 Cricut logo | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | |
| Products | Cutting plotters, heat press |
Number of employees | 690 [1] |
| Website | cricut |
Cricut, Inc. is an American brand of cutting plotters, or computer-controlled cutting machines, designed for home crafters. The machines are used for cutting paper, felt, vinyl, fabric [2] and other materials such as leather, matboard, and wood.
The original Cricut machine has cutting mats of 150 mm × 300 mm (6 in × 12 in), the larger Cricut Explore allows mats of 300 mm × 300 mm, and 300 mm × 610 mm (12 in × 12 in, and 12 in × 24 in). The largest machine will produce letters from a 13 to 597 mm (0.5 to 23.5 in) high. Both the Cricut and Cricut Explore Air 2 require mats and blades which can be adjusted to cut through various types of paper, vinyl and other sheet products. The Cricut operates as a paper cutter based upon cutting parameters programmed into the machine, and resembles a desktop printer. [3]
| Model | Max Cut Size | Max Cut Speed | Date Introduced | Support Dropped | Still usable? | Features | Operating modes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cricut "Personal" CRV001 | 150 mm × 300 mm (6 in × 12 in) | January 2005 | 2013 | With cartridges and third party extension for sure cuts a lot | Manual cut depth and speed | Cartridges, Design Studio | |
| Cricut Expression CREX001 | 300 mm × 610 mm (12 in × 24 in) | November 2005 | |||||
| Cricut Expression 2 CREX002 | September 2011 | 2018 | With Cartridges only | Cartridges, or Craft Room | |||
| Cricut MINI CMNI001 | 220 mm × 300 mm (8.5 in × 12 in) | No longer usable, as Craft Room servers are offline[ when? ] | |||||
| Cricut Explore CXPL001 | 300 mm × 610 mm (12 in × 24 in) | 2014 | Holds 2 tools | Design Space | |||
| Cricut Explore One CXPL101 | May 2015 | Holds 1 tool | |||||
| Cricut Explore Air CXPL201 | Holds 2 tools. | ||||||
| Cricut Explore Air 2 CXPL202 | 290 mm × 600 mm (11.5 in × 23.5 in) | 0.14 m/s (5.7 in/s) | October 2016 | Automatic support for 6 tools, and 100+ materials | |||
| Cricut Maker CXPL301 | August 2017 | Automatic support for 13 tools, and 300+ materials | |||||
| Cricut Joy JCTR101 | 110 mm (4.5 in) by 1.2 m (4 ft) | 5 in/s | March 2020 | Automatic support for 3 tools, and 50+ materials | |||
| Cricut Explore 3 CXPL203 | 300 mm (11.7 in) by 3.7 m (12 ft) | 0.29 m/s (11.3 in/s) | June 2021 | Automatic support for 6 tools, and 100+ materials | |||
| Cricut Maker 3 CXPL303 | Automatic support for 13 tools, and 300+ materials | ||||||
| Cricut Venture | 610 mm (24 in) by 23 m (75 ft) | 0.65 m/s (25.4 in/s) | July 2023 | Automatic support for 7 tools, and 100+ materials | |||
| Cricut Joy Xtra | 220 mm (8.5 in) by 1.2 m (4 ft) | 0.144 m/s (5.65 in/s) | September 2023 | Automatic support for 3 tools, and 50+ materials |
Designs are made from components stored on cartridges. Each cartridge comes with a keyboard overlay and instruction booklet. The plastic keyboard overlay indicates key selections for that cartridge only. However, Provo Craft has released a "Universal Overlay" that is compatible with all cartridges released after August 1, 2013. [4] The purpose of the universal overlay is to simplify the process of cutting by only having to learn one keyboard overlay instead of having to learn the overlay for each individual cartridge. Designs can be cut out on a PC with the Cricut Design Studio software, on a USB connected Gypsy machine, or can be directly inputted on the Cricut machine using the keyboard overlay. There are two types of cartridges, shape and font. Each cartridge provides for hundreds of different cuts. In 2011, a total of 275 cartridges were made available, with new ones regularly released. [5] While some cartridges are generic in content, Cricut has licensing agreements with Disney, Pixar, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, DC Comics and Hello Kitty. [6] The cartridges are interchangeable, although not all options on a cartridge may be available with the smaller machines.
In 2017, physical cartridges were discontinued for digital cartridges.
In 2017, Cricut created a category of handheld heat transfer products starting with the Cricut EasyPress. [7] Cricut now offers heat presses and accessories for a variety of applications ranging from personal projects to commercial use. These press families are the Cricut EasyPress (available in 230 mm × 230 mm (9 in × 9 in), 300 mm × 250 mm (12 in × 10 in), and Mini), Mug Press, Hat Press, and Autopress.
The Cricut Bright 360 LED lamp was introduced in early 2022 and currently comes in table and floor models. Both models boast 4 points of articulation, a 95 Color Rendering Index (CRI), adjustable brightness up to 1500 lux (table lamp) and 3000 lux (floor lamp), and light color temperature from warm to cool white. [8]
Cricut also offers two portable craft light boxes: the BrightPad and BrightPad Go.
To use Cricut cutters, users must use the company's own web-based design software, Design Space, which allows users to draw designs, select and combine designs from its own online library, or upload vector or bitmap files they have created in other software. [9] [10] [11]
Cricut's first software was Cricut design studio. Released November 15, 2005, it allowed users to combine images from different cartridges, merge images, and stretch/rotate images; it does not allow for the creation of arbitrary designs. Support was dropped sometime in 2013.
The Cricut Craft Room software enabled users to combine images from different cartridges, merge images, and stretch/rotate images; it does not allow for the creation of arbitrary designs. [12] [ unreliable source? ] It also enables the user to view the images displayed on-screen before beginning the cutting process, so the end result can be seen in advance. [13] [ unreliable source? ]
Citing Adobe's abandonment of Flash, Cricut announced it would be closing Cricut Craft Room on July 15, 2018. Users of "legacy" machines were offered a discount to update to models compatible with Design Space. As of July 16, 2018, Design Space is the only official software available to compose projects. Some third party programs are available and can be used to input the files into Design Space. [14]
Provo Craft has been actively hostile to the use of third-party software programs that could enable Cricut owners to cut out designs and to use the machine without depending on its proprietary cartridges. In a comparative review of die-cutting machines, review site TopTenReviews identified being "limited to cutting designs from a collection of cartridges" as a major drawback of the Cricut range, though the review noted that it could be a preference for some. [15]
Two programs which could formerly be used to make and then get Cricut machines to cut out arbitrary designs (using, for example, arbitrary TrueType fonts or SVG format graphics) were Make-the-Cut (MTC) and Craft Edge's Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL). In April 2010 Provo Craft opened legal action against the publishers of Make-the-Cut, [16] and in January 2011 it sued Craft Edge to stop the distribution of the SCAL program. [17] In both cases the publishers settled with Provo Craft, and removed support for Cricut from their products. The programs continue to be usable with other home cutters. [18]
According to the text of its legal complaint against Craft Edge, "Provo Craft uses various techniques to encrypt and obscure the USB communications between Cricut DesignStudio [a design program supplied with the hardware] and the Cricut e-cutter, in order to protect Provo Craft's proprietary software and firmware, and to prevent attempts to intercept the cutting commands". [19] Provo Craft contended that in order to understand and replicate this obscured protocol, Craft Edge had disassembled the DesignStudio program, contrary to the terms of its End User License Agreement, thereby (the company asserted) breaching copyright law. Provo Craft also asserted that Craft Edge were violating its trademark in the word "Cricut" by saying that its software could work with Cricut machines. Provo Craft asserted that this was likely "to cause confusion, mistake or deception as to the source or origin of Defendant's goods or services, and [was] likely to falsely suggest a sponsorship, connection, license, or association of Defendant's goods and services with Provo Craft". [20]
On March 12, 2021, Cricut announced it would be limiting users to 20 free uploads per month to Design Space at an unspecified date; the old unlimited uploads would remain available under a paid subscription. This announcement was criticized by users at the company's unofficial subreddit, and a petition was launched in protest. [21] [22] [10] Following the backlash, its CEO apologized, and Cricut scrapped the plans a few days later. [23] [24]
A utility knife is any type of knife used for general manual work purposes. Such knives were originally fixed-blade knives with durable cutting edges suitable for rough work such as cutting cordage, cutting/scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish scales, reshaping timber, and other tasks. Craft knives are small utility knives used as precision-oriented tools for finer, more delicate tasks such as carving and papercutting.
A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes known as a cutting plotter.
A pantograph is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line drawing is traced by the first point, an identical, enlarged, or miniaturized copy will be drawn by a pen fixed to the other. Using the same principle, different kinds of pantographs are used for other forms of duplication in areas such as sculpting, minting, engraving, and milling.
The Vectrex is a vector display-based home video game console - the only one ever designed and released for the home market, that was developed by Smith Engineering and manufactured and sold by General Consumer Electronics. It was first released for the North America market in November 1982 and then Europe and Japan in 1983. Originally produced by General Consumer Electronics, it was later licensed to Milton Bradley after they acquired the company. Bandai released the system in Japan.
The router is a power tool with a flat base and a rotating blade extending past the base. The spindle may be driven by an electric motor or by a pneumatic motor. It routs an area in hard material, such as wood or plastic. Routers are used most often in woodworking, especially cabinetry. They may be handheld or affixed to router tables. Some woodworkers consider the router one of the most versatile power tools.
A drill bit is a cutting tool used in a drill to remove material to create holes, almost always of circular cross-section. Drill bits come in many sizes and shapes and can create different kinds of holes in many different materials. In order to create holes drill bits are usually attached to a drill, which powers them to cut through the workpiece, typically by rotation. The drill will grasp the upper end of a bit called the shank in the chuck.
A Japanese kitchen knife is a type of kitchen knife used for food preparation. These knives come in many different varieties and are often made using traditional Japanese blacksmithing techniques. They can be made from stainless steel, or hagane, which is the same kind of steel used to make Japanese swords. Most knives are referred to as hōchō or the variation -bōchō in compound words but can have other names including -kiri. There are four general categories used to distinguish the Japanese knife designs: handle, blade grind, steel, and construction.
Laser cutting is a technology that uses a laser to vaporize materials, resulting in a cut edge. While typically used for industrial manufacturing applications, it is now used by schools, small businesses, architecture, and hobbyists. Laser cutting works by directing the output of a high-power laser most commonly through optics. The laser optics and CNC are used to direct the laser beam to the material. A commercial laser for cutting materials uses a motion control system to follow a CNC or G-code of the pattern to be cut onto the material. The focused laser beam is directed at the material, which then either melts, burns, vaporizes away, or is blown away by a jet of gas, leaving an edge with a high-quality surface finish.
Scrapbooking is a method of preserving, presenting, and arranging personal and family history in the form of a book, box, or card. Typical memorabilia include photographs, printed media, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensive journal entries or written descriptions. Scrapbooking started in the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century.
Plasma cutting is a process that cuts through electrically conductive materials by means of an accelerated jet of hot plasma. Typical materials cut with a plasma torch include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, brass and copper, although other conductive metals may be cut as well. Plasma cutting is often used in fabrication shops, automotive repair and restoration, industrial construction, and salvage and scrapping operations. Due to the high speed and precision cuts combined with low cost, plasma cutting sees widespread use from large-scale industrial computer numerical control (CNC) applications down to small hobbyist shops.
A water jet cutter, also known as a water jet or waterjet, is an industrial tool capable of cutting a wide variety of materials using an extremely high-pressure jet of water, or a mixture of water and an abrasive substance. The term abrasive jet refers specifically to the use of a mixture of water and an abrasive to cut hard materials such as metal, stone or glass, while the terms pure waterjet and water-only cutting refer to waterjet cutting without the use of added abrasives, often used for softer materials such as wood or rubber.
Milling cutters are cutting tools typically used in milling machines or machining centres to perform milling operations. They remove material by their movement within the machine or directly from the cutter's shape.
A paper cutter, also known as a paper guillotine or simply a guillotine, is a tool often found in offices and classrooms. It is designed to administer straight cuts to single sheets or large stacks of paper at once.
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A computer numerical control (CNC) router is a computer-controlled cutting machine which typically mounts a hand-held router as a spindle which is used for cutting various materials, such as wood, composites, metals, plastics, glass, and foams. CNC routers can perform the tasks of many carpentry shop machines such as the panel saw, the spindle moulder, and the boring machine. They can also cut joinery such as mortises and tenons.
In textile manufacturing, a laser cutting bridge system is an industrial machine for cutting and engraving textile materials. It is formed by a galvanometric laser head and carbon-dioxide laser source that runs along an horizontal beam supported by two lateral columns and sometimes by central columns. This system is placed over one or more embroidery machines, more frequently multi-head rather than single-head machines, cutting tables and roller devices to cut out and/or engrave embroidered fabrics.
Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying directions on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of different operations and machines, on scales from small individual parts to large, heavy-duty gang milling operations. It is one of the most commonly used processes for machining custom parts to precise tolerances.
A vinyl cutter is an entry level machine for making signs. Computer designed vector files with patterns and letters are directly cut on the roll of vinyl which is mounted and fed into the vinyl cutter through USB or serial cable. Vinyl cutters are mainly used to make signs, banners and advertisements. Advertisements seen on automobiles and vans are often made with vinyl cut letters. While these machines were designed for cutting vinyl, they can also cut through computer and specialty papers, as well as thicker items like thin sheets of magnet.
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