[Oa] "CNC" paper cutters

[Andrew Crawford]

Jeff Rutzky wrote:
> On Feb 26, 2007, at 10:37 PM, impress at leaveimpressions.com wrote:
> 
>> I happen to be a distributor for cutting machines such as the
>> Klic-N-Kut(KNK) and was planning on building a community site where
>> origamic architecture enthusiasts can share and exchange cutting files
>> for the KNK as well as other paper cutters that have been around longer.
> 
> Sorry to hear that. The Klic-N-Kuts are much more expensive, less

The Klic-N-Kut was a better deal at the introductory price.  I was
surprised to see it go up so much last month.

> adaptable, no Mac support (in fact, I can't even find a manufacturer's
> support page), RS-232? Even a converter says they aren't upgrading the
> tooling to make a new housing for a USB port.

Have you used the Klic-N-Kut?  A lot of people seem to be really happy
with them.

The manufacturer's support page is here:

http://www.scrapbookdiecutter.com/support/

It's a little rough at this point.  Most of the actual support is
happening in the Yahoo group they run and by direct communication with
the developers.  I expect this will level out over time.

I have my Klic-N-Kut working with my MacBook, using a USB connection.

> I think OA or other artists (not scrapbookers) should carefully consider
> whether to invest in a machine that requires one piece of software (the
> ROBO has a plug in for every major drawing program on the PC, and for
> Illustrator on the Mac).

Are you talking about Klic-N-Kut Studio?  I have noticed that a lot of
other cutting machines and all of the laser cutters I have used work
with a printer driver rather than having their own control software.
That's what I was expecting from the KNK and, was a little surprised to
find it not the case.

I am doing most of my work for cutting on the KNK in Corel Draw or Adobe
Illustrator and importing it just before cutting.  So, it really hasn't
made a huge difference for me.

All of the systems appear to rely on at least one piece of
manufacturer-provided software.  The big difference that I see from
other systems is that KNK Studio requires a USB dongle (hardware device
to prevent unlicensed use).

>> (4) What do you use it for predominately?
> 
> kirigami & OA/paper arts--see
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/82306974@N00/sets/72157594505619363/

Looks like some really nice work.  Thank you for sharing.

>> (5) What kind of Origamic Architecture cutting files would you like to
>> see?
> 
> Anything that can be put into Adobe Illustrator CS2

Personally, I'd prefer to see anything like that in format that is as
platform-neutral as possible.  I'm not sure exactly what format that
would be.  PDF and PS are probably good candidates, opened by Adobe
Illustrator, Corel Draw, and at least some of the CNC software.

Andrew Crawford