0. Overview
A vinyl cutter is a type of computer controlled machine. They look and behave a lot like printers, but instead of having ink reproducing your work onto paper, vinyl cutters use a blade to cut your design into different materials. A computer software is used to design and export your creation from the computer to the vinyl cutter.
Vinyl cutters are also known as craft cutters, die-cutters and plotters because the truth is, they can do far more than just cut your vinyl designs. As well as vinyl, high quality vinyl cutters are able to cut your designs into paper, cardstock, tissue paper, reflective material, thermal transfer material and much more.
1. Prepare your file
2. Cut from USB drive
3. Direct Cut
4. Scan to Cut
5.Resources
1. Prepare your file
Step ONE:
Open the software Canvas Workspace located in the desktop of the soft lab N406.
Login using the credentials of the image below.
Step TWO:
Import your SVG file that you created using illustrator or Gravit designer OR create your design by placing simple shapes and text from the right sidebar in Canvas Workspace.
Select the correct mat size, we have the 12×12″ for small projects and 12×24″ for larger ones.
Step THREE:
Once your design is done and with the correct dimensions, go to: File -> Export FCM file, and save it in the USB stick to introduce in the vinyl cutter machine later.
2. Cut from USB drive
Step ONE:
Turn on the vinyl cutter machine and press “OK” in the screen interface.
Step TWO:
Adjust the blade depth according the material thickness. Watch this short video to understand how to set correctly the blade number dial.
Step THREE:
Prepare your material and place it in the sticky Mat board. The materials available in the fabrication lab are colored sticky paper and colored vinyl sticker.
Step FOUR:
Press the upper right button while introducing the mat board into the machine slot as you would do for a regular printer. Make sure the mat board is as straight as possible when you introduce it.
Step FIVE:
Step SIX:
Step SEVEN:
Step EIGHT:
Step NINE:
Step TEN:
Start the cut and verify that the machine has started and working alright.
3. Direct Cut
A printed image or an original hand-drawn illustration can be scanned and its outline can be cut out or drawn. This is useful for scanning images for paper crafts, then cutting them out.
4. Scan to Cut
A printed pattern or image or an original hand-drawn illustration can be scanned, converted to cutting lines for cutting/drawing with this machine, then saved as data.