Uses for a Cricut

[neil_w]

For my birthday I was gifted a Cricut Explore 3.

I am trying to figure out exactly what I could use it for for rocketry (which was the intent of the gift). Other than the obvious (cutting vinyl logos and such) what are other possible uses for it?

Note that the Explore cannot cut wood.

 

[Adam3836]

My wife has made me some cool decals with the cricket
I need to learn how to use it more

Shirt decals also

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

A few years ago someone posted an interesting thread about cutting “frisket film“ stencils instead of vinyl decals for putting designs on rockets. He used the stencils to paint complex designs onto rockets.

 

[Jeff Lassahn]

I bet it's really good at making cardstock transitions.

 

[kuririn]

Can it cut cardboard/fiberboard?
I'm thinking maybe some really intricate fin shapes could be done that wouldn't be feasible by hand. Like the Rocketarium Witchcraft.

 

[BigMacDaddy]

Paper rockets?

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...-3d-design-into-foldable-paper-design.172569/
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/75-earth-forces-starfighter-centuri-5335.170293/page-3
http://jleslie48.com/markc_titan/Titan IIIb Cover copy.pdf

 

[tsmith1315]

I bet it's really good at making cardstock transitions.

Yes, it does. The trick is getting the dimensions correct in Design Space. It's set up for craft type work, not CAD.

The blade has it's thickness limits, but I've cut 65lb cardstock with the fine point blade no sweat. I don't think it's going to cut mat or fiberboard.

@neil_w, I look forward to seeing what you do with it. I have the Maker, so I'm doing some different things, but I really want to play with the vinyl cutting aspect. I think it's worth the monthly subscription to have access to fonts and designs if you're using them often. I was able to get the correct font for my planned Valkyrie upscale a while back. Fortunately, I went ahead and cut the design. Afterwards, I let the subscription run out and when I went back in to make a spare, that font is no longer available.

 

[neil_w]

The “need” for a subscription just to get fonts is very off-putting.

Can I use image editing software to convert fonts to vectors and eliminate the need? That should be directly importable into the Cricut software, should it not?

 

[tsmith1315]

Basic fonts are included. The subscription is geared toward crafting designs, obviously it wasn't worth keeping it up to me.

You can convert to .svg and import it as an image. I have no expertise there, but I use InkScape to convert images before importing.

 

[rharshberger]

You can use fonts you have on your computer, if anyone else wants to cut it using your designs then they will need to get the fonts.

 

[Spitfire222]

There should be a tab in the software when you're using the text tool that's something like "Local fonts" and it allows you to use the fonts already on your machine.

I don't mean this to be snarky at all, but is being able to cut custom vinyl, decals, and masks not a sufficient use for your new Cricut? That's all I use my wife's Cricut for, and it's been such an aid in decorating my rockets. Case in point: my Zephyr's name graphic was cut on the Cricut instead of using the provided decals.

 

[tsmith1315]

You can use fonts you have on your computer,

There should be a tab in the software when you're using the text tool that's something like "Local fonts" and it allows you to use the fonts already on your machine.

System?

 

[Reinhard]

The Cricut can be used to cut prepregs:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/cutting-carbon-fiber-with-a-cricut-vinyl-cutter.161091/
I'm wondering wether it can be used to cut parachute gores (maybe with some temporary backing).

Reinhard

 

[neil_w]

I don't mean this to be snarky at all, but is being able to cut custom vinyl, decals, and masks not a sufficient use for your new Cricut? That's all I use my wife's Cricut for, and it's been such an aid in decorating my rockets. Case in point: my Zephyr's name graphic was cut on the Cricut instead of using the provided decals.

A reasonable question.

Here's the answer: I fly almost exclusively LPR, and my most frequent workflow is with home-printed waterslide decals. I would say well above half of my rockets use waterslides exclusively, and for smaller rockets that need small details cut vinyl really isn't practical anyway.

Certainly, once in possession of a cutter, I might tend to push towards using it more, but really my designs lately tend to exploit full-color decals which I can't do with the cutter.

Now transition shrouds... I do *lots* of those, and wouldn't mind having them be precision-cut for me, although I *also* frequently tend to included additional printed markings on them (alignment marks and other things), so I don't even know if I can use it for that.

I am very nervous about keeping it and then never using it.

 

[tsmith1315]

Now transition shrouds... I do *lots* of those, and wouldn't mind having them be precision-cut for me, although I *also* frequently tend to included additional printed markings on them (alignment marks and other things), so I don't even know if I can use it for that.

I'm pretty sure the Explore 3 uses a pen and a blade. I think the smallest pen is .4mm, and those are okay for alignment marks and such:

 

[neil_w]

I'm pretty sure the Explore 3 uses a pen and a blade. I think the smallest pen is .4mm, and those are okay for alignment marks and such:

I think you’re right; the ability to use a pen is something I don’t really know much about. Could be very useful.

 

[gary7]

See the fin markings? Those were made with what I call a “reverse stencil technique”. Patterns were designed and cut with a Cricut.

Fins were first painted white
Then applied the “Cricut stencil”
Then painted the color
Then remove the stencil

I removed the stencil as soon as I got done with the color. Some people like to wait.

 

[fuhglee]

See the fin markings? Those were made with what I call a “reverse stencil technique”. Patterns were designed and cut with a Cricut.

Fins were first painted white
Then applied the “Cricut stencil”
Then painted the color
Then remove the stencil

I removed the stencil as soon as I got done with the color. Some people like to wait.

Neat looking designs! "reverse stencil" is also called a mask.

 

[jazzviper1]

It cuts balsa, I think up to 3/32 inch. I have made several fins on mine.

 

[neil_w]

The Maker will cut balsa, not the Explore. Well, it's been shown that you can kinda sorta cut balsa (probably no more than 1/16", not very useful to me) with the Explore, but personally I wouldn't probably go there.

 

[SolarYellow]

There's an Explore 3 being offered locally for $100 asking. Should I jump on it? Vinyl is pretty inexpensive at Hobby Lobby.

Is the software a free download if I buy the machine used?

@tsmith1315

 

[tsmith1315]

There's an Explore 3 being offered locally for $100 asking. Should I jump on it? Vinyl is pretty inexpensive at Hobby Lobby.

I think that's worthwhile, but you'll dislike the software. It is NOT professional design software. You can import a few image types. I bet you could show up with $50 or $75 and bring it home, if they just want it gone. Blades are $10-$40, if they have extras like the knife and fabric cutter, that could be helpful.

Is the software a free download if I buy the machine used?

I don't recall it asking for anything to download to software. It will try to lure you into membership, and you can say no or ignore that.

 

[Jean-Pierre]

Another affordable option is the Cricut Joy. I got one last year, and it works great, so long as you don’t need your decals to be especially wide.

Before that, I used Lettering.com. Great service, very affordable, and you can do the design yourself with any .svg file.

 

[cls]

Joann Fabric had Cricut on sale for $10 a few months ago. I passed , having heard nothing good about the software.

 

[rharshberger]

Joann Fabric had Cricut on sale for $10 a few months ago. I passed , having heard nothing good about the software.

The software works but its not really as intuitive as you would want, and its not as good as other software and since its proprietary the Cricut has no other options.

 

[JoeTekcor]

We recently purchased a Brother Scan-n-Cut. It cuts vinyl and fabric. It has the advantage that it will scan any image and create a cut-out for it. I've made vinyl letters and stencils for painting. The software will use any Windows font.
My wife is a quilter so it was the perfect "share" toy. We bought the roller feed attachment so I could do continuous lettering.
I haven't tested it for cutting rip-stop nylon for parachute gores yet. The largest fabric cutting mat is 12"x24" so I couldn't do a huge chute.

 

[jqavins]

For my birthday I was gifted a Cricut Explore 3.

I am trying to figure out exactly what I could use it for for rocketry (which was the intent of the gift). Other than the obvious (cutting vinyl logos and such) what are other possible uses for it?

Note that the Explore cannot cut wood.

@neil_w, the recent posts here put this thread near the top, where I saw it. What ever happened with yours? Are you using it? For what? (I haven't seen you mention it in any build threads.)

 

[Joseph]

I just saw one of these for sale on CL.
Does anyone know if it will cut G10, and how thick it can cut? Will it accept paper sized g10 (8.5" x 11.5")
I have access to tons of g10 at work, all different thicknesses and colors, might want to cut out fins with one of these.

 

[neil_w]

I haven’t used it.

 

[Last Ox]

My wife has more dual-use toys than I can count so I have not played with the Scan-n-Cut yet, but it is a nice toy. She uses pen holders from

https://3dfunprintz.com/shop-all/scan-cut-accessories/

The Sharpie holder works perfectly, and the standard pen holder works with almost anything else, including Sharpie ultra fine points. Our Sharpie bill has gone up by an order of magnitude.

As a note, she used a Silhouette Cameo before the Brother (and switched to take advantage of the scanner). Cricut's generally proprietary nature (and arguably lesser capability) put her off.

The Scan and Cut can handle 1/8" thickness - thin G10 or other fiberglass or carbon fiber boards are possible (firmly tapped to the carrier) but I suspect blade life would be measures in inches. Things that are beyond the blade cutters' capability, she refers to our youngest and his laser cutter (expensive and not house broken, but another great multi-use toy).

Unless it involves lacework and the like, we cut fabric for tents and stable accessories on a self healing board (ours is 4x8 feet on a standard folding table, propped up a few inches to the best working height) with rotary cutters (such as OLFA). I put sheet metal under the mats so that magnets can be used to lock down uncooperative fabrics. There is a learning curve, but it is MUCH more efficient than trying to do it with an x-y digital cutter.