A Deep Dive into the New Cricut Maker 3
Cricut released two new products on June 10th: the Cricut Maker 3 and the Cricut Explore 3. In today’s blog post we are going to do a deep dive into the New Cricut Maker 3 and go over some of the basics.
First, as usual, the Cricut Maker 3 comes with a “Get Started” guide and some material for projects. If it’s your first time purchasing a Cricut, the instructions will lead you to their website to show you how to setup your machine.
The machine also includes a power cord and a USB cord to connect to your computer. You can connect your machine to Bluetooth, so a USB is not always needed, but it is included.
The Buttons on the Machine
- The Power button is universal and looks the same across all the machines.
- The load and unload button is slightly different than the older model but not too big of a difference.
- The middle button, which now looks like a Play symbol is different than the original C button (which stood for Cricut).
- The pause button is the same.
- All the button functions are the same as the original machine.
Other Attributes:
- The Housing on the Machine is relatively the same as the original machine. There is one side for markers and one side for blades.
- The size of the clamps did not change, so you can use any of your old pens and markers in this machine just fine.
- This machine comes with the fine cut blade but any of the blades from the original Maker will fit into the new machine as well. You just have to purchase them separately. If you want more info on Cricut blades, we did a whole blog post here.
- There are still two trays on the left side of the machine to hold tools.
- The bottom main tray still opens for storage as well.
What is new with the Cricut Maker 3:
The biggest and most exciting difference with this new model is that you do not need a mat to cut materials! You can still use a mat if you would like, meaning your old mats will still fit into this machine. But it’s not necessary to use a mat like with the older machines! How exciting is that!?
You are probably wondering, “well how does that work?”, and that is what I am going to dive into next.
The key to cutting without using a mat to grip your materials is the new “Smart” materials that Cricut has come out with. This includes…
- Smart Iron-On
- Smart Vinyl
- Smart Cardstock – this is a cardstock with an adhesive backing. You can use it for anything that you would normally use cardstock for.
These materials can go straight into your Cricut Maker 3 or Explore 3 without using a mat.
A new exciting accessory that Cricut came out with is the Roll Holder for Smart Materials. This is a tool that fits on the front of your machine in which you can add any rolls of material to. So, you no longer have to cut the material to feed it into the machine, the machine will grab it like wrapping paper on a roll. It can hold up to 75 feet of material which is insane!
The other major difference between the new Cricut Maker 3 and the original Cricut Maker is that the new Cricut Maker 3 is twice as fast as the original Cricut Maker when cutting smart materials. This will make your project time fly by.
Beyond those amazing upgrades, the Cricut Maker 3 can do ALL of the same functions as the older model. You just get the added benefit of not needing to use a mat and you get to finish your projects quicker.
Check out the Cricut Bundles for Makers here.
I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into the new Cricut Maker 3. We also did a similar blog post for the Cricut Explore 3 here. Happy crafting!
