CAD-CAM for lace doillies (aka coach panelling)

Dog Star

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Here is a link to a recent topic over there which really deserves some exposure over here. The product in question is a hum-dinger for the ethos of WT... a tool for doing something useful... pushing boundaries... saving time.

What is being discussed is a computer design and control program for an automated plotter/cutter... this product is used generally in the crafts/hobbies of card making, decoupage, stencilling, quilting. When my Good Lady requested that we visit a craft store to look at an example I went along as the Taxi driver and changed my view when watching a demonstration; whilst the store was pouring praise upon the ability of the machine to produce those tiny paper shapes so beloved by Victorians and Edwardians my mind was thinking "Jenks coachbuilding approach... GWR Toplight panelling... how big a sheet of plastikard can be cut in one sitting? ".

My Good Lady purchased a machine and has put it to good use although eyebrows were raised when I asked her to try cutting petals from 10 thou etc..

Give the other side a chance and read the thread, then let WT know what you think.

regards, Graham
 
Dan Randall

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
Interesting thread, but I can't help thinking a laser cutter would be more useful, given its ability to cut thicker material.

That said, if your wife has one of these cutter thingies, it would be rude not to use it!


Regards

Dan
 
Dog Star

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Dan Randall said:
Interesting thread, but I can't help thinking a laser cutter would be more useful, given its ability to cut thicker material.
Click to expand...
Possibly - price might come into the discussion sooner rather than later. I recollect that we paid about £100 for the machine and software so not a large expenditure.
 
Steph Dale

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
The problem I found was that cutters that can calibrate cut depth and/or have the potential to cut thicker styrene aren't (as) cheap. The machine I've been looking at with an A3 cutter bed (so useful for 7mm carriages) is something like £850, or a little more when software (etc. ) is taken in to consideration.
Fair point on the laser cutters too although they seem to start at around £1500. There are also a number of things you can do with a CAD/CAM cutter that you can't do with a laser...
Oh and have a look at the carriage kits that MSC do now. They're produced in exactly this fashion, ready for assembly a la Jenkinson, but I suspect they're using a bedless machine as the thinnest material they do is 0.020". They looked very nervous when I asked them about 0.010" material (scale beadings)
Steph
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
It looks like an interesting machine but the examples of carriage mouldings shown on the link are quite distorted and a lot less accurate than I expected to be produced. It looks like the styrene sheet is dragged around by the blade once the cuts get close together. Maybe the styrene needs to be mounted on a more rigid backing but then there would be the problem of getting it off the backing - I don't know if 3M make big sheets covered with Post-It type adhesive, I think they do but not sure if they would be tacky enough to hold the narrow strips of styrene securely while it is being cut.

I think I will keep inkjet printing on to styrene and cutting out with a scalpel and straight edge for a while longer while the technology develops.
 
JimG

JimG

Western Thunderer
I wonder if there will be problems with the styrene stretching due to the cutting action of the blade - a problem that has been around for as long as we have been cutting out coach panelling from Plastikard sheets. This might give problems if laminating several sheets.

Jim.
 
David Halfpenny

David Halfpenny

Western Thunderer
Overseer said:
I think I will keep inkjet printing on to styrene and cutting out with a scalpel and straight edge for a while longer while the technology develops.
Click to expand...

Overseer, may I ask what inkjet printer(s) you can recommend, please?
I used to use a ten year old Canon, but can't get Drivers for it any more.
The great majority of inkjets I've seen recently have too bendy a paper path to handle card, let alone styrene.

My present work-around is to print onto thin paper and stick it to the styrene, but it's a pain.
David
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
David Halfpenny said:
Overseer, may I ask what inkjet printer(s) you can recommend, please?
I used to use a ten year old Canon, but can't get Drivers for it any more.
The great majority of inkjets I've seen recently have too bendy a paper path to handle card, let alone styrene.

My present work-around is to print onto thin paper and stick it to the styrene, but it's a pain.
David
Click to expand...
I haven't used it for styrene for a year or more but I have a Brother A3 multifunction scanner/printer/fax. I just checked on line for a similar one and found the Brother MFC-J6520DW. They have a manual feed slot designed for 220 gram card which is straight through so 10 and 20 thou styrene is no problem. They are reasonably cheap to buy.

I have been using a Zing stylus cutter more recently but haven't had any time to do anything for the last few months. Maybe there will be some time over Christmas to do some more.
 
Ian@StEnochs

Ian@StEnochs

Western Thunderer
Iv'e been using an HP 820Cxi for years to print on 10 thou plastikard. Still got a driver but the problem is ink which is hard to come by. I just keep the machine for printing on the plastic and have , hopefully, enough ink for a while yet. I have had no problems with feeding despite the paper path being 180 degrees, in at bottom, round the roller and out at the top.

Ian.
 
Jon Nazareth

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
I think I will keep inkjet printing on to styrene and cutting out with a scalpel and straight edge for a while longer while the technology develops.
Click to expand...

I've not heard of this before but then there's nothing new there for me. I have a cannon MP272 which in the past 10 seconds, has packed up...I'll have to check the fuse. But this could be fate saying that I need a new printer, especially one that will print onto styrene :)

Jon
 
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Jon Nazareth

Jon Nazareth

Western Thunderer
pps. I've just looked up the price of the Brother MFCJ6520DW and at PC World, it's £250. Does anyone know of another printer, a bit cheaper, that will do the job just as well. I'm thinking of G3 coach sides, the earlier, much shorter variety.

Jon
 
Overseer

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Jon Nazareth said:
pps. I've just looked up the price of the Brother MFCJ6520DW and at PC World, it's £250. Does anyone know of another printer, a bit cheaper, that will do the job just as well. I'm thinking of G3 coach sides, the earlier, much shorter variety.

Jon
Click to expand...
Interesting price difference, the price for the Brother MFC is just under $250 in Australia, and could probably be found cheaper. With the exchange rate I would have thought it should be around £120 in the UK.

The Zing is a stylus cutter like the silhouette cutter that Rob Pulham is using. The Zing is a bit heavier duty and includes a pen holder so can work as a plotter as well. Stylus cutters are very good for curved cuts which are difficult to do repetitively by hand but they are still not completely accurate due to the use of a rotating blade so some trial and error is required to work out what will come out of the machine.
 
SimonT

SimonT

Western Thunderer
We bought a Brother MFC-J6920DW a month ago and I wouldn't recommend it if you want to be able to print colour. The colour is drab and poorly registered. In addition the manual feed is very temperamental.
Simon
 
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