Silhouette Software Upgrade

[Leeann34]

I upgraded SDE today and there are now more media options in the Cut Settings but all of the card tock options are gone.

I also can't see any other differences. The release notes state that there is better font support, for example, but there are no obvious changes to me.

Did I miss something? I'm mostly frustrated about the missing card stock settings.

[RosieLP]

subbing...

I'd like to know about this, too.

[lylacfey]

I don't have SDE but I know you can do rhinestones and import SVG's. I saw a video where there is a really nice eraser in SDE so you can have finer control where you erase your designs. I remember something about better sketch tools.

I don't use SDE because I learned my Silhouette "old school". I do all my designing in Inkscape. I then import my designs in either PDF or PNG and let the Cameo do all the tracing so I can fix any node errors before cutting.

I like my eraser in Inkscape.

Rhinestone feature- I use MTC with my Gazelle so I just use the rhinestone feature in MTC.

This wonderful lady has really great tutorials for SDE- http://www.youtube.com/user/doodlingdebbie1. Reason I say she is great she is one of my friends on the former pcCrafter board. Even if I didn't know her I would highly recommend her videos. She puts a lot of work into them. I threw in her videos because I know she goes into more details what SDE can do. I thought it would help.

[Leeann34]

Maybe it's the same with basic edition then. The issue is when cutting there's no option to choose card stock, the most common media to cut.

I used to do the same with Inkscape since I learned the same way when I had Scal for Cricut. Thank you for the links to the tutorials, but my issue is merely with the SDE upgrade and I'm not sure why I'm the only one with this problem??

[lylacfey]

I don't know if this will help any but I choose pattern paper setting for the cardstock setting. The Cameo seems to go by weight than medium in their settings window.

[Susan_T]

I know this doesn't answer your question, but I have one about the upgrade too. I have been afraid to upgrade because I use an old blue wishblade. Does the upgrade still work with wishblade? I've been so happy to start using it again, I don't want to do anything to mess that up! Hope someone can answer both our questions.

[klh54]

I don't have SDE, I just have Silhouette Studio and recently they had an upgrade for the software which also removed the cardstock options settings-here's their reply:


Thank you for your inquiry. We are sorry for any frustration caused from the change in pre-set media types in the Silhouette Studio program. The latest version does include a reworked list of media types as they pertain to our company�s products offered. There have also been some previous media types adjusted to accommodate and apply to the �thickest common denominator� for similar material types that fall within the same family of materials.

If you have a new media type and want to create your own setting for further future reference, you may do so by clicking on the plus sign in the list of material types. You may then enter in the desired setting values. The new material type will remain in your "User Defined" section at the top of the list of materials avaialble.

In order to find the right settings for any specific material type we would highly recommend using the �Test Cut� feature in the Silhouette Studio software program. You may go to the �Silhouette Cut Settings� option located in the upper right-hand corner of your software screen. This will bring you to the screen w here you may adjust your media type and use a test cut feature found at the bottom of the panel. This will allow you to move the blade over your material and then try out your settings to cut a very small square and triangle. This helps you to know if the selected settings are correct for your material type of if you may need to select a different media type setting or manually adjust the �thickness� setting .

In regard to the blade and finding the correct settings, there are two things to take into consideration: a) the blade level and b) the �thickness� setting.

The blade level controls how far the blade is exposed in 0.1 mm increments. This accommodates for how thick the material is. For example, a blade level of 1 = .01 mm, a level of 2 = 0.2 mm, etc. If you have a material such as cardstock where the actual thickness is 0.3 mm (as is most cardstock), setting the blade to a higher exposure (such as 0.6 mm or setting of 6) would mean you are exposing the blade beyond the actual depth of the material. This does not allow the blade to cut better. It just exposes more of the blade and if extending beyond the actual thickness of the material can wear down the blade tip very quickly and result in ragged cutting results. From that point on, you would then have to expose the blade to a higher level because a setting of 6 would actually be only exposed 0.3 mm since you had worn down the excess tip beyond the material�s thickness. We would thus discourage you from attempts to overexpose the blade to try and get a �better� cut.

The �thickness� setting from the software controls how hard the blade is pressing down. This accommodates for how dense the material may be. For example, a sheet of paper that measures a thickness of 0.3 versus a sheet of dense cardstock that measures a thickness of the same 0.3 depth would require the blade to be pushed down with different thickness levels.

If you feel that the material in question may be slightly deeper than the recommended blade setting recommendation, we would recommend that as you raise the blade level, you also in turn lower the �thickness� setting in the software so that the blade if overexposed is not still being pressed down with the hardest force possible and potentially breaking the tip. You may then increase the �thickness� according to further test results.

So I guess their biggest reason for changing the settings is to accommodate their specific media.

hth
Kathy

[lylacfey]

SusanT- I did look up to see if SDE will work with the Wishblade. It does work with the original Silhouette SD. I want to say a definite yes you can upgrade. The Wishblade, Cameo, SD, Robo are all Graphtec machines. SDE is compatible with Graphtec machines. I would contact Silhouette and ask just in case.

[Susan_T]

Thanks DeeAnn. I was so happy to see that Silhouette SD works with my old machine and I love their new store. I'll contact them next week (no time today) because I don't want to do anything to make it quit working!