Monport Laser Cutter VS Cricut : Should You Buy a Laser Engraver?

Can Cricut Maker do Laser Cutting?

Monport 40W Pro Lightburn-Supported (12" X 8") CO2 Laser Engraver & Cutter with Air Assist - 40W Pro

Cricut is a smart electronic cutting machine. It's like a cross between a craft plotter, which uses a blade to cut material, and a laser cutter, which uses a highly focused beam to melt, vaporize, and cut material. Cricut features are more mechanical, while laser cutters use concentrated light and consume more power. In the case of a die or craft cutter, such as Cricut, the blade comes into contact with the material being cut. As a result, vinyl cutters such as Cricut often suffer wear and tear and need to be replaced from time to time. However, laser cutters do not have these problems because the cutter does not come into contact with the material being cut. It is protected from wear and tear, and the cutting is done by the light beam released by the cutting machine. Thus, a laser cutter can cut more items of material before it needs to be replaced. Although do not consider to replace the mechanical tool, but the laser engraving machine needs to replace the laser tube and other large accessories. Cricut machine intelligently controls cutting pressure and rotation. It is usually used to cut fabrics. Its design makes it easy to cut thick materials such as balsa wood. So, what can we do with it? The following are several materials it can cut: balsa wood, craft foam, leather and fabric. It is usually necessary to place the material on the cutting pad for cutting.

Both laser cutters and Cricut use the same CNC technology, short for "computer numerical control," to control and direct their respective cutting equipment. This is a computer program that controls an electric actuator and directs a specific tool along a path chosen by a computer design. The biggest difference between Cricut and laser cutters is the cutting method. Cricut uses a blade, whereas a laser cutter uses a fine laser beam for cutting and engraving. Depending on its rated power, a CO₂ laser cutter can cut wood and other materials nearly a foot thick. The computer design provides data on direction, length, depth, width, and speed to make the actuator and tool work along the selected path. Circut is used for mechanical cutting, of course not laser cutting.

Monport laser engraver VS Cricut Maker

Additional Cost

Laser cutting and engraving machines cost much more than vinyl process cutters such as Cricut. Not only the machine, but also the spare parts needed for the repair and maintenance of the laser cutting machine are quite expensive. The blades of a vinyl cutter tend to become dull after a certain amount of cutting. A complete blade set with all possible angles costs less than $30. This set of blades can be bought at hardware stores, craft stores, hobby stores. The engineering of laser cutting machine is more complex and complex, often involving filters, lenses, mirrors, etc. If anything goes wrong with the laser cutter, many parts may need to be replaced. As a result, costs will be higher.

Material

Vinyl cutters can usually cut paper, iron on, and vinyl decals for sewing projects, leather crafts, and balsa models. The laser cutting machine ultimately depends on the power or wattage of the laser machine. They can cut wood, paper, leather, plastic, glass and carve some metal. Keep in mind that not all Cricut models can carve, and most laser cutters can do this. So far, only Cricut Maker with a little attachment can do carving. However, laser cutters can carve deeper. There is also a wider range of materials that can be carved. 

Professional use

When you use the Monport laser engraver, you will need a computer with a keyboard and mouse. Cricut offers a desktop and smartphone application that allows you to design and cut from anywhere. The laser engraving machine field will enter the engraving machine professional industry field only when it rises to more than 55W.

Image processing

Both machines can be used to cut multiple image files, Cricut can deal with SVG, PNG, JPG, DXF, and GIF. While laser engravers can be compatible with Lightburn software, you can: Import artwork in a variety of common vector graphic and image formats (including AI, PDF, SVG, DXF, PLT, PNG, JPG, GIF, and BMP). Arrange, edit, and even create new vector shapes within the editor, with powerful features like offsetting, boolean operations, welding, and node editing. Apply settings like power, speed, number of passes, cut order, brightness & contrast, dithering mode, and much more. Send the result directly to your laser cutter.

Projects

Laser engraving machine machines are best suited for materials, more detailed designs and projects that require engraving or deep cutting. Cricut is ideal for cutting vinyl (custom clothing) or paper projects. Cricut machines are available for cutting vinyl decals and custom clothing. They also do good thesis projects. Monport machines can make thicker materials such as acrylic earrings, wood signs, door signs or logos. These machines can accomplish unique projects. Both devices can be used to create beautiful home decor.

Size

Cricut is usually implanted in relatively small projects. Because it is a small model, it can only extend the engraving materials to the outside side, and cannot open both sides or even three sides like a high-power CO2 engraving machine to accommodate larger engraving projects. The design of circut itself limits the limitations of its engraving materials. The laser engraving machine can engrave large items according to size and power, and can engrave deeper than cricut. 

Cut Precision

The diameter of the laser beam is only 0.01 mm. The laser beam can smoothly and brightly carve and cut narrow and fine parts. However, numerical control tools are powerless. Because the diameter of the CNC cutter is 20 times larger than that of the laser beam, the machining accuracy of the CNC engraving machine is not as good as that of the laser engraving machine. The accuracy of laser engraving is higher than that of tool engraving, because the diameter of laser engraving source is very small and the tool engraving itself has a certain knife width. Therefore, in addition to the quality of the machine itself, it also includes the requirements for tool accuracy.

Price

Cricut machines are generally much cheaper than laser engraving machines. For less than $500, you can make a good cricut model for a novice engravers. These machines usually come in many models. But for a good laser engraving machine, the Monport K40 model may be relatively cheap, usually around $500. However, compared with the cost of additional accessories, the laser engraving machine has a lot of accessories. You need to equip your machine with a water chiller and an sound exhaust system. If you are considering buying a laser engraving machine, these costs must be included in your budget 

Use Friendly

If you're a craftsman who often cuts paper, vinyl, or fabric, then you're bound to love a Cricut. Making complex cuts with a cutter will save you a lot of time and frustration. Cricut Maker is great for beginners because it's easy to set up, you plug it in, connect it to your device (with a cable or Bluetooth), and follow the prompts on your device to complete the setup. You need to use a program called Cricut Design Space to process what you want the machine to cut. But it's not often that a simple machine allows carving enthusiasts to get creative and maximize their projects. So if you are tired of this relatively simple form of engraving, you can completely upgrade your engraving field and engraving experience from laser engraving machine. 

Monport VS Cricut: Conclusion

These machines can be used not only to run successful enterprises, but also to sell products. These machines are often used by many people together to complete their projects. Although some tasks can be accomplished in the same way, these machines have unique characteristics that make them stand out. From the perspective of professional carving, upgrading your cutting machines can make a qualitative leap in your carving works. A laser engraver is a device that uses lasers to engrave or mark an object. Laser engravers can be used to create a wide variety of custom designs and markings on various materials.