Hands v.s Silhouette Cameo Cutter

For our first rapid prototyping action project we compared what it was like to create letters by hand, using X-Acto knives, box cutters and scissors, versus using the Silhouette Cameo Cutter to create exact outlines of the letters we were assigned. We were also required to include certain materials, the two materials I was required to use for this project were paint and vinyl. Not only did I include these two materials but I also found a way to incorporate card stock and glitter into my project. I created each letter by hand first and then created the letters using the Silhouette Cameo Cutter. I chose to cut the letters by hand first because I assumed it would be easier to get the long process of cutting the letters by hand and painting them by hand out of the way, so that at the end I could quickly input my letters to the computer, so the Silhouette Cameo Cutter could cut out my letters. 

                                

My process for creating the letters by hand began with creating a graph. The graph allowed me to measure out vertices to create a cohesive network of lines that created a non-traversable out line of my letters. Once the sketch was finished I labeled all the points on the graph numerically and did distance formula to conclude which two points were farthest away from each other. The second step for creating the letters by hand involved me tracing out my first letter on vinyl, then tracing the letter again on a larger scale on yellow card stock. Once the letters were traced on both types of material I cut them out using an X-Acto knife, box cutter and ruler. The letter I cut out of card stock I glued to a peace of orange card stock and then placed the vinyl letter on top of it to create a colorful layering effect.                 

GCE Lab School 2015

Silhouette Cameo Cutter card stock and vinyl letter "P"

GCE Lab School 2015
Hand made vinyl and card stock letter "P"

My process for creating the letters using the machine was to first input the points I had made on the graph into the computer to make an exact replica of my sketches. Once my letters were input to the computer I noticed a few changes I had to make. First the letters came out way too big and would not print on the size of card stock I had. This was also an issue with cutting the vinyl on the Silhouette Cameo Cutter because the sheets of vinyl were small squares. So I figured out how to shrink the letters so that they could be cut on both the card stock and the vinyl. Once this was done I was able to use the cutout of the letter “j” as a stencil for my painting and glittering.

GCE Lab School on the left is a hand make "j"
and the one on the rite is a "j" made by
 the Silhouette Cameo Cutter

The process varied for hand and machine a great deal. When it came to printing out the letter “P” it was very hard to get it to work on the machine. The program only allows straight lines so creating curves had to be done by using a tool that did not have exact measurements. Creating the “P” by hand was very easy because I was able to use a ruler and an X-Acto knife to carve each side and curve the way I originally wanted to, especially when it came to creating the cut out in the center. That was much easier by hand. When it came to creating a “j” with the machine, it was very easy to cut out my stencil perfectly. When it came to hand making my “j” it did not come out looking as good as it did on the machine because I had to do that without a stencil.