Silhouette SILHOUETTE-CAMEO-3-4T Wireless Cutting Machine - AutoBlade - Dual Carriage - Studio Software

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First, let me say that my business revolves entirely around this machine. Ive used Silhouette cutters before with great success, so I was really excited about this model. However, it broke after only TWO WEEKS of use. It started by only registering about half the time, with the other half resulting in an error. When it did cut, it would suddenly skip to an inch above where it should have been. Other times it would pause mid-cut and either shut off or stall out. Sometimes the screen would flash colors randomly. In short, it was an absolute mess. Heres a breakdown of the customer service responses from Silhouette: -Called to report issue and was placed on hold for an hour. Then the call was ended by Silhouette (they hung up). -Called to report the issue and managed to speak to a human being. I requested a new machine based on the fact that I am very experienced with Silhouette software and firmware, but could find no solution to the problem and suspected it may be a wiring issue. -She "reassured" me that she could fix it and asked me questions over a thirty minute period. She then suggested I "take it back for a refund", which is outrageous because EVERY Silhouette retailer has a "no open box" return policy. The fact that I had to notify her of that makes me wonder how many people have wasted time trying to return their items. -I confirmed my firmware and software were up to date. She suggested I use the Silhouette design program to "check for updates" using the feature on the toolbar. When I tried to do so, it said no updates could be found. She "reassured" me that there were probably updates and that I wouldnt be able to search for them through the program because there was a huge glitch in that feature. Then why have me do it? -When I asked if any recent updates were having problems, she admitted that an update in January had caused "a ton of bugs". Not what any customer wants to hear. -After telling me that a replacement machine would be the most likely route after checking my firmware and software options, she had me re-install them both, but not before she promptly ended the call stating that she needed to stop for the day because her "shift ended in a couple hours". Well, how about the hours I wasted on the phone? By this time, the count was well into four hours. -I answered all her questions, ran all the system checks she asked for, updated/re-installed all the firmware and software, and took pictures of all the error screens she asked for, with the understanding she would call me back the next day. She didnt. -I waited on hold another hour the next day until Silhouette hung up on me. -I emailed support, asking for an immediate replacement for my machine that was TWO WEEKS OLD and included all the information and pictures I had previously sent to the first rep. -I received an email back stating that in order to even be considered for a product replacement, I would now have to send in video of the malfunctions to "prove" my machine was doing what I claimed. I cant deal with this anymore. Its outrageous that I spent close to $300.00 for two weeks of ownership, half of which was full of frustration and malfunction. My business revolves around my need for a precision cutter, and Ive lost out on a ton of sales because of this disaster of a machine. Not to mention the time and supplies Ive wasted having to "prove" my machine is really malfunctioning. My first call was in early February and this has still not been resolved. My guess is their waiting for me to go away. READ ALL THE ONE STAR REVIEWS AND YOU WILL SEE MORE OF THE SAME!

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Slightly unrelated, whats with ALL the free product reviews? Theyre out of control. I have the original silhouette cameo and Ive had it since 2012 or 2013. I use it quite a bit, and Im very familiar with the software. Also, I do not read instructions. My cameo 3 came with one, I think, but it didnt get opened. So take all of that into consideration. Pros: 1. auto-blade saves a bit of time and, with my brief experience cutting both glitter paper and card stock, the autoblade settings were accurate. 2. Bluetooth is nice for minimizing cords. 3. Built in storage is nice enough. It doesnt add much to the overall size (and this version is quite a bit larger than the cameo and cameo 2), so its good they were thoughtful about how to utilize the added size. 4. Cord management built into the machine to direct the plug to either side . 5. Touchscreen menu seems fairly responsive and intuitive. 6. New blade holder. Theyve switched the old clamp/key turny method of holding the blade (or pen) with a slide mechanism that is SO NICE. I did not expect this to be such a great addition, nor did I realize how fussy and inconvenient the old design really was. This feature is lovely and well thought out. 7. Dual carriage. Ok, I havent put this through its paces quite yet. I tend to do a lot of straight cutting basic card stock, so I dont often switch to pens, fabric blades, deep cut blades, etc. However, this feature is really well designed and intuitive. Its color coded and laid out very clearly in the software, so you have a lot of control over the settings. Im working on some designs that will use both cutting and sketching, so I think the dual carriage will be a great help when I do find I need it. That said, its important to keep in mind the sides dont work at the same time - theyre attached and move together. So, one side will cut and then, when its finished the other side will write. You wont be able to save time by running two tasks silmultaneously. Cons: 1. Autoblade isnt really all that "auto". I expected to stick material in the mat and go. Nope. You still select the material from the preloaded list in the silhouette software, and the blade just "auto" adjusts to those settings. It saves a bit of time, but not as much as expected and not quite as wonderful as hyped. Theres absolutely no sensing or measuring of whats on the mat; you have to select and change the material settings manually. 2. My Bluetooth was a royal PITA to set up, but I think this may be an ongoing Mac issue with a failure to discover Bluetooth devices and not an issue with the cameo specifically. Turning the Bluetooth on on the cameo end was easy. However, there is an update needed to pair the silhouette software with the new cameo 3, but when you "check for updates" through the software itself, its not an option. You have to go to the website and look for it, which seems like an oversight they can quickly fix. When theres an update available, I expect the software to at least be able to find it. Fortunately, after the initial set up issues, I havent had any problems. 3. The touchscreen menu has speakers so you hear a click when you touch a button. This would be awesome, except mine didnt even last two hours. The sound is gone. Theres a menu option to turn it off and on, but that doesnt fix the problem. I also tried shutting the machine off and on, but that also didnt fix the issue. While sound was nice, its not worth it for me to return because of this issue. However, I question the quality when a simple feature like speakers or sound breaks almost immediately. Hopefully its a quirk not representative of the overall quality, but Im wary. 4. Did it get louder? It definitely didnt get quieter. These things are ungodly loud. You wont be watching tv and cutting things at the same time. So, is it worth buying? I would say yes, absolutely. Silhouette machines are useful and fun without a steep learning curve. They do what theyre intended to do and their software is light years behind competitors. Seriously, the silhouette software was THE deciding factor for me when comparing brands. Ive used 3 or 4 different softwares and silhouette is my favorite. It works. Its easy to use. It lets you do what you want, when you want. Although, worth noting, it doesnt let you save SVG files - you can open, alter, and cut SVG files with the designer software upgrade, but anything you save is saved as a .studio file. There are work arounds, but just something to be aware of if you plan to share custom designs with people who use different brand machines. So, is it worth upgrading? Maybe. Once I got everything set up, I enjoyed using it more than the old, original cameo. The features theyve added are nice, even when theyre maybe not QUITE as nice or as useful as I wouldve hoped. The autoblade, Bluetooth, dual carriages, touch screen, new holder clamps, etc, are all features that make it faster and more enjoyable to use, but I wouldnt say theyre necessarily nice enough or different enough to justify the price tag, unless money is no object or your work or workspace demands it. If youre currently not able to keep your machine out, for example, because it needs to be within a couple feet of your computer, then perhaps the Bluetooth capability alone would be enough to justify the purchase. In summary, its a nice machine and pleasant to use, once everything is set up. The new features are very welcome, but not really as revolutionary as they might seem. I would say, though, the cameo 3 is nicer to use than the original cameo. Its a little bit easier and a little bit quicker. If you use the machine often enough, those improvements may be worth the $250 price tag if youre upgrading or contemplating new vs used older version. However, I dont think any of the features are nice enough or big enough game changers that someone should feel they have to upgrade. At its heart, the cameo hasnt changed much since inception. And, lastly, Im a small bit wary of the quality and longevity of the cameo 3, given the immediate speaker/sound issues. Im afraid it may be indicative of larger quality control issues. Ill update if/when my opinions change. Update: Ive been using it for 2 or 3 weeks, and I continue to have random Bluetooth issues. My computer says its connected, silhoettes own software says its connected, but still sometimes cut jobs sit in limbo, cued but doing nothing. Clearing it and resending it does nothing. Turning off the machine and closing the software sometimes resolves the issue and then it works totally fine. I dont think this is a mac issue as other times its totally fine, and it always shows as a connected device. It seems to be a problem with communicating with the machine. If you plan to buy this specifically for bluetooth, perhaps consider waiting until these issues are resolved. Or just dont expect it to work every single time.

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Let me start by saying, I never ever write a review, and I buy from amazon almost daily. This is my third Cameo, I had the 1 & 2 before this one. I also have the Brother Scan & Cut 2, and the Cricut Explore; so I know a little bit of electronic cutting machines. From the three brands silhouette is the one that alouds you, and give you the power to be more creative, therefore the learning curve is a little bit more steeper. You need to know about this before you decide to purchase this machine. You will need to dedicate some time to learn how to use it, and how to use the software. That means hours on Youtube, hours on silhouette blogs (Silhouette School), hours on Facebook silhouette groups. If you have the time and you are willing to do this, you will open a pandora box in your life, is like magic. There are few tips I going to tell you before you push the buy it now button. First if you are going to use it on paper crafting you need a hight quality card stock, a cheap card stock wont work in any of the machines, and cheap I dont necessary mean on the price, I mean the quality. Card stocks books from Hobby Lobby and Michaels always work for me. Another important tip, I would share with you is the blade, silhouette black ratchet blade is the worst blade on the market, horrible, specially for paper. The automatic blade is better, but more expensive, the deep blade the same. I would suggest you to buy the the CB09 bladehttps://www.amazon.com/Graphtec-Holder-Plotter-Degree-Blades/dp/B01IXRKYT8/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1474296797&sr=8-5&keywords=cb09+blade. It is cheaper & last so much longer than the silhouette blade, it does not have a guide like the silhouette blade, but you can use the silhouette blade as a guide for this one. You can watch some videos on youtube for how to use it. After a few times using it, you would not need a guide anymore. I decided to make a review of the machine, after noticing so many bad reviews that were made by people that are newbies, and most of them are frustrate, because they probably were not expecting a steep learning curve as I was at the beginning, it took me a month of non stoping reading and watching videos, but I also was very frustrate, before I took some of my time to really learn. Anyway this is a long review for somebody that hate writing reviews, I hope it help make your decision easier or give you some inside.

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Ive had no issues with the Cameo 3 cutting machine itself, but Silhouette as a company is impossible to deal with. I purchased the additional upgrade to be able to cut directly from Illustrator and not mess with their software system. Unfortunately, the plugin breaks every time Adobe updates Illustrator. Silhouette is unresponsive to getting the plugin fixed and just offers to sell their Designer edition of their software which can import and cut vector files. It would be one thing if it was a free plugin, but its not, and as a paid, premium product, I expect better service from companies I do business with.

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TLDR: Please beware that this machine is one of the biggest scams on the market. Theres no customer support, and the hardware is as cheap as you can make it. The software has been in beta for almost 5 years, and its not looking like an update is coming anytime soon. Theres a reason they dont list a contact number and 20% of their amazon reviews are a single star. Do yourself a favor, and go for the Cricut or Brother machines. FULL: As a side business, I run a moderately successful online store selling gift tags and cards, and heavily rely on my die cutting machine. I purchased the silhouette because at that point, there was a $75 difference between it and the cricut, and it was not apparent why. What a mistake on my end! Since that purchase, I have wasted 10 times that amount in ruined merchandise, materials, time, and actual money spent on replacement parts/consumables/etc. Many users complain about the software, but honestly, thats the least of it. Yeah, theyre right. The software is useless, missing key (FUNDAMENTAL) features such as ctrl + to zoom in, and ctrl + a to select all. I mean its difficult for me, as a coder IRL, to understand why features integral to the operating system would somehow be missed here. But again, not the worst of it. Frankly, Id put up with this and more harrowing issues if the machine actually cut. Heres my main concern: the mechanics of the machine are absolutely dismal. As in, your lever that secures the cutting mat actually becomes unlocked (see first pic) IN THE PROCESS OF CUTTING. So youre building this machine, and you build your lever lock to rotate the same way as the machine axel rotates... hm. Moreover, the blades themselves are manufactured poorly. You can see a new blade that is somehow already warped inside (see pic 2). Finally, the process of cutting is frustrating to the nth degree. Sometimes it works ok. Sometimes not. And when it doesnt work it really really doesnt work. Ive included a bunch of photos of ruined tags I recently cut. This happens on average 50% of the time. Dont believe me? See the last photo. Thats my trash bin of wasted materials over 3 days (!) of orders. THREE DAYS. After unsuccessfully attempting to fix it myself the first time (2 weeks after purchase), I contacted support (which doesnt actually have a number to call because too many users were calling to complain). She told me that i should try buying a new printer. When I kindly asked for a full refund, as it had only been two weeks, they stopped responding. Keep in mind, their return policy is 30 days! I have since reported them to the BBB, and ensured that my complaints are visible on all their social media sites, but what Id really like is to make sure that NOBODY ELSE spends a dime of their hard earned money on a company that clearly doesnt value it.

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Please note that my 2 Star rating primarily reflects dissatisfaction with the manufacturers lack of educational support in learning how to use the software and the machine. This appears to be an incredible machine that does some pretty impressive things for crafting. HOWEVER, you must know that if you have never had one of these machines, the learning curve is very steep, due to lack of instructional support from Silhouette. The included user guide is nothing more than how to fire up the machine and connect to your computer and potentially download updated software. I am absolutely new to this type of machine. The software, at first glance is very impressive, in its potential capabilities and levels of sophistication (reminds me of Photoshop). Although, knowing what to use and where to find instructions on how to use its basic and advanced features, is the most frustrating part of owning and getting familiar with the Cameo 3. I went to their website in hopes of getting information on use of the machine, and found the only helpful area was in "Blogs", where you can find cookie cutter examples of different projects to get you started, BUT, if you have any hiccups in your project and you get stuck on a specific step, in which the machine is not doing what you expected it to do, there is very little help to figure it out, even after resorting to numerous YouTube searches to find out what you might have done wrong. Their website is dedicated almost exclusively to up-selling other services and subscriptions and darned little in the way of support. And you cant look to their FAQs for any definitive solutions to problems you might encounter. Silhouette is the classic example of "no support after the sale". At one point in my trials explained below, I tried to call their customer support line, several times, and was on hold forever every time, and finally gave up, resorting to Google keyword searches for information and tutorials. There seems to be a lot of 3rd party information on the Cameo 2, which I suspect will be your best resource for figuring out the Cameo 3, so I focused on Cameo 2 online tutorials (YouTube and others), to figure out what to do in basics. As an example of my early experience, see the first two included pictures. I am making a mobile for a soon-to-be newborn, named Hudson, to hang above his bed. The theme for his room is going to be Aviation related, so I am making faux 3-D clouds by cutting the shapes shown in the first two pictures and then folding them in half vertically, and using four of the shapes, glued together down the centers of the folds for "four spoke" clouds, which will then dangle from fishing line attached to metal hoops. I found the basic cloud shape on another site and loaded it pretty easily into the Cameo, arranging them as shown in the Cameo 3 software "screen shot" for the most efficient use of material. I used a fairly light weight card stock (scrapbook paper). First I tried using the auto blade, which did NOT automatically adjust to the thickness of the card stock. After multiple attempts to automatically cut through the paper, using every possible thickness selection, from 105# to 122# for card stock (which appear in the on screen menu selections of the software), I could never get anything beyond "scored" patterns in the card stock, without a clean cut through. Note that the auto blade is not really automatic because you have to go into the software screen and pick a thickness that you want to cut through, at which point the blade will cut a pre-determined depth. So I then resorted to frustrating online searches (outside of Silhouettes website...which is of no help in troubleshooting), and was not able to find out what I might have been doing wrong. At that point, I abandoned the auto-blade settings and resorted to setting it manually, at which point, I had to experiment with a setting which would actually cut all the way through the material, at which point, I finally cut my first sheet of cloud patterns. However, upon lifting the paper from the sticky mat, I discovered that the blade had made visible impressions in the surface of the mat. Thankfully, it did not cut through the mat, and appears to have only very lightly scored the sticky surface. No harm done, but am scratching my head on how to avoid that in the future. I needed to cut cloud shapes out of multiple sheets of three different colors (white, black, and blue) of card stock, so I settled into that part of the project, first cutting my white clouds. After wasting time and paper, in experimentation for proper cutting depth, due to the inability of the auto blade to do a truly "automatic" job, my first successful sheet cut flawlessly, using the manual cutting depth adjustments. At that point, I started to get very excited with the result. BUT, when I attempted to cut the second sheet, the cutter had a mind of its own and traveled diagonally down the sheet to the lower right hand corner, as shown in the 2nd picture. I thought, "what the heck?" So here I am back online trying to figure out what might have caused that. Finally gave up and proceeded with the rest of the sheets, which did cut properly, from that point on. I had no further problems cutting the rest of the sheets, but certainly a bit puzzled as to why the machine went astray that one time. At one point I forgot to advise the software that I was using the mat and it started to cut a hole in the mat, but I caught it immediately and stopped the cycle, in order to go into the software and select "cut with mat". Just be careful on all of your jobs that the proper cutting selections and options are "ticked". Easy to overlook. In my experimentation in setting the manual cutting depth, I discovered how absolutely precise the machine is, when I removed the cutting mat with the "first cut" card stock still on it, after the first pass was made. I wanted to check to see if the blade had cut all the way through the material, so I partially peeled a corner of the "cut" paper off of the mat. It had not quite, so I re-inserted the mat, with the first "cut" sheet of stock still positioned on the mat, and adjusted for a slightly deeper cut and...WOW...the machine followed the first cut line with absolute precision, and all the way through, which says a lot about the software to machine interface. My second project with the Cameo, for Hudsons aircraft themed room, was to fabricate a metal valance over his window (3rd picture), with a nod to his name, cutting out self adhesive vinyl that said "The Hudson Flyers". That was fairly straight forward, cutting without the mat. The sad thing is that Silhouette seems to be operating under the attitude that you just need to "figure it all out on your own" and go online to all sorts of unrelated sites such as YouTube, to find needles in a haystack to get answers to simple questions regarding a particular aspect or step in the process of whatever project you are attempting to work on. There is absolutely NO MANUAL with this machine. I did find that the software was a heck of a lot of fun to explore, in trying to discover all of its capabilities and features. And my exploration of the software, has me salivating at its possibilities, after I become more proficient with the machines software, which will take a great deal of time, with trial and error. I just wish there were a book out there like "Cameo 3 For Dummies" which clearly explained how to use all of its features and explained all of its software screen functions ( like the scores of books out there telling you how to use Photoshop and other software progams). Shame on Silhouette for not offering a definitive manual, beyond the "Help" screen functions. They should produce an in depth manual, for which I would gladly pay extra for. My last comment regards the NEBULOUS offer that comes with the machine purchase, allowing a $25 credit towards purchase of items in their online store, for the first 30 days of ownership, upon registering. This, to me, is BOGUS, because I scoured their site to its very depths to find anywhere that I could access the offer or to enter my code for $25 worth of merchandise credit. They should have a prominently displayed link to a page on their site that has this offer and a code entry box. I honestly think that they want to discourage anyone from being able to use the 30 day freebie. After much frustration and searching I thought, "Well, maybe I just need to go into their online store and actually put some tentative purchases into a shopping cart (at which point one normally sees promotional code entry boxes, upon check out)." So, I did that as well....absolutely nothing. Just got an error message, "Invalid". Dishonest and deceptive, at worst. Uncaring and callous at best. Bottom line negative....dont expect any assistance, support, or clarity from Silhouette. They just want to take your money and run. And their website clearly demonstrates that, when every page and every link on their site is dedicated only to selling you more of something. You be the judge, by checking it out yourself. I give them 0 stars on that count. So be prepared to educate yourself. Bottom line positive.... Cameo 3 seems like an absolutely phenomenal machine, with some incredible capabilities when you figure out how to get it to work. When I got it to do its thing, I was absolutely amazed at its precision (although it is a bit slow). I cant wait to wade through the fog to figure it all out, which can be filled with frustration and head scratching, mixed with the amazement at what it might do for you. And if you are already proficient in earlier Cameo models, I suspect you will be pleased, although I still doubt the ability of the auto blade to be as functional as the manufacturer professes it to be. Great machine. Kind of like going to a restaurant which has the very best cuisine, but your experience is ruined with lousy and inattentive service.

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I actually tried the Cricut Explore Air 2 and this for about a month. They are both so different, yet similar. I chose the Cameo because the software is WAY better (not even a contest), and the way you organize your files is better. The cutting ability is fairly similar, but the Cricut does better with chipboard and thick things like that. You can always just set the Cameo to do a double cut though. I watched YouTube comparisons saying that the Cameo was flimsy while the Cricut was so much sturdier. Well, thats not really the case imo. I think many of those people are Cricut reps. They are both great machines, and I love that Cricut has templates in their software so you can visualize how big you need to make your design. The problem is that you have to design things elsewhere, and it just gets disorganized with files everywhere. When you upload them into Cricut Design Space, theres no way to organize them. Its a giant jumble. I like designing in the Silhouette software because everything is in one place, and tracing is so much easier. I tried tracing in Sure Cuts A Lot 4 (great program if you do end up going with Cricut) and in Inkscape, but neither were as easy as Silhouette Design Space. I would advise updating to the Designer edition of the software, but you can usually find it for $29.99 or less. Im new to the crafting world, but I did a crash course this last month or so, and Ive learned a ton. You can make so many things with this.

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I was so excited to receive my silhouette only to be majorly disappointed by its performance. Ive successfully completed 3 tiny projects in the month and a half that Ive had my silhouette. Ive wasted more money than I care to say in vinyl, since my machine only cuts about half of a project at a time before "checking for connection" for a while... then dragging the blade back to the beginning position leaving a cut through the middle of the project. Im done with this. I was trying to invest in a new tool to help add a little something to my furniture/decor jobs, but low and behold, I received a dud.

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0:00 0:00 This video is not intended for all audiences. What date were you born? January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 Submit Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Install Flash Player I’ll start by saying that this is my second Silhouette Cameo machine. I’ve had the original Silhouette Cameo 1 since early 2012, which was just after it was released. I have the Silhouette Curio and Mint machines as well. I also have the Cricut Explore Air and Brother Scan N Cut. I’ve owned several other Cricut machines in the past. I share all this to say, I’m not new to die cutting machines and software. Of them all, I’ve found the Silhouette Studio software to be the most user friendly, by far. I unboxed this machine the minute it arrived and quickly got to work following the instructions at the website listed on the decal that was stuck to the machine. Make sure you register your machine by entering the serial number. Once you’ve registered your machine, you get a $25 download credit via email to be used in the Silhouette Design store. This credit expires one month from the date you enter it, so make sure you use it all up. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Those designs are yours to keep. The firmware actually took the full 15 minutes to download. I had issues getting the software update to download from there, so I went to the Silhouette website and just downloaded the latest Silhouette software update . The Bluetooth wasnt released when I initially wrote this review, but a week after that, I was able to use the Blue Tooth. It was a little tricky to pair it, but you go into the settings on your cameo by touching the arrow on the language screen and then turning the Bluetooth on, and then you go to the settings in your laptop to pair it to the Cameo. I played with this thing until late last night and then 12 hours today just so that I could test everything out and write an accurate review. As far as the function of the machine, it worked flawlessly for me once I figured out the new features with it. I am uploading a video along with this review to show how I used those new features, if you want to check it out. I was really skeptical about the automatic blade. I’ve never had good luck with the preset cut suggestions working on my selected materials in the past, so I expected this to be the same, but I was pleasantly surprised when it worked so perfectly. I tested it on card stock, heat transfer vinyl (HTV), and outdoor vinyl with and without a mat. I didn’t have to change a thing. I just fed my selected media into the machine, and it worked flawlessly. As you can see in my video, I tested the dual carriage feature using the automatic blade in the red tool 1 slot and a silhouette sketch pen in the blue tool 2 slot. It is important to note that the automatic blade will ONLY work in the red tool 1 slot. The new dual carriages (blade holders) lock and unlock by pushing in and pulling out on the mechanism. I much prefer this to twisting like the previous models, because I know people that twisted just a little too hard on them and broke the blade holder. You can use the ratchet blade and sketch pens in either side. The automatic blade adjusts just after you send your project to the silhouette machine to cut, unless you were using that same media on the previous project, like me in my video. In that case, it doesnt have to auto adjust because it is already adjusted to that setting. When it does auto adjust, it moves all the way to the left side and taps several times until it gets to the proper setting for the material you selected, then it begins cutting just like the previous models. This machine may be a little quieter than the previous models, but the noise has never bothered me, so I’m not 100% sure it is quieter. Vinyl is the only material that can be cut without a mat, as far as I know. When you cut without the mat, you have to unlock the release lever on the right side, then hold the roller head with your fingers in one hand and then the roller body with the fingers on your other hand and twist them in opposite directions to get it to switch it to the unlocked position. You then slide the entire roller over to the left until it slips into the next grooves, and then twist to lock back into position and flip the release lever back up. When you want to use your mat again, just reverse the instructions. These instructions and illustrations are on the inside of the lid, but I’m mentioning because I found it very difficult to twist mine the first few times. It got better the more times I used it. I think it loosened up after a few uses, so don’t get discouraged. I checked to see if the my Silhouette America Roll Feeder from the previous model would work with this machine and I’m happy to say it did work great. Unfortunately, the Silhouette CAMEO Tweed Rolling Tote for Scrapbooking and the Silhouette Cameo Dust Cover, Teal from the previous Cameo 1 and 2 models won’t work because this machine is larger. I really tried to stuff the new Cameo 3 in the bag, but I just couldnt get it to go through the zippered opening without ripping the bag. All of the mats, pens, and blades from the previous Cameo models can be used with this machine. You can even use your CB09 blade as well. You just have to manually adjust it, just as you did with the previous models. You just won’t select the automatic blade when using something you have to manually adjust. You will choose the ratcheting blade just as you did before. My overall impression of the new Cameo 3 is that it is amazing! The automatic blade takes all of the guess work out of cutting the pre-set materials listed in the software. I think the Bluetooth is amazing as well. I lose things right under my nose all the time, especially when they are small, so the extra storage is a much needed addition. I keep my pick and cutter in the drawers located on the front underside of the machine in between projects and I store my extra blades in the 2 blade storage slots located to the left of the dual blade carriage. When I’m done for the day, I just close the drawer. The new mat/media guides are extremely helpful for keeping your mat or media straight as it is fed into the machine. I like that they fold away when not in use, as I dont use them often. Im use to lining my media up on the line with 2 arrows located on the left front side of the machine. I feel that this machine was definitely worth the wait and they really improved it over the previous models. The only feature they didnt add that I would have loved to have was a wider cut area. Maybe that will come with the Cameo 4, but Im completely content with this for now. I uploaded a video of the different things I tested with this machine, to accompany this review. I hope it helps. *Update: since originally posting this review, I tested a 12x24 cricut brand mat with the Cameo 3 because its the only brand I had in that size and I needed to use it. It worked perfectly with the auto blade. Note: someone mentioned to me that using a cricut mat voids the warranty on the cameo, so just do whatever youre ok with doing. I still prefer the cameo mats, but when in a pinch, it might help you as well. *Update #2: After reading another review about the mat being too sticky, I figured I should come back and offer a little advice that has always helped me when I get a new mat. When you first open the mat, it is very sticky. I always put the mat on my t-shirt a couple of times to reduce the sticky a little. It always helps me, but with paper or card stock, you still need to curl the mat off of the paper rather than curling the paper off of the mat. It gives you much less curl in your paper because the mat has more give than the paper. I hope this helps.

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0:00 0:00 This video is not intended for all audiences. What date were you born? January February March April May June July August September October November December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 Submit Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video. Install Flash Player DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE. I am a longtime user of the Cameo 2. That machine worked like a charm and I loved it. I purchased this machine due to the purported bluetooth capabilities and the auto-adjusting blade. The bluetooth DOES NOT WORK! It constantly drops connection and pauses indefinitely in the middle of cutting jobs, basically rendering the project useless. I went to the Silhouette website to see if there was firmware that could fix the problem and there was. So, I downloaded the firmware installer but guess what?....the installer doesnt work so I cannot install the new firmware. Other problems with this machine include the carriage that holds the blades is too weak. I tried cutting through 100lb card stock and the carriage would repeatedly jam and not cut through the card stock. When I cancelled the project, the blade remained in the card stock and basically ripped a whole through the card stock and the cutting mat, ruining it. I have attached a video to showing the machine jamming on card stock. (And just so you know, I changed the blades twice to new blades, so a dull blade was not the issue.) If it cannot even cut card stock, what good is it? So, yesterday, I called customer service and was kept on hold for about 2 hours. After waiting 2 hours, a message comes on and tells me they cannot take the call and to leave a message. Furiously, I left a message for customer service and...wait for it.....what a shock....no one called me back. I feel like I have been completely ripped off. I am going back to my Cameo 2. Whatever you do, please do not buy this machine.

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