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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/30/2019 in all areas

  1. 4 points
    blinds all down to keep heat in - so watch dog from security system and don't let him stay out over 5 minutes even though he doesn't want to come in. stay warm and safe- at 22 with humidity it can feel real cold
  2. 4 points
  3. 3 points
    I have a 24" cutter, rarely do I even use vinyl at that width. Majority of the stuff I cut come off a 15" 651 roll. For the vinyl I do have that I use that's wider - it's a total pain in the butt to tape up. I have a LaserPoint and have never needed to use the contour cut, like ever. Stay away from the bundled deals if you can - they will lump in stuff that you might never need or want, and it's not always the be quality product. Figure out your budget and buy the best cutter you can get with that. Just don't for get the accoutrements - weeding tool (dental pick, exact-o, sharp tweezer, etc.), application tape (paper is the most versatile), squeegee (they come in different widths and firmness. I personally use a 3" that's firm plastic with a microfiber strip on one side), scissors, application fluid, etc. Oh, and vinyl! yah, let's not forget the vinyl! Welcome to the madness!
  4. 3 points
    Grew up in a small farm town an hour south-west of Chicago and sub-zero temperatures weren't that uncommon. After 30 years living in the South I can't wrap my head around being that cold. It's 22 here right now and I worry about the dog when he goes out to the bathroom. My thoughts are with all of you up north. . . stay safe!
  5. 3 points
    90 miles below you , still -16 temps -45 real feel. Sunday, Monday 50's here, Heat wave.
  6. 3 points
    Contour cutting is typically used with printed decals so unless you're printing and cutting you'll likely never use contour cutting. Between the MH and the SC2, go with the SC2, or if it's in your budget go for the Titan. I have an MH and while it can be made to work ok for a hobbiest, it is a lot of work to get it to cut well and not suited for any sort of business. The one plus side to start with a MH, you will learn all the little things that need to be adjusted and monitored for the perfect cut. Higher end machines just work. Neither of these machines are designed to cut card stock. If that is what you're wanting you should look more at the craft cutters such as the cricut and the cameo. As for size, that just depends on what you plan to do with the cutter. 24" vinyl rolls are pretty common and often time large designs can be broken down so that they can be cut on a 24" roll and then pieced back together. However if you're going to be doing large designs often then it would be faster and easier to cut the full design on a large cutter.
  7. 2 points
    He's a peach - you have to burrow in the snow to see what your feet touched - always solid ice on face and feet - then when he comes in sits and chews the ice off for extra treat.
  8. 2 points
    Temp and humidity is weird. Grew up in Indiana, living in Texas now and I'm surprised at how cold I feel at times when I know I've dealt with much much colder temps in the past.
  9. 2 points
    If you're using VinylMaster, I went to their YouTube channel and watched EVERY video. Grab a pen and paper and make notes. I listed the name of the video and the minute and second they started talking about the thing I was noteing. Not everything will apply to you, but you'll start to pick up little bits and pieces that will later be second nature. Videos that I knew were important I watched multiple times. Then take a cheep roll of vinyl and practice. Then practice some more. Just learning to properly set the blade to Mz Skeeter's instructions eliminated a huge chunk of my headaches. I probably used up over 200 square feet of cheep stuff before trying my first roll of 651. What a difference a good vinyl made! By starting with the cheep stuff and a factory blade I learned a lot of invaluable lessons. I've burned through yard after yard of 24" vinyl learning before ever attempting to sell anything. It's a long process to get decent at what you're doing. Be patient.
  10. 2 points
    1F here in southern Canada.
  11. 2 points
    That is pretty small piece to cut from, maybe slipping? Are you using the absolute least blade exposure possible? Maybe think about using a cutting mat for scraps that small?
  12. 1 point
    Your dog looks awesome!
  13. 1 point
    Back to HELP> HELP TOPICS> Search> weed> It brings up Speed and Weed boxes, which explains each one. That TOPIC section is invaluable. Just search for the word. There is HELP TOPICS and KEYWORD SEARCH. Many actual lessons in there.. These software and vinyl cutter companies have already taken the time to answer all of these questions, and they are very easy to look up. Take some time to learn your software. This is not a 1 or 2 day course. This is why this job is considered a skilled job. There is lots to learn, and the fact that you can download a free trial of the softwares to learn ahead of time, gets you started before you ever get your vinyl cutter. This job is practice, practice. It really baffles us, when people get a vinyl cutter for the first times, they know nothing, and day 2 they are saying, " I don't know what to do, I am already behind on orders" You should know your software and vinyl cutter very well and know how to transfer tape your decals, before you even consider selling. Maybe do stuff for a friend.
  14. 1 point
    Thank you, that is what I was concerned with, the help manual says that the Media width is just set to the machine's maximum which in my case would be 34" but when I did change it to 12" it did restrict the maximum available material which seems like it would be a little safer.
  15. 1 point
    don't quote me on this, because I don't have an SC, but that might be the blade offset needing to be tweaked (in the software). that, and the SC isn't exactly a high-end cutter, so it might not be the cleanest of cuts all the time. you can try and slow the speed down. i can't tell, but what is the size of your text? tinier text should be cut at a slower speed.
  16. 1 point
    thems lots 'o questions hmm ... i'm not a regular user of VM, so someone else might chime in about that. my only input is that i tend to adjust the media width settings in the software so that i can actually know where I should, and more importantly, should not be putting some of my layout there have been more than a few times (sigh) that I have not done that, and have let the design go off the vinyl and into the cutting strip. a) that totally jacks the vinyl when the carriage wanted to go back over the vinyl; and b) totally jacked my cutting strip ... which just expedites the need for replacement i encourage you - please learn from the err of my ways. i cannot speak for the SC, but if the indent you speak of is like how it is on my LP, then it's nothing ... literally nothing. i did not find a function for it when loading the vinyl, nor cutting the vinyl. but that could just be me.
  17. 1 point
    I tried the DXF and it actually looks like it could work. Does not have all them nodes. Used corel.
  18. 1 point
    The PDF is connected so assuming Vinyl Master Cut will import the PDF it should cut. I'm not sure how the high node count will affect the cut. That's the one issue with auto-cad it uses a bazillion small straight lines to create a curve. May not b a factor you'll just have to test some cuts. See the attached screen shot showing all the nodes.
  19. 1 point
    On the auto cad files they should work fine BUT you will need to be sure that the lines are all connected. I used to do file conversions for a guy who designed in auto cad and most of the time the ones he sent me each little line segment was actually a different line. They all touched but cutting software will stop and lift at each node I think. I have a feeling there is a way to export so they are all connected/welded but he didn't evidently know how. I am not an auto cad designer but it seems to have something to do with auto cad's use of a "spline" vs vector artwork using lines and curves. Export as EPS is the option you will want to use for file version.
  20. 1 point
    set the blade depth properly. take as much time as you need to do this. you can export to .eps, provided that the export is a vector file and not raster. speed and pressure can vary from machine to machine as well as vinyl type and color. speed: typically, the smaller the graphics and detail, the slower you'll want your machine to cut. pressure: as long as you have the blade depth set properly, you'll want to test cut to get through the vinyl and adhesive, faintly indenting the paper backing, but not scoring it - because then you had too much pressure. *I would love to be able to shot my stuff from AutoCAD direct to the cutter ... that's just not happening, since AutoCAD in not a cutting software and doesn't have the configuation-ability to control some of the settings on the cutter, and while you can stick a pen in the cutter to have it plot - you still will not be able to go from CAD to cutter.
  21. 1 point
    Serial cable or a Tripp-lite Keyspan adapter that is the brand name, is always better over the cheap Chinese USB of a value cutter which the SC2 is. It is not TRUE USB like higher end vinyl cutters. I don't know anything about auto cad. Force is determined by the vinyl you are cutting and having the blade depth set correctly. First you have to set the blade correctly. This is how. below. Always start slow with your vinyl cutter until you learn how to run it. No reason to go fast. To start with, you should set your blade depth correctly, by taking the blade holder out of the machine, and firmly cut across a piece of scrap vinyl, you will be cutting. You should only be cutting the vinyl and barely a mark on wax paper backing, Adjust blade to get there, Then put the blade holder back in machine, and use the force of the machine to get there, same results, only cutting the vinyl and barely a mark in wax paper backing. You should just barely see and feel the blade tip out of the blade holder. .eps files would be the most common file to import into Vinyl Master.
  22. 1 point
    I kinda went this route with my brothers help (he owns a computer repair store and built one for me). I now have a dell optiplex running an i7 with 16gb ram and as 250 ssd and a 1tb drive along with a nice graphics card. Should be arriving this week. I picked up a couple 28” 1080 monitors as well. Total cost is just under $500.
  23. 0 points
    we will only be down to -20 the next 2 nights but heard from MN that they will be -40 or lower everyone stay safe and warm - hunker down till Sunday when it warms way back up
  24. 0 points
    We're up to a whopping -21, with a wind chill of -51, here in the far west suburbs of Chicago
  25. 0 points
    I am at -1 waiting for the next -18 to roll in about 9 am. -55 wind chill here. It will be a high of -10 here Wednesday.