Warranty

Warranty

Postby celtichound » March 30th, 2017, 5:06 am

Hi, I am in the UK and I was looking at the Black cat ages ago for my Dog collar making (Dawn embossed some dragonflies on leather to show me what the machine could do). I then had a baby and crafts took a complete back seat for a while but back now and looking to get a machine both for collars and loads of other craft ideas, so I have a few questions. I am currently thinking of buying Silver Bullet 18" with Got to Have It All Kit and a support table.

Does any of the above come with an extra sticky mat or do I need to add that to my shopping list as well?

What is the warranty on the silver bullet?

Also when cutting dense materials wood and leather how long does a blade last on average (so I know how many to buy to start)?

Can I use the machine with a laptop as I would like to put it in my craft room but don't have a computer set up in there I just take my laptop in when I need it?

I use illustrator for lots of my designs, how easy is it to move designs from illustrator to Sure Cuts A Lot.

Has anyone used fabric pens in the holder and how do I do multiple colours? Is it several passes aligning with a specific point?

Sorry for all the questions
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Re: Warranty

Postby MeFlick » March 30th, 2017, 7:51 am

Hi and Welcome to the US Support forum for the Silver Bullet Cutters. Congratulations on the baby. Not sure how old your baby is but mine are now 20 and 21 and in College. Don't really expect your time to "craft" to get much better for a long long time with a child in the house! ;) :D

Since you are in the UK and would be buying your machine from Dawn, I am going to start out and point you back to the UK's Silver Bullet site and their forum. Just want you make sure you realize that there are two and how to find the UK site. One reason for doing so is that I believe that what is offered by the US site and the UK site can vary slightly so if you are buying in the UK, you would want to check the UK site and address many of those questions to Dawn herself if you can't find the answers on her site. As you know from your past experience, Dawn is very helpful in trying to sort out for her customers to ensure you get what you need with your purchase.

Here is Dawn's UK home site for all things Silver Bullet:http://www.thymegraphics.co.uk

Then here is the contact information page: http://www.thymegraphics.co.uk/contact.asp

Here is the UK SB Forum: http://www.thymegraphics.co.uk/forum.asp

I took a cursory look around on Dawn's site but didn't quickly find the warranty information on the SB in the UK. I don't know if the US and the UK are the same (I think they are but not sure) so I am hesitant to provide that information since I am just a longtime customer. I think Dawn can best answer this one.

I did look at her list of items found in her "Gotta Have it All" package (listed under the Tools --> Misc. category found here at the bottom: http://www.thymegraphics.co.uk/products.asp?cat=52 and it doesn't list any additional mats. Generally, the original mat that comes with the machine is not an Extra Sticky one so you would probably need to purchase at least one of those if you want one. However, again - Dawn may be willing to work something out though if that is the only mat you need so you would be best served talking directly to her.

As far as "cutting" dense material like wood and leather - again - you are best served by talking to Dawn directly but no blade drag cutter like the SB is going to cut through really dense wood or leather. How dense is too dense again is best figured out talking directly to your supplier, Dawn in the UK. While some thin leather can be cut, most people do embossing on the leather after cutting elsewhere I believe. Wood cannot be very dense either. Typically most wood cut is very thin and even then, you usually need to do multiple passes and generally would not be very intricate shapes. However, again Dawn can best answer your specific questions and/or work with you to test materials that you have in mind for your projects.

Yes, you can use the software and the machine with a laptop computer. Most people do so. You will just need to plug the machine into the computer with a USB cable.

While I do have Illustrator, I haven't used it to create designs and take it into SCAL for cutting. I do know that it can work but I don't know how much extra work is involved if any to take it from AI to SCAL for cutting. Generally, you can export out of AI to an SVG file and then import SVG files into SCAL. I do know that when saving SVG files from AI, there are some additional steps that need to be done in AI to make sure you have a cuttable file. However, I don't recall exactly what all those are. I think there are some options in the saving that you have to check or uncheck. Also, in general - you have to remember that creating files in AI for "viewing" is different then creating files for "cutting". What is easily "viewed" or "printed" out from AI is not always easily cuttable. One thing is that in general, you want to have a "fill" or an "outline" or border (sorry mind is blanking on what AI calls the line around a shape) but not both otherwise you end up with double cut lines for example.

I have not specifically done fabric pens. Do you mean pens or markers? You would need to be careful with markers because some markers get "squished" very easily as you press down. There are other considerations that need to be taken into account when trying to use pens and markers so again, Dawn could probably best answer and guide you here. However, yes, to do multiple colors you would need to use several passes through the machine and aligning with a specific point each time for each color change you needed. The same is true when trying to emboss and cut, or using any multiple different tools in the blade holder.

I know that I keep pointing you back to Dawn and her site, but again, if you are in the UK that is where you would be buying your machine and accessories from and I firmly believe that talking directly to the seller of the product you will be dealing with gets you the most accurate and correct information. Her forum also has lots of great SB users who are always willing to help out. So are we here in the US so please, do come back and ask questions as you want - I just wanted to make sure you knew where to find the UK site, its forum, and such since that is where you are located. (Timezones alone can make waiting on answers a little more taxing when your are across the pond.)
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Re: Warranty

Postby Gigi » March 30th, 2017, 10:31 am

Great and thorough answers Melanie - thank you. Talking with Dawn is clearly the best thing if buying from the UK.

I can answer the machine warranty question - it is 18 months.

You can also go to silverbulletcutters.com and see a video of Dawn cutting wood veneer. We have several members embossing leather for dog collars and other things quite successfully. There are some great pictures on here of embossed dog collars that might help you see what is possible.

As far as AI and SCAL are concerned - they play nicely together. There is a free download on the craftedge site that will enable you to design in AI and then send directly to SCAL to cut, so you don't have to save and then import. It saves you a few steps. You will still want to save your design in AI so you will have it readily available if you need to alter it, and then save it also as a SCUT file in SCAL so you can readily open it again. It's all quite simple.

Hope some of this is helpful.
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Re: Warranty

Postby mmhockeyfan » March 30th, 2017, 6:31 pm

Hi,
I create designs in AI and cut in SCAL (I have SCAL 4 Pro) frequently. Simply save your AI design as a *.*svg file. Go to SCAL, open your *.*svg file, and it will appear on your mat ready for cutting. You may also alter the *.*svg file within AI, but I typically modify the AI file and re-save as a *.*svg file.
Good luck with your purchase!
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Re: Warranty

Postby celtichound » April 19th, 2017, 6:08 am

Thanks for all of your help. I am now the proud owner of a 18" silver Bullet from Dawn. Just getting to grips with what it can do.
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Re: Warranty

Postby Gigi » April 19th, 2017, 9:13 am

Congratulations! You will love it as you use it more and more and become more comfortable with it! Enjoy.
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