Randy,
That sounds about right. I am very please with mine but it is still limited for model railroad projects.
-Bob
I wonder if you could use this to etch designs into plastic…like shingles or relief patterns. It could be a cheaper alternative to the laser cutter Micromark sells.
I wouldn’t say never, but one thing obvious from that accuracy test is the machines have really poor repeatability. For the test they drew like 3 of each test shape, and it covered the whole range as far as how much off it was, from 5 tenths to a thousandth. That might not sound like much, but if you drew a brick pattern and wanted it cut into a sheet, I think you would see the irregulariety. FOr a random stone wall, it wouldn;t make much difference. The key is figuring out what to put in place of the knife that can emboss deep enough into the plastic without exceeding the capability of the machine to move the stylus. Too shallow and even a light coat of paint will hide the details, too deep and it could jam.
Remember cutting thin styrene is really at the limits of these machines, that’s in part why they are not super expensive. There are some nice DIY milling machines that use a Dremel for the spindle that can be put together for less than the laser cutter, but more than a Cricut. Those can do brick and stone patterns no problem, and cut thicker material than the Cricut can.
–Randy
Cricut came out with an embossing point to replace the cutting blade but I think it is meant for making designs in card stock and fold creases for greeting cards. I haven’t tried this yet but I think putting the standard cutting blade on it’s lightest pressure setting you would get some decent scribe lines. I don’t think it would do well with HO scale brick patterns but may do OK with cement block patterns.
As far as repeatability goes, when I cut .030" styrene I had to go over the cuts 4 times and it always went back to the same path. I realize that once you have a scored line in styrene the cutting blade would most likely follow the path already cut anyhow. The cut line is quite large after 4 or 5 passes but it is the inside edge that it keeps realativly clean, which is what I wanted.
-Bob
Yeah, a simple CNC router would be better suited. As for engraving brick patterns, a drag engraver would handle the job. You’d want a spring-loaded engraver so that it will rise and fall with any small irregularities in the height of the surface, giving more uniform results.
Also, PVC foamboard might be better for brick walls than styrene. It’s a bit cheaper than styrene, and it has slight texture to it that would work well for brick.
Steve S
I have a KNK Zing and the engraving tool does a good job of scribing:
Harold
That looks like just the right spacing for HO bricks, a little under 3".
Steve S
I finally got my Cricut Explore Air, used and a good deal. I’ve been cutting out walls and window holes expertly, but what I’m having a problem is going from Sketchup to Design Space. The files don’t come out flat. When viewed in Design Space it has an angled perspective to it. Am I just not flattening it right? The other question is - does anyone have ready to go files for Cricut for different building designs, or brick patterns, clapboard siding, or roofing products? I’ve done some layouts for 50’s travel trailers that I still need to try putting together but my originality is weak. My complication is I’m working in Z scale, so some details I just leave out from larger scales but that I’m still learning what can and can’t be done. This week I want to try using the scoring tool in the B slot and see if I can make some things interesting in the styrene… but since I can’t get sketchup to co-operate, I’m doing all the design work in Design Space and it’s a lengthy process creating each piece individually. And doing things like brick patterns is causing me to get frustrated.
Sketchup is intended for 3D polygon models. You’d be better off with a 2D vector program like Inkscape. It’s free to download. For something like a brick pattern, just draw one or two courses, and then Copy/Paste the rest. You’ll want Snap to Grid turned on so that everything is properly aligned, and have the grid set to the proper dimensions of your bricks. Although, if you’re modeling in Z scale, I doubt you’re going to have much success trying to scribe bricks that small. The mortar lines will probably be several times thicker than your bricks. Just printing a brick pattern out on paper would probably work better.
Steve S
Jim, this is a very late reply to your post, I apologize, I’m just starting to use my Cricut Maker and am interested in the specific settings details for cutting .04" styrene. I have both Knife and Deep Cut blades, but I’m having a hard time cutting to a depth that will allow pieces to easily pop out.
Any help is much appreciated,
Norm