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? for ya! We're needing lots of shapes for children to use for a project (like 500 dolphins, 500 fish, etc.) Would a Cricut work well for that? Can you punch in a number and have it automatically cut out say 100 fish? Or would that blow through the cutting blades, etc so fast as to make it really expensive to cut them? I've also read things about it overheating from overuse...
Any help with these questions would be GREATLY appreciated!
For a project I was working on I had to cut out 400 ovals. I just used auto fill to find out how many would fit on the page and cut that many pages. Piece of cake. I also had to make 175 owl bookmarks from animal kingdom. Took so little time--used same needle and mat. You'll love that not only does it cut so quickly but you can change sizes for what you want.
Ditto from the post above. Your blade should be fine, depending on the thickness of the paper. You could always have an extra blade on hand--they are pretty cheap. Good luck!
If your Cricut overheats then something is wrong with it. I have never had that happen to me at all!! Yes, you can cut large quantities but depending on the size of something you can only make how many will fit on your 12x12 (if you own the Expression) or 6x12 (if you own the little Cricut). Also, you will go through lots of mats but the blades should last you a bit.
I have both the Cricut and a BIGkick. I would say to cut such a large quantity of an item would not be cost effective for the Cricut for one thing. Also the time involved would by long. You can only cut one at a time and only so many on a sticky sheet. With such a huge amount to cut, you will go through a number of sticky sheets, which will mount up cost.
To cut a large amount of one item, I would suggest a BIGkick or BigShot die cutting machine. Those can cut several at one time depending on the thickness of the paper. The cutting pads would last through that kind of job also. Yes, you would need to find the die to suit your needs, but there are lots of choices on the market.
I would not suggest the Cuttlebug for this type of job, unless you are looking for a smaller cutout. But that machine (I have that one also) can't cut through as many sheets of paper at one time as the BIGkick or BigShot can. But yes it can cut through up to 3-4 depending on the thickness of the paper. It's a terrific machine, but not as powerful as the other 2 non-electric mentioned above.
These are just my opinions from having and using these machines, but others may vary in opinion.
You most definitely could do it with the Cricut Expression. I love how you can input the quantity and it will tell you how many will fit on the page. I just had to do this for a project (granted I didn't have to do hundreds) and it saved me a ton of time.
I suppose you would want an extra mat or two and maybe an extra blade, but definitely do-able.
Ladies! Thank you so much for the replies. They are all so helpful!
I've been watching the Cricut videos...does the smaller machine have that autofill function? Or can you only cut one shape at a time with the smaller one?
I recently cut out 300 flower shapes for my Aunt's benefit (for people to sign). I have the Expression and it took me about 5 - 6 hours but I could set it to cut up a sheet (I was getting 9 or 12 to a page on 12 x 12) and wander off. That was my biggest problem because I get distracted so easily lol.
But it worked very well and I didn't have to replace my mat. Just the blade but it was the original one I had been using since I bought it.
Do you have a teacher supply store near you? You could easily go there and buy the cutouts in packages of 25-50 or manybe even larger for far less expense( counting time/materials) than using your Bug........
They sell them in packages because many schools/teachers use them for calendar markers/patterns especially in primary classrooms. Or--in my town( 30,000+) we have a teacher resource center with all the ellison diecuts and machines you could ever name. The public can go in and use it for a small fee. Those will cut 4 to 6 at a time even though you have to use the lever tools to do it.
__________________ c-mouse-If you can't say nuttin nice--don't say nuttin at all. Thumper. Pansy
Card Sketch Challenge 1-227 done only 396+ to go to be caught up!!!!!
? for Cricut Owners re. Large Quantities
