Cricut paper cutting machine

[kk6pr]

Has any one tried converting Stella nets into files that can be imported to a Cricut machine?

I tried converting a .JPG into a .SVG in Adobe Illistrator, but it didn't look very precise.

[guy]

Rob, doesn't Stella offer svg vector output for nets and perspectives? These can be displayed directly in any modern web browser, or printed off, and crucially at any scale without loss of detail. They are even cross-platform.
Sorry I can't check my own copy, I no longer run Windows and am not yet confident enough to try an unproven app with WINE.

[robertw]

Nope, sorry, Stella sends nets direct to the printer. I think people have used print-to-PDF, but not sure how flexible that output is.

Can you print direct to the circuit machine?

Rob.

[robertw]

Wow, this thread is over 10 years old now! Since then I did buy a Cricut cutting machine. It would be tricky to use with the current version of Stella, but I'm working on some features to add support for it (and hopefully other cutting machines like Silhouette).

I found quite a few issues with Cricut that were hard to work around, both their hardware and their software, but I think I have a fairly streamlined process now.

One great feature is that it can hold two tools at once, so you can do both scoring and cutting in one go. The biggest issue though is that the scores and cuts don't quite align with each other! They are offset by 1mm or so. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone have a Cricut that doesn't do this? I've tried two machines and they both did it. It seems constant across the page though, so you can work around it by offsetting the score and cut lines in the opposite direction first. I've added a way to provide this offset in Stella, but I don't have a good way to calibrate it yet (to measure the offset, which may be different from machine to machine, and maybe even day to day).

A new version of Stella will still be a while off, since I'm not really close yet, but getting there!

I used the Cricut to build this model:
https://www.software3d.com/WebbToroid.php

[Jrcolyer]

Hey there...I had one thought...I dont have a Cricut Maker yet so I cannot test it, but they sell a scoring wheel tool that fits into the same housing as the cutting tool. Swapping out the tools adds a step in the process but maybe that would correct the alignment issue.

[robertw]

Hmm, the scoring wheel must be new since last I looked. I have a scoring tool that's more just a point. Either way I doubt the alignment is the same.

Swapping out the tools may just add another opportunity for the alignment to go out, but who knows. I haven't tried using the scoring tool in the same slot as the cutting tool in two separate passes. But as long as the offset can be adjusted for, it can work using both slots and a single step.

[trgall]

I have a laser cutter, and while a lower power can score paper I can also score it by cutting it in a dashed "- - -" line pattern. The dash line should also work on a Cricut.

It would be great to have the cutting pattern as an SVG, as most craft cutters and laser cutters can use SVG files. For scored and cut patterns, using a multilayer pattern would work on most machines. Alternatively, saving these as separate SVG files but with a common (0,0) will allow moving (to allow for offset score tools) in the software.

Any chance of getting SVG export soon? I tried using PDF import to Inkscape, but this ends up converting the outline of each PDF line to the SVG path. This makes the lines into very thin rectangles. What is needed is an SVG where each cut is truly a single line.

Tim

[robertw]

Unfortunately it won't be any time soon, as I have some work to get Stella back to a releasable state, and have been working on other things too. But next major release will definitely have ability to export nets to SVG.

I already have this working. I have a Cricut Explore Air, which can hold two tools, so I use one for cutting and one for scoring. Unfortunately the two tools are slightly offset from each other, but it seems to be consistent across the page, so can be fixed with a calibration offset. I should probably have option to export scored lines as dashed cuts too, but haven't done that yet. I wonder what the optimal dash length is, and whether it's better to have a cut or uncut dash at the ends of each edge to be folded? I'm thinking uncut would keep the corner from fraying.

[buckyb]

Hi Rob,

Any progress on updating Stella to enable outputting nets to SVG? I am close to investing in a Cricut Explore 3 and it would be so much easier to use it in conjunction with Great Stella or Stella 4D if we had this facility. Regardless I would be interested to know what workarounds anyone might have used to successfully utilise Cricut to make models based on Stella nets.

[robertw]

I'm afraid it's still unlikely to be any time soon. Buried in other projects at the moment. But I do want to get back to it.

[buckyb]

Thanks for that Rob, I’ll look forward to seeing the SVG update in due course. Meantime, i have purchased my Cricut and am looking forward to experimenting. It will be interesting to see if your alignment issues are replicated. I will keep you updated with my progress.

Cheers