http://www.silhouetteamerica.com
or
http://www.graphteccorp.com/craftrobo/

I'd love to save up for one but I'd really like to know how well it works first. If anyone's tried it or has one themselves, let me know!

Got a Silhouette Cameo (Silhouette site insist you select your country to view the page. At least it did me.) that has been setting on the dinning room table for about 6 months... decided to load up the software and check it out when you asked. I really think it all has to do with the software that comes with the cutter more then anything.  I imported the PandS avatar and played with it some.  Worked ok. The higher your resolution on the image I think the better. Checked out quite a few of the tutorials listed on this Pinterest page which was helpful. I think with  your experience in shadow puppets you would catch on pretty fast. You really need to think in negative and positive spaces.  Software uses vector images so you are dealing with points, curves etc.  You can drag a regular jpg, gif etc image onto the screen and use it to "trace". This is a nice blog/vlog entry I found on formats. http://katemadedesigns.blogspot.com/2012/03/video-tutorial-using-digi-papers-with.html#.UWGjFlemB8E  In it she mentions you can not trace a PSD or file but that is what I was using.

Haven't cut anything myself yet but my housemate uses it to cut out pieces for set models and it works great.

Almost forgot to mention that it comes with an Instructional Video.  Could be I forgot because I did not watch it.    I am sure it has some good stuff on it but I am a dive right in kind of guy.

I have a cricut, that I bought third party software for. I can tell you that importing vector files is totally the way to go. You main cost is going to be the blades and the mats (if the silo uses them). I also made sure to oil all of the parts on mine, because they do tend to rub together and wear out.

You also want to take the size of your artwork into consideration when purchasing, since they have a set max capacity base.

None of these do a fantastic job on something like chipboard, but if you are just going with a relative standard card stock, it should cut fine.

Yes, it does take thinking in inverse part of the time, but I think you should be able to do it, no problem! I do cut shadow puppets on mine, but I also use it for vinyl, silkscreening, airbrush templates, etc. I use mine about once a week, but I am also all over the place with the stuff I work on. I think it takes being realistic about what you are going to use it for. It might be cheaper to find someone who has one, and cut stuff out for you, vs. the cost of the machine if you are only going to use it occasionally.

P.S. I was not volunteering to do the cutting, btw. LOL.

P.S. I was not volunteering to do the cutting, btw. LOL.

What you have too much on your plate already?

Thanks guys!

I already have my designs worked out, which is why I'm concerned about 'trying' before buying. Fortunately I think I've found a seller in an outer outer outer suburb near me who offers coming in and testing out the machines. Will need to look more into it definitely.

My main concerns is that:
* It won't handle my polypropylene plastic - it's 0.38 mm thick, so it should be fine, but again I would love to test it out beforehand just to be sure.
* The software won't work well with my designs. They're coaster-sized, so I'm not worried about making anything large with it, but they are pretty detailed. It's basically a black and white image, where the white parts are where the cut outs are. Is it possible to send one of you a file and you could tell me how well it would work with the import function or trace function?
* Cost wise isn't too bad. I've also found a company out of state who sells the Silhouette machine, and they have free shipping as well. The machine won't be used for puppets, but for a product that has a broader appeal and I want to be selling them for a long time. Not including the plastic or the machine, it's a 'cheap' product because the machine will cut out the labour/time spent making them. So it kind of works out in the end - plus I'm thinking that if it's suitable I'll set up a kickstarter campaign or something and do some fundraising. I already have plenty of plastic, but I need the machine and then packaging to go with the product.
* Finding someone local who has a machine is probably not easy. I know Silhouettes locally are in low supply and only a few of the listed suppliers actually had any in stock. The one local to me used to sell the Silhouette (or still does, it's not clear on their site) but sells the Craftrobo. I would expect that it would cost a lot for small runs via someone else, which is what I'd start off with. I'm not even sure where to look for someone with a machine actually.

Lola, how often do you replace mats and blades?

Na,
Your welcome to send me one of your images and I'll process it through the program to see how it works. Sounds like you should be fine. I can even do a test run in at least card stock to see how it handles the detail.

I have a feeling that you are going to be ok with the material you are trying to cut. The stats on SC for max thickness is  31.5mils (0.8mm). Am I thinking right that is over twice the thickness you are working with? Found this article that has some pretty good insight into the Silhouette Cameo and tips on getting the best cuts. http://scrapadoodles.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/silhouette-cameo-cutting-tips-settings-for-cutting-different-materials/

You know what... I think maybe you can get the basic software that comes with the machine for free. http://www.silhouetteamerica.com/?page=software  Can't hurt to try and then you could test it yourself to see how intuitive it is.

Thanks - will email you a file. I'm most worried at the moment about how small the detail is and if the machine will be able to handle it, or if I need to scale it up.

And yes, the thickness that it can handle is double what I use. I guess I'm just worried about whether or not it can actually cope with plastic at all given it's not the same texture as card. It does have a slight sanded texture, but obviously it's better to try beforehand than ruin a perfectly expensive new purchase.

Thanks for that link, that was really helpful. It got me thinking about other things I could do too!

And yeah, I saw the software earlier today and may spend some time fiddling with it if I can download it. I'm really just hoping I can take a day trip to this local store and see for myself as well.