Cricut cutter/engraver

[DialtonePickups]

Hi guys,

I know I've talked all about the Cricut cutter we use to cut/engrave paper, aluminum, vinyl stickers, etc. It's a really helpful tool for a small business like many of us are running, because with it you're able to make your own t-shirt iron-ons, stickers, etc. We even use it to engrave our thin aluminum back plates, and we've considered using it to make gasket-types of things that we'd use in the pickups. A couple of people on here had asked about it, so I thought I'd post an unfortunate update... It broke in a couple of spots the other day, and while it would have been an easy enough fix, I figured that if it's already breaking with normal use, it's probably not going to last. So I returned it and bought a Silhouette Cameo instead. So far, so good. The Silhouette Cameo has much better software, actually. I'll keep you guys updated on whether it's any better longer-term!

- Tory

[mr fab]

thanks for the info, can it be used to engrave a pickup cover?

[kayakerca]

Hi guys,

I know I've talked all about the Cricut cutter we use to cut/engrave paper, aluminum, vinyl stickers, etc. It's a really helpful tool for a small business like many of us are running, because with it you're able to make your own t-shirt iron-ons, stickers, etc. We even use it to engrave our thin aluminum back plates, and we've considered using it to make gasket-types of things that we'd use in the pickups. A couple of people on here had asked about it, so I thought I'd post an unfortunate update... It broke in a couple of spots the other day, and while it would have been an easy enough fix, I figured that if it's already breaking with normal use, it's probably not going to last. So I returned it and bought a Silhouette Cameo instead. So far, so good. The Silhouette Cameo has much better software, actually. I'll keep you guys updated on whether it's any better longer-term!

- Tory

I've pre-ordered a Shapeoko 3 to add to the hardware collection. Does some of what you are doing, but a little more heavy duty (and correspondingly more expensive). It will do a bunch of other things I am interested in trying out as well.

Shapeoko 3 - Coming soon

[David King]

Jim,
That looks very cool for $1K especially considering much of it is USA sourced (sorry Canada ;-). Too bad it's too small for a guitar body or neck at 16" x 16".

[mr fab]

been looking at cnc's too.... this one is to small for making pickguards, which would be the largest item i would cut

[DialtonePickups]

No - it can only handle very thin material. I've used it to cut vinyl stickers and attach a design to the case for sample & short-term use, though. It works really well for that. We've even thought about offering them as temporary decals. They won't last forever, but they hold up for a few months.

[DialtonePickups]

That looks really awesome. Good thing we are still broke from NAMM, otherwise I'd have to explain to John why I bought yet another machine. In my defense, we bought a 3d printer a couple months ago, and it's been a lot more valuable than we expected - we bought it mainly for prototyping. We've been able to print fittings, washers, etc. We've even successfully printed custom pickup rings. I'm sure the same would be true of a metal cutting machine.

[kayakerca]

Jim,
That looks very cool for $1K especially considering much of it is USA sourced (sorry Canada ;-). Too bad it's too small for a guitar body or neck at 16" x 16".

The previous iterations under the "Inventables.com" branding were expandable by changing out the X and/or Y axis extrusions. Not sure if this one will have that potential or not. In any event, I sure it will take a while for me to grow out of this one.