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Anybody Else Doing This?


biffsgasgas
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For those that know me or have seen my vehicles they know that I have a small sticker addiction. A fellow trials riders wife turned me onto a little evil machine that allows me free rain to get any decal I want on demand. I am not into tattoos so I guess this is the way of me expressing myself. Case in point the van back glass. (note picture is outdated but read on)

 

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So here I am Friday night and I have plenty of other constructive things that I should be doing and I cant turn my engineering brain off so I head to my local craft store to enhance an already cool machine. By enhance I have enabled myself to create my own gaskets on demand. Let me explain.My particular machine is a Silhouette Cameo 2. This is targeted toward the scrap booking ladies and wall art diy crafters.... but they had no idea how evil this little machine is in the hands of someone like myself....

 

Here is an old clutch cover gasket for a GasGas....  I place it on this replicator pad that measures the thing I have put on it with the given software for the machine.... 

 

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I have to use the software to trace out the part and walla i have created my own gasket on demand. Here is a test cut in adhesive vinyl...

 

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and here is a test cut in card stock....

 

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Just to see if I was successful I have taken an old cracked clutch cover and did a mockup and its dimensionally accurate.

 

B2032FE8-A3E6-43FC-9C6F-86A4BCBCFAF7_zps

 

Sooooo is anyone else doing this? 

 

Q&A time:

 

Q: Biff was it expensive?

A: No not really but it was more than a gasket. I have multiple reasons for owning one which includes a full blown addiction to stickers.

 

Q: Do you think other trials riders have these in their house not knowing what it can do?

A: I am pretty sure that someone will read this and start becoming interested in that little crafty machine that their wives or girlfriends have....

 

Q: Where do you get gasket material?

A: I can't speak for other nations but most auto parts stores here in the US sell sheets of gasket paper.

 

Q: How long did it take you to get used to your machine?

A: Well i am pretty tech savvy however I will tell you that not everything i have tried to cut was perfect. Most of what I cut is adhesive vinyl and i have had a couple of times where the whole thing wads up into a giant mess. I have gotten really good at learning how to clean this thing and setting up blade depth. I would suggest practicing on non expensive material first before you try and go full out.

 

Q: How portable is this thing?

A: sits on my kitchen table. 

 

Q: What dimensions can you cut?

A: It says i can cut 12 inches by 120 inches. I haven't tried anything that large and the largest I have cut is 2 feet by 10 inches.

 

Q: Any experience you can pass along?

A: About the only thing that I don't like about the machine is the mats that come with it. You don't need to use a mat to cut but when you use the OEM ones they seem to not be thick enough. I use mats from a competitor to the machine that i have and it works much better.

 

Q: Where do you get one of these things?

A: Here in the states there are several big chain craft stores that have them but I got mine refurished on Amazon. 

 

Q: What if you don't have an old gasket?

A: You might be able to trace the thing you want to gasket up as an alternative. If you do that you can always cut using scissors or a blade but this is so much cooler.  

 

Well there you have it. Gaskets on demand ala WGASA. 

 

--Biff

 

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Very few trials rider's vans have any trials or motorcycle stickers on them - for one very good reason.  Thieving toerags.

If you advertise the fact that you have a van with a trials bike in it, then one dark evening your van or your garage or shed will receive a visit from thieves, who will relieve you of your pride and joy.

Be warned.  Don't bother with stickers on your van. 

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My wife had a Cricut for scrapbooking which sounds very similar, and it was also great for making custom motorcycle graphics. I didn't try making gaskets though.

I say she HAD a Cricut because it broke down and we couldn't get parts. Has your machine been reliable and have a good parts backup?

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I here you Axulsuv... I miss my Miata for that reason. I expect you to ride in a Hamster suit now... 

 

So as for advertising I am in a high crime area (Being in the Detroit metro area) yet I am also in the Motor city where the common object of desire is the car. Yea I shouldn't advertise but I also know that trials bikes aren't really the desired object mostly because 99% don't know what it is here. On top of that I also emanate a bit of that mad max don't eff with me vibe when it comes to my vehicles. Not the most ideal but i haven't had a problem except for one unlocked trials bicycle on the back of my car parked in Detroit. Not the topic of conversation....

 

Crusoe123-- The mat for pix scan just helps the software get a sense of proportion. It calibrates off of the corners and larger blocks which helps the machine calibrate. I took a smart phone pic and then loaded it to the PC. The software then imports the pic and shows me what I am looking to cut. I had to use the trace feature for the cut lines and then had to clean up the image because it saw some of the dirt that was on this used gasket. It literally took me 10 minutes to clean up the cut lines. I did a test cut in vinyl which i have a ton of (sign shops throw this stuff in the dumpster so there is your ticket to free vinyl. Just ask!) PixScan is just a way for the machine to get the dimensions of your picture. The cutting blade is adjustable and sits in the machine. I am using the heavy card stock setting for cutting and it worked first shot. Pics to follow.

 

Feetupfun-- I too have a Cricut to make some iron on's and generic stickers but since i got this machine that has been sidelined. It is one of the older cartidge style versions but it didn't give me the freedom that this one does. I still use the cricut mats because they are just better. 12x24 inches. It hasn't broken yet but JoAnn fabrics here in the states has a ton of available parts. I have extra blades and mats but the one thing I will say is that when you wad up a decal it is really hard to get rid of the residue. I came up with a way on my own by running a foam mat covered in isopropyl alcohol through the machine but I can see that at some point it might not be viable. For gasket material there really is no risk other than the pain of not cutting deep enough which shouldn't really affect the machine.

 

Ok so some more pics... Here is an out of focus blade that goes in the cutting head.

 

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Here is the machine... (poor ******* hasn't had a day off since i bought it)

 

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This is the cutting head. (can also be used with a pen kit to print rather than cut. cutter head can also cut stamps and fabric)

 

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Here is the software that I am using.... 

 

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Here is the traced image that i got from scanning in my old gasket. (red lines are the cut lines)

 

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--Biff

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Well digitizing things from old decals, photos or even do 3D renderings I do too. But I don't process items I just send the drawings.

One thing I have noticed by doing my own stickers is the drawings should be made by vectors and blocks / fillings and PS as printer language has to be used.

For anything that should be cutter dxf and deg are the best digital format, especially for laser cut pieces.

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