Silhouette Cameo

We have one of these sitting in the laser room. It works fine with the this plugin on top of Inkscape. I have been using it for a project, so I'll populate this page when I have the time.

Installing

First, install Inkscape.

Second, install the inkscape-silhouette plugin. Instructions for Windows, MacOS, and Linux are on the GitHub page. On Linux, be sure to add you user to the lp group. If you have problems, check the "issues" tab. If nobody is describing the issue you are having, feel free to open a new issue.

Using

Make Your Design

Import it or create it yourself. Using Inkscape is beyond the scope of this article.

Plug In

The cutter has a power brick and a USB cable. Plug these in to the wall and your computer, respectively.

Adjust Blade Depth

Blades for Silhouette's cutting machines come in cylindrical cartridges. The blade sticks out the bottom of the cartridge and pivots freely. It is important that the blade protrude the correct depth. Too shallow, and it will not cut through the material. (This can be used deliberately to score material for folding.) Too deep, and it will scour the rubber pad under the print head, and prematurely dull the blade.

Bloominglabs has 2 kinds of blade cartridges for the silhouette cameo. The manual describes the adjustment process for the official, plastic blade cartridge. It also has recommended depth settings for different materials.

The unofficial blade cartridge, made from aluminum, is adjusted by turning the knob on the top. It may be necessary to manually drag the blade across your material in order to determine whether it is adjusted properly.

The cartridge drops in to the "print head" of the machine and locks in place by twisting the blue plastic knob clockwise.

Load Material

Non-Adhesive-Backed Materials

For cutting materials that don't already have adhesive backing, like paper or fabric, it is recommended to use an adhesive cutting mat. (You may be able to get away without using a cutting mat, see examples here.) Cutting mats can be purchased on amazon or at major craft stores. Mats can be re-used a limited number of times, depending on whether the blade is set to be too deep or not and how well the adhesive maintains its hold.

Align your material in the top-left corner of the adhesive cutting mat.

Check that the blue knob on the right side of the cutter is pointing upward.

On the cutting machine, select the menu item "load cutting mat", and feed your cutting mat or work piece in.

Adhesive-Backed Materials

Materials that already have adhesive backing, like vinyl sheets, can be fed into the cutter directly.

If your sheet is less than twelve inches wide, the manual has instructions on adjusting the rollers for narrower sheets.

Check that the blue knob on the right side of the cutter is pointing upward.

On the cutting machine, select the menu item "load media", and feed your cutting mat or work piece in.

Make the Cut

In Inkscape's Extensions menu, select Export -> Send to Silhouette.... A big dialog box will pop up with lots of options. Generally, you only need to set Tool to either Cut or Pen, and set what Media you are working with. If you find the defaults unsatisfactory, and you are sure that the blade is sharp and set to the correct depth, then you should start playing with the rest of the settings.

Finally, click Apply. The cutter will do the stuff and make the thing.

Links

User manual: File:Silhouette cameo manual.pdf

An archived copy of the product page: [1]

A PDF of the technical specifications: [2]