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6 minutes ago, crackerjazz said:

Ok, thanks, Richard. They should invent something like a replaceable sticky paper that goes on top of the sticky mat : )   

 

Nice.  One more thing, I believe the mat that came with your machine is "light grip".  If that's the case, then you will want to get a "standard grip" mat since it will grip the back of the Tamiya masking sheet much better.

 

There is a tacky adhesive spray that you can get to spray over the sticky mat, but I find the adhesive from the spray too strong.

Edited by RichardL
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Thanks, Richard, you're right -- I see it says "Light grip".   I have a couple questions about the Cricut as I'm having a bit of trouble importing a dxf file   But I think I had better start a new thread.  Apologies trietmcam for the derail.

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1 hour ago, crackerjazz said:

 I have a couple questions about the Cricut as I'm having a bit of trouble importing a dxf file   But I think I had better start a new thread.

 

Yes, let's start a new thread on the Cricut and its Design Space software.

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Keep it going if you like. I could use the learning curve. Just ordered one for $209. Considering what it can do compare to the Thinnerline, which is just cutting circles, this has far more possibilities. 

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Thanks, trietmcam.  Hi Richard, my question is about the file type.  Design space includes dxf as an acceptable file.   But Design Space doesn't seem to like the dxf generated from Solidworks.   I tried saving my work as png and converting it to svg but Design Space doesn't seem to like that either.  Although, I don't see the point in saving as png when dxf is already a vector file and should have the exact measurements instead of converting to a png image and having to do some resizing later.  What do you guys use to generate your cut files?

Edited by crackerjazz
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There is no point in saving an image as a png since it's not a vector format.  I use Adobe Ilustrator to save out my work as svg.  Illustrator can also export to dxf.  If you are looking for a powerful but free vector drawing program, then you might want to try Inkscape, which can save to both svg and dxf.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks Richard.   I have another question, sorry.  I tried to cutting some BF-110C rudder pedals from 0.5mm styrene and the Cricut didn't cut all the way through.  I used the regular blade (I don't have a deep cut knife).  I tried several settings including heavy cardstock, and magnetic sheet 0.6mm.   There are some other materials for 1.5mm thickness -- I guess my question is if I use that setting and I'm cutting something thinner, would the knife blade go through the mat?   I was worried the machine might cut itself if I do that and ruin the blade.  

 

Here's a pic.  It just scored the 0.5mm -- had to follow through with the xacto knife.

img%5D

Edited by crackerjazz
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5 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

I guess my question is if I use that setting and I'm cutting something thinner, would the knife blade go through the mat? 

 

Yes, the knife blade will partially go through the mat.  What you want to do is set up a custom cut setting for each material.  For the 0.5mm styrene, take an existing material setting that almost cut all the way through and create a custom cut setting from it by slightly increasing the cut pressure or the multi-cut.  Repeat the process for thinner material.

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I only have what came with the machine; will have to pick up a few spares, including a knife blade and a deep-point blade.   Strangely, styrene isn't officially in Cricut's list of materials yet, but hopefully they'll find out how useful this machine is for scratchbuilding and maybe even develop specific blades for styrene.

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8 hours ago, crackerjazz said:

Thanks for the tip, Mongrel714!  : )    This Cricut is proving to be one useful tool!  There's obviously some cleanup to do for styrene work, but it's a huge time-saver.

 

img%5D 

 

Most impressive! With the pin vise next to it, you get the sense how small the parts are.

 

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  • 1 month later...

To make the sticky mats sticky again, there is a Krylon spray adhesive that the papercrafters use. They mask the edges off with masking tape and respray.

 

My wife does that. 

 

I got the Dspiae "intro" version, just because it's easier than making the mask, annoying the wife for use of the machine, etc. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/4/2020 at 12:47 AM, RichardL said:

I use my Cricut Explore Air 2 to effortlessly cut circles down to 1mm in diameter, canopy masks, and paint masks.  Works great.

 

What about more complex shapes?  I'm finding about 3mm is the limit on my Cricut Maker for small letters.

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