Does anyone have any experience with Cricut cutting machines? Do we think they could work for prototyping overlays? I believe they are most commonly used to cut vinyl (the raw material).
Max material thickness is 2.4mm on the Maker model. It’s alright within its constraints. I use one for making controller overlays from cardstock or vinyl, mostly. If you want some tactile depth or material options it could work, depending on what your expectations are.
It’s a nifty gadget for printing out a controller overlay and then having it cut out all the fiddly button & knob shapes for you.
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Awesome. Exactly the answer I was looking for. Do you have any examples of overlays you have made with it?
Nice work! Thank you for sharing!
Any examples of Sensel overlays made with the Cricut?
Not yet for a tactile template. I’ve only used it to cut out overlay creator printouts to check for dimensional accuracy (it’s fine).
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Hi
How did you glue the cutout overlays on the launchpad mini?
This looks very professional!
Happy Xmas,
Christian
TY! The vinyl has its own adhesive backing. If I remember correctly I used Oracal 651 permanent vinyl, matte black. Good stuff. It’s been on the launchpad since 2017.
Thank you!
I can find Oracal 651 permanent vinyl, what is TY?
Sorry, TY = “thank you”.
I used the Oracal vinyl, nothing else. It has good adhesive.
Oh, in this case, of course
TY!
I was able to make an overlay on a Cricut machine from two layers of vinyl stuck to a piece of thin foam (from Michael’s). I embedded magnets into the foam and thin pieces of tape on the back hold the magnets in. Since my friend and I only had black vinyl left, I decided to try and color the top layer by hand, which was a mistake. Although this first prototype turned out a bit messy, it is actually good fun to play. The feel of the soft foam under the vinyl is actually quit nice and the Morph remains incredibly sensitive.
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This looks awesome. Thank you for sharing! Would love to see/hear how it sounds if you ever get a chance to make a video as well.
Yes, I will make videos about this and a couple of other overlays very soon.
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On a lark, here’s a recent attempt at making the Linnstrument Layout a little more tactile.
The Cricut was used to cut out 2 layers of contrasting 60# paper (with light spray adhesive to stick them together) and a pen to mark out the root note pads. It slides only a little bit more than just the innovator overlay by itself. I cut it smaller than the silicone overlay to give the bottom magnets more purchase. My own small magnet stash is out in a workshop I can’t access right now.
You can feel the ridges under your fingertips clearly, and the ‘white key’ contrast with the black Morph surface (showing through for the ‘black keys’) is a clear, more so than a black and white paper printout (for me, and my dying laser printer at home). I must be pretty heavy handed (also a bassist by training) so there’s still enough sensitivity for me even for fast playing. Lighter touches and slides still work well.
A good Version 1 with plenty of room for improvement. Very quick to put together. The tactile hints really help.
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I’m assuming I can create in another app and upload my creation into design space, rather than doing it all in design space. Is this possible?
Yes. I import .svg or .png files created in other programs.
Does anyone have the files necessary to upload to Ponoko or design space… for a linnstrument layout,I’m not very savey in graphic design.
Very nice work! that looks awesome !..do you have the files to upload to the cricut…I am literally thinking of buying a Cricut machine just to make one “linnstrument”/4ths grid overlay
