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Specialty Blades

Silhouette offers a variety of specialty blades that can be used to cut an expanded variety of materials. Click on the specialty blade type below for further information on target material types and how to find proper settings.

The Silhouette 2mm Kraft Blade is available for use with the Silhouette Cameo® 3 and the Silhouette Portrait® 2. It can also be used with the Silhouette Cameo® 4 when using a special adapter.

The 2mm Kraft Blade allows you to cut specialty craft materials, such as chipboard, acetate, leather, and craft foam. The Strong Tack Cutting Mat may be recommended for use with some materials when using the 2mm Kraft Blade.

It is advised to use the recommended settings found in the Silhouette Studio® software when using the 2mm Kraft Blade. If the material you are attempting to cut does not have a recommended setting, please follow the guidelines below to test and create custom settings:

To determine proper blade depth:

  1. Place the blade next to your target material so that the cap is flush with the material surface
  2. Twist the blade cap until enough of the blade is revealed so that it extends just beyond the depth of the material
  3. Alternatively, if the thickness of the material is already known, you may adjust the depth setting on the blade to match the material thickness. You will then want to adjust the blade up by one additional setting.

NOTE: The blade setting numbers coincide with the length of blade being exposed. Each number is equal to 0.1 mm so that a setting of 1 = 0.1 mm, a setting of 2 = 0.2 mm and so on. The maximum blade level of 20 = 2 mm.

To determine proper force settings in the software:

  1. Start with a Force setting of 15 and perform a test cut.
  2. Adjust the Force up in increments of 5 if the material is not cut through OR decrease the force by 5 if the blade cuts too deep and perform a new test cut. IMPORTANT: If the machine/blade makes a grinding sound when cutting, this would indicate that the Force setting or Blade level is too high.
  3. Continue to adjust the Force setting in this manner until the desired cut is achieved.

NOTE: If the limits of force are reached in either direction and the cut is still not being properly performed, reset the Force to 15. Adjust the depth of the blade by one — up one if the material is not cutting and down one if the blade is cutting too deeply. Repeat the above steps until the proper Force settings are found.

If the material is being cut through but the edges aren’t as clean as desired, lower the Force setting by 5 and increase the number of Passes in the software by one. This will assist in cleaning up edges.

The Silhouette 3mm Kraft Blade is available exclusively for the Silhouette Cameo® 4. It is not currently compatible with any other cutting machine models.

The 3mm Kraft Blade allows you to cut specialty craft materials, such as chipboard, acetate, leather, and craft foam. The 3 mm depth is designed specifically to take advantage of the increased clearance of the Cameo 4, which allows a clearance of up to 3 mm.  The Strong Tack Cutting Mat may be recommended for use with some materials when using the 3mm Kraft Blade.

It is advised to use the recommended settings found in the Silhouette Studio® software when using the 3mm Kraft Blade. If the material you are attempting to cut does not have a recommended setting, please follow the guidelines below to test and create custom settings:

To determine proper blade depth:

  1. Place the blade next to your target material so that the cap is flush with the material surface.
  2. Twist the blade cap until enough of the blade is revealed so that it extends just beyond the depth of the material.
  3. Alternatively, if the thickness of the material is already known, you may adjust the depth setting on the blade to match the material thickness. You will then want to adjust the blade up by one additional setting.

NOTE: The blade setting numbers coincide with the length of blade being exposed. Each number is equal to 0.1 mm so that a setting of 1 = 0.1 mm, a setting of 2 = 0.2 mm and so on. The maximum blade level of 30 = 3 mm.

To determine proper force settings in the software:

  1. Start with a Force setting of 10 and perform a test cut
  2. Adjust the Force up in increments of 3 if the material is not cut through OR decrease the force by 3 if the blade cuts too deep and perform a new test cut. IMPORTANT: If the machine/blade makes a grinding sound when cutting, this would indicate that the Force setting or Blade level is too high.
  3. Continue to adjust the Force setting in this manner until the desired cut is achieved.

NOTE: If the limits of force are reached in either direction and the cut is still not being properly performed, reset the Force to 10. Adjust the depth of the blade by one — up one if the material is not cutting and down one if the blade is cutting too deeply. Repeat the above steps until the proper Force settings are found.

If the material is being cut through but the edges aren’t as clean as desired, lower the Force setting by 5 and increase the number of Passes in the software by one. This will assist in cleaning up edges.

The Silhouette Rotary Blade for Cameo 4 is available exclusively for the Cameo 4.

The Rotary Blade for Cameo 4 provides an alternate method of cutting by having the blade roll across your material. This enables you to cut a variety of specialty material—including cotton fabrics, leather, felt, wool, and more—without a special stabilizer backing.

It is advised to use the recommended settings found in the Silhouette Studio® software when using the Rotary Blade. If the material you are attempting to cut does not have a recommended setting, please follow the guidelines below to test and create custom settings:

  1. Turn the cap clock wise until the blade is fully revealed
  2. Start with a Force setting of 10 and perform a test cut
  3. Adjust the Force up in increments of 3 if the material is not cut through OR decrease the force by 3 if the blade cuts too deep and perform a new test cut. IMPORTANT: If the machine/blade makes a grinding sound when cutting, this would indicate that the Force setting or Blade level is too high.
  4. Continue to adjust the Force setting in this manner until the desired cut is achieved.

If the material is being cut through but the edges aren’t as clean as desired, lower the Force setting by 5 and increase the number of Passes in the software by one. This will assist in cleaning up edges.

For more information regarding using the rotary blade, refer to the following document: here

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