How to make a Shop Sign (with Robots)

I really like the way kiss-cut-vinyl stickers look for the type of logo I have, so I wanted to replicate that for a shop sign that I could hang on the wall.  Using the CNC and vinyl cutter, I made a light up shop sign using acrylic, MDF, far too much spray paint and vinyl.

Vinyl

To cut the vinyl, I used my wifes “paper CNC”, aka Silhouette Cameo. You can find similar type machines from Cricut. They’re popular in the card making and scrap booking worlds. 

They work similar to a plotter (and can be used with various markers to simulate that), but on a fundamental level aren’t much different from any typical CNC out there

• The X axis slides back and forth on a linear rail, driven by a timing belt
• The Y axis pulls the vinyl (or paper) back and forth 
• The Z axis lowers the cutter (drag knife) down to the surface

Unlike typical hobby grade CNCs, these don’t use grbl or standard g-code, you need to use their included, propriety software which in the case of Silhouette is the unfortunate Silhouette Studio.