Laser Fabic Cutting Machines
 

Hi. I'm thinking of buying a cutting machine similar to the Accu Cut, but want to buy one that cuts with a laser so I can use it for paper piecing-I'm horrible at cutting Exactly on the lines. Has anyone had any experience with a laser cutter like Brothers or some other brand.
Thanks for you responses, Peg

Can't help you out, just want to welcome you to this board.

Hi & Welcome!

There are a variety of machines available. Much depends on the type of projects you want to do. I have the Scan n cut and also the Accuquilt machine. I wouldn't use the SNC for cutting out quilt block projects.
The Accuquilt systems with the appropriate shape dies makes for fast cutting of a whole quilt. If you are experience difficulties with cutting, this is the one I would consider.

I'm wondering where you are having problems with cutting? Are the lines hard to see? Try different brands of rulers. Are you having problems with the rulers slipping? What cutter are you using?

There are many different tools that may be just the "one" for you. Personally, I cut fabrics with the 60mm rotary cutter. It is easier for me over the 45 mm cutters. Do you have a local quilt shop that would let you work with some of the tools to decide which ones fit you best?

Hopefully, other posters will share their views on these different systems too.

I've got a brother Scan n Cut, and it uses a knife. My only experience with a laser cutter is at one of the places I worked, but they used it for cutting wood dies. It was super neat, but cut very hot. My son used it and on the slow nights he scanned a few of my original pencil drawings and etched them into wood and that turned out really neat.

I don't know of any fabric cutting machine that uses a laser. I have an Accuquilt as well as a Cricut Maker. The Cricut Maker cuts fabric with a small rotary blade.

Jordan's Fabrics, Oregon, uses a laser cutter. https://jordanfabrics.com/

Maybe she would share what kind they use. I looked over the internet and it appears that they could be pretty expensive (about $2000) and the ads seem to suggest they have to be programmed somehow.

this looks pretty neat! I did not know they could use them on fabric, though it sounds like you have to be careful when cutting natural fibers as they burn instead of melting. Usually the machine is not as expensive as the software that runs it, though I did see one that you can use the design software you already have, and then import that.

I've been wanting my husband to get a plasma cutter for the shop - would not work on fabric though!

I do a lot of paper piecing. I don't understand what you mean by cutting on the line. The only cutting is after you sew, I don't see how a cutting machine would help you do that. I have the Go and would buy another one one second after it broke. It's almost 10 years old and still works great.

Yes, laser cutting can be done successfully on fabric. Katie Flynn Nichols (no relation, no business interest, etc) in 2011 cut out fabrics for a DWR that I made. She told me how much of each fabric to buy and I washed, ironed, sent them to her, and they came back to me all cut and ready to go. It was amazing!! Yes, some of the pieces has slightly brown edges from the heat of the laser, but it was well within the 1/4" and washed out completely when the quilt was done. I never would have been able to do a DWR without the aid of the laser cut. Just me. But if laser cutters were available at a reasonable price and one wanted to do complicated patterns, it would be a way to go.

Hello and welcome from Oregon.

I have a scan n cut and an accuquilt cutter. The scan n cut uses a small blade to cut. Personally I don’t use it in my quilting because it’s too time consuming. I just got the accuquilt so haven’t had much time to use it yet but I expect I will be using it a lot.

I have a Silhouette Cameo which cuts lots of stuff (paper, cardstock,vinyl, fabric with a paperbacked fused stablizer on it) which pretty much limits it to applique for me. I also have the Accuquilt GoBig and love it --most of my quilts are pieced so that works great and I would recommend that for someone like me that sometimes has accuracy issues with cutting. I do know that some major stores have laser cutters (Keepsake, etc) but imagine they are very expensive.

Learned again, never assume-laser is not a good option. I definitely will go with a cutting blade, but want one I can use with Electric Quilt. Save a block to a jpg, pdf, etc & load it to the cutter either from web or usb. Thanks for your responses

There is a LQS near me that has a laser. They sell appliqué kits that they design in house. I talked to her about it one day. She told me there is a huge amount of waste and is only worthwhile if you are cutting many multiples of the same thing.

In EQ, if you have a .pdf printer installed, you can change the print settings in EQ to print to the .pdf printer. Choose your appliqué, print appliqué, and then in the Silhouette Studio software, import the file as a vector. Easy Peasy. However, it will require an upgraded version of the Silhouette Studio software. I have the Business version; I'm not sure which version you'd need to upgrade to in order to import .pdf's as vector images.

Only two posts, but joined in 2013.... interesting. :)

Could be the poster has two different board name log ins under different emails. Many here do.