Coming from MTC, evaluating SCAL...

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klkitchens
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Sep 27, 2017 7:33 am

Coming from MTC, evaluating SCAL...

Post by klkitchens »

So have been a happy MTC (Make the Cut) user for the past two+ years with my Silhouette Cameo 2. Had not been to those forums in some time and yesterday went to look and see if they'd support the Cameo 3 yet and learned the software was (probably) no longer being updated.

Stumbled across SCAL when looking for more specs on the 2 vs 3 Cameo and was pleased with some of the features I saw as improvements.

So now I'm evaluating and hoping to purchase, but have a few questions.

1. Is there anyway to directly load MTC files into sCAL? I know I could export SVG and import that way (pretty sure anyway), but I'd lose all my layers etc.

2. Is there a concept in sCAL (never even thought to see if there was in MTC!) like Visio where you can lock shapes together on an edge or a vertex, so that if you resize one shape, the other shape shifts to stay locked on that edge/vertex? Sometimes with like a box, you want to resize each dimension without scaling the entire thing. If not, not a deal breaker, but thought I'd ask and see if I was missing something obvious.

3. Does it work with the dual pens of the Cameo 3 natively? I understand it will work with the Cameo 2 and prompt to switch tools, correct?

4. How accurate is the Print and Cut?

5. Is there a better machine to upgrade from the Cameo 2 to? Does sCAL work with KNK machines?

Thanks in advance!
SandyMcC
Posts: 1114
Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 7:01 am

Re: Coming from MTC, evaluating SCAL...

Post by SandyMcC »

Here are the answers to your questions:

1. No. You'll need to export as SVG in order to import a file that was created in MTC. The good news is that you won't lose your layers. :)

2. No. And there's no feature in MTC to do that, either.

3. It appears that SCAL does work with Cameo's dual tool capability. I'm not a Cameo 3 owner but I just added the Cameo 3 to SCAL and you can assign layers to be cut or drawn with a Tool 1 or a Tool 2. The same setup appears with the KNK Force, except that we refer to the two sides as "Left" and "Right".

4. Can't answer this one as I don't own a Cameo 3. I can say that on the KNK cutters that I support, PNC is just as accurate from SCAL as from other programs.

5. Yes! SCAL works with all of the KNK cutters including the latest models: Zing Orbit and the Force. KNK also offers a discounted price on SCAL4 when purchased at the same time as a KNK model.

Let me know if you have other questions.
Sandy McCauley
Owner of http://www.iloveknk.com/
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