A vinyl cutter is a machine that attaches to a computer that cuts vinyl, paper and other light-weight materials. Vinyl cutters cut paths, so generally you will be preparing your artwork in Adobe Illustrator or another vector drawing program. There are many varieties of these machines, some are used professionally. We have 2 consumer models in the BMCC Maker Space, a Cricut Maker and a Silhouette Cameo.
Both of our vinyl cutters can load dxf files (AutoCAD Interchange file) into the software they use when cutting. They can cut other types of files, such as pngs or jpgs, but it is advisable to make sure you have saved your file as ai (Adobe Illustrator) then exported your files as dxf.
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Vinyl Cutter Workflow Overview
- Sketch project on paper
- Prepare Illustrator files
- Make certain that your paths are all closed
- Save your file as .ai
- Export your file as .dxf
- Turn on Cameo or Cricut, attach computer
- Open software
- Load dxf in software
- Place paper on cutting mat and load mat
- Adjust settings for software (paper weight, paper size)
- Press cut button or send to machine
