockets and a cutout in the center and around the outside.
Below are some fabrication quotes for the piece in different materials and quantities from 3D Hubs. Compared to the quotes from eMachine and Protolabs, 3D hubs is by far the cheapest option.
Quotes for same part in brass and titanium, 3D Hubs is 1/2 or less the price of Protolabs.
