10 Mar 2012

Man verses machine - part 1

I recently got the chance to cut some birds using a Zund machine, which for those not familiar is a large flat be machine that can cut paper and card using a blade. The machines are used for making signage, cutting vinyl, and making architecture models.  It has some advantages over a laser, particularly when cutting paper as you don't get the burnt edges, though a laser can cut more materials.

Anyway it was interesting to see what the results would be.

First you have to start with some vector files, the machine has it's own software and the images are opened with in that.  The machine is very complex and you have to make sure you set the knife to only cut the depth of the material that you are cutting.  It is very fast and a little bit scary.

Here are some photos of the machine in action.  I will post the results later.



2 comments:

  1. Scary indeed! There's always something to be said about knowing the artist hand-cut the pieces though...

    ~F

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    Replies
    1. It's true hand cut is good, but it's also good to explore new possibilities. I'm thinking of making some editions using this process to watch this space...

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