Doesn’t do fabric like the Cameo
4 days left, $110 to go. Who’s in? It’s one AAA video game and two movie tickets away from completion.
2 Likes
Let’s talk about the best vinyl cutter for the space, price being no object.
Two links posted above:
http://die-cutting-machines-review.toptenreviews.com
http://silverbulletcutters.com/comparison-chart/
Assuming we can rule out the Cameo, three mentioned are:
- Clipper 24"x3m vinyl cutter, $550
- KNK Zing Air, $600 (USD probably)
- Silver Bullet 24", $1200 USD
Thoughts?
If a bunch of people donate $5-10 more to the Tilt (we’re only $45 away!), we can hit the main goal, with VHS taking up the slack to get the democratically chosen machine.
There are also totally different machines on the table. Please mention any other suggestions you have! I have literally never even seen a vinyl cutter in person, I am not an expert.
1 Like
Wishful thinking is a great way to make people feel bad about reality. Please discuss it in a new thread where it doesn’t derail the current effort.
I am willing to throw in $20 if we consider a different cutter. I would
even suggest buying a refurbished cutter from a local dealer. I know my
vinyl cutters. The silhouette is great for light duty home use but for the
space we should be looking at a commercial grade cutter.
Paul S Gill
aka the sIGNgUY
604.250.0060
VE7PXG
alternate email
(I use gmail for mobile email)
paul@bcweddings.org
paul@gills.ca
3 Likes
Great! Then throw in enough to give us options. 
As well as vinyl I think the cutter we purchase should also do fabric - it’s one of the reasons I put $$$ into this tilt.
I have to say that my experiments with fabric have not been that successful. It was one of the reasons I initially bought my machine. It is possible to do but it really depends on the material. Loosely woven fabric will be very hard to cut. Synthetics I have not tried so much. Felt should be fairly straight forward. I’ve seen different methods proposed for cutting fabric so this would definitely will take some experimentation.
You have to stick the fabric to a sticky mat and peeling it off the mat after can alter the shape of small fabric pieces. For limited a number cuts you’ll probably find that scissors work best or even the laser cutter for cotton and non-synthetic based material.
Mark
2 Likes
You guys will kick in if we shoot for the Zing Air?
There are a bunch of packages there that include different cutting tools, or a stand, etc. That gives us a bare minimum ($559 CAD), and stretch goals of up to $860.
1 Like
I dropped $20 off at the space with Dan yesterday for the tilt for whatever machine is decided upon.
1 Like
I asked my Roland printer techie if there is any good used plotter
equipment that he knows of. There is Graphtec FC5100-75 30" complete with
stand available from a sign shop in the Okanagan. I actually owned one of
these and they are an unbelievable powerhouse of a plotter/cutter. Asking
price is $1100 taxes in. As I recall the plotter new was about 3800US$
about 10 years ago. Getting it here would not be a problem and I could have
the Roland Tech guy check it out before we purchased it. This is a plotter
that can cut vinyl, premask for sandblasting, reflective vinyl. It can also
cut fabric but the fabric must have a liner on the back.
Paul S Gill
aka the sIGNgUY
604.250.0060
VE7PXG
alternate email
(I use gmail for mobile email)
paul@bcweddings.org
paul@gills.ca
That sounds like a pretty impressive piece of equipment, but I’d worry that an older high end machine like this might be too hard for VHS to maintain and operate. The advantage of smaller consumer machines (in general - I know nothing of vinyl cutters) is that they generally have a lower learning curve, and are easier to get up and running.
On the other hand, if we want to vinyl wrap the Cambie bridge, I think we may just have a solution here. Decisions, decisions.
Congratulations, VHS: You’re getting a Vinyl cutter! We Tilted last night.
There’s still three days so if you want a bigger, fancier machine then get out there and make it happen - we’re $75 from the Clipper 24"x3m vinyl cutter. The ZNK Air is ~$250 dollars away.
1 Like
Can we do an upgrade tilt? Same idea, if money isn’t raised for a larger one, then nobody gets charged.
Are you asking me to run it? I’ve got no life as it is, I don’t want to run more things.
I’m in for $50. I strongly prefer any machine that can cut foamcore board and balsa, but I won’t be demanding a refund if it doesn’t turn out that way. 
3 Likes
Sweet! Are we getting the better one then the clipper?
It seems like most people want the features of the Zing Air one
All of the people that have used and are interested in having a commercial
grade cutter would like the Zing.
As discussed on Slack with you, it costs $676.87 CAD, including shipping
and taxes.
There was also no dissent with the suggestion for VHS kicking in the
remaining $150 to bump us up to that level.
Is that the one we got?
According to the ‘tilt’ it’s at 550 and the AIR is listed as costing 750, so unless someone steps up to making some kind of extended tilt, Clippers the word. I bet the Clipper will last longer (it seems less ‘crafty’) but Im doubtful it will help any of my projects right now due to the low cut strength and no option for piercing. I finally got my credit card in the black and the tilt just ended! I’ll be sure to kick a 20 at least, in the donations if I find a project for this.
Great work! Thanks so much iMakeRobot and others for making it happen!