The Complete Guide to Cricut Maker 3 and Explore 3

Two new Cricut die cutting machines have been released and the craft world is abuzz with questions. Should I get a Cricut Maker 3 or a Cricut Explore 3? Should I upgrade to the Cricut Maker 3? What’s the difference between the Cricut Maker and the Cricut Maker 3? And what exactly are Smart Materials?

We have put together the Complete Guide to Cricut Maker 3 and Explore 3 and we’re going to answer those questions and more. If you’ve been wondering about these new Cricut cutting machines, keep reading. We’ll share all the details with you here!

The Ultimate Guide to Cricut Maker 3 and Explore 3

New Cricut Machines and Smart Materials:

• Cricut Maker 3: https://amzn.to/357R2c9
• Cricut Explore 3: https://amzn.to/3pHRuap
• Smart Iron-On For Maker/Explore 3: https://amzn.to/3vgeP4f 
• Cricut Smart Permanent Vinyl For Maker/Explore 3: https://amzn.to/3v9klWl 
• Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock: https://amzn.to/3grY0z5

Cricut Explore 3

When Cricut came out with the Explore Air, the word “air” was a reference to its Bluetooth capability. So, some people are confused about the word being missing from the new Cricut Explore 3’s name. No worries! It was just a matter of Cricut wanting the streamline the product name. The Explore 3 still has built-in Bluetooth capability!

What do you get in the box with the Cricut Explore 3?

• New style power cords (different than the ones used for the older machines and are not interchangeable with those machines)
• USB cord so you can connect to your laptop or desktop computer
• Cricut Smart Materials samples including a 13 x 13 inch sheet of Cricut Smart adhesive cardstock, a sheet of Cricut Smart Iron On, a sheet of Cricut transfer tape, a sheet of Cricut Smart Removable Vinyl
• A fine point blade and housing

Note what doesn’t come with the Explore 3 machine:

• No cutting mats. Since it can do matless cutting with Smart Materials, they don’t include any mats. Unfortunately, you will still need mats if you want to cut things other than Smart Materials or if you have leftover scraps you want to use. With pieces of Smart Materials that are less than 13 inches wide or less than 6 inches long, Cricut advises that you place these on a cutting mat to use them.
• No Cricut pens. They used to include one with all machines so you could try out the drawing and writing function.

How big is the Cricut Explore 3?

It’s the same size as the other Explore machines: 5.91 inches tall, 22.17 inches long, and 7.01 inches wide. The weight is 10.98 pounds.

What is the maximum size you can cut with an Explore 3?

It depends on what material you are cutting and how you are cutting it.

What materials can you cut with the Explore 3?

The Explore 3 can cut the same materials as the Explore Air 2. That means you can use 100+ materials including vinyl, bonded fabric, iron-on vinyl, glitter paper, cardstock, cork, construction paper, and craft foam.

What blades and tools can you use with the Explore 3?

As with an Explore Air 2, you can use the Fine Point Blade, Deep Point Blade, Bonded Fabric Blade, and the Scoring Stylus. In addition, you can draw and write with pens and you can use the Foil Transfer System.

What happened to Fast Mode? I don’t see it as an option for the Explore 3.

The Explore 3 is designed to cut Smart Materials without a mat at faster speeds. When using a mat, depending on what material you choose in your material settings, your machine will automatically cut on Fast Mode when appropriate for that material.

What is the difference between the Explore Air 2 and the Explore 3?

The main difference is that the Cricut Explore 3 is able to cut Smart Materials without a mat. Because of this, it can also cut longer materials.

The maximum size that an Explore Air 2 can accommodate is a 12 x 24″ cutting mat (cutting size: 11.5 x 23.5 inches) but as you can see in the chart above, the Explore 3 can handle larger sizes of Smart Vinyl and Smart Iron-On.

In addition, the Cricut Explore 3 is faster (up to 2 times faster for matless cutting) and there is no dial on the Explore 3. Material settings are in Cricut Design Space.

Finally, the Explore 3 has better sensors than the Explore Air 2, allowing for more ease when making Print then Cut projects, especially on colored. paper.

How do the prices compare?

Please note, prices can change without notice. You may also find coupons, sales, or bundles to provide you with more value. The base price for the Cricut Explore Air 2 is $249.99 USD on the Cricut website and the Cricut Explore 3 is $299.99 USD.

Cricut Maker 3

Let’s begin with the obvious question most people have. Cricut Maker 3? What happened to the Cricut Maker 2?

Cricut never actually released a Cricut Maker 2. They say that so much innovation went into this craft machine that they just skipped right over the Maker 2 and came out with the Maker 3.

Since they were also releasing a new 3rd generation Explore machine, they also felt it was just easier to name both machines with the 3rd generation reference.

What do you get in the box with the Cricut Maker 3?

• New style power cords (different than the ones used for the older machines and are not interchangeable with those machines)
• USB cord so you can connect to your laptop or desktop computer
• Cricut Smart Materials samples including a 13 x 13 inch sheet of Cricut Smart adhesive cardstock, a sheet of Cricut Smart Iron On, a sheet of Cricut transfer tape, a sheet of Cricut Smart Removable Vinyl
• A fine point blade and housing

Note what doesn’t come with the Maker 3 machine:

• No cutting mats. Since it can do matless cutting with Smart Materials, they don’t include any mats. Unfortunately, you will still need mats if you want to cut things other than Smart Materials or if you have leftover scraps you want to use. With pieces of Smart Materials that are less than 13 inches wide or less than 6 inches long, Cricut advises that you place these on a cutting mat to use them.
• No Cricut pens. They used to include one with all machines so you could try out the drawing and writing function.
• Traditionally the Cricut Maker came with one of the adaptive tools (the rotary blade) as well as the Fine Point Blade. This is not the case with the Cricut Maker 3.

How big is the Cricut Maker 3?

The Maker 3 is 6.2 inches tall, 22.1 inches long, and 7.1 inches wide. It weighs 15.4 pounds.

What is the maximum size you can cut with a Maker 3?

It depends on what material you are cutting and how you are cutting it.

What materials can you cut with the Maker 3?

The Maker 3 can cut the same materials as the Maker. The Maker 3 can cut 300+ materials including everything that the Explore can cut and additional materials such as leather, balsawood, basswood, and fabric (doesn’t have to be bonded).

What blades and tools can you use with the Maker 3?

As with a Maker, the Maker 3 is designed with more power and cutting force and can use the adaptive tool system, allowing it to use more Cricut blades and tools than the Explore machines.

This includes: The Fine Point Blade, Deep Point Blade, Rotary Blade, Knife Blade, Debossing Tool, Scoring Wheel (can also use the Scoring Stylus), Engraving Tip, Perforation Blade, and the Wavy Blade.

In addition, you can draw and write with pens and you can use the Foil Transfer System.

What happened to Fast Mode? I don’t see it as an option for the Maker 3.

Just like with the Explore3, the Maker 3 is designed to cut Smart Materials without a mat at faster speeds. When using a mat, depending on what material you choose in your material settings, your machine will automatically cut on Fast Mode when appropriate for that material.

What is the difference between the Maker and the Maker 3?

The main difference is that the Cricut Maker 3 is able to cut Smart Materials without a mat. Because of this, it can also cut longer materials.

The maximum size that a Maker can accommodate is a 12 x 24″ cutting mat (cutting size: 11.5 x 23.5 inches) but as you can see in the chart above, the Maker 3 can handle larger sizes of Smart Vinyl and Smart Iron-On.

In addition, the Cricut Maker 3 is faster (up to 2 times faster for matless cutting) and like the Explore 3, it has better sensors than the Maker, allowing for more ease when making Print then Cut projects, especially on colored. paper.

How do the prices compare?

Please note, prices can change without notice. You may also find coupons, sales, or bundles to provide you with more value. The base price for both the Cricut Maker and Cricut Maker 3 is $399.99 USD. (Obviously with it being the older machine, you’re more likely to find better deals on the Maker).

What is the difference – besides $100 – between the Maker 3 and the Explore 3?

Both of these machines can use the Cricut Smart Materials and perform matless cutting. Each of them has improved, faster motors than each of their previous generation machines. So, both have definitely improved in quality.

The main difference between the Explore 3 and the Maker 3 is the same as the difference between the Explore Air 2 and the Maker – the Makers have the adaptive tool system. In addition, the Cricut Maker 3 has the most powerful motor of any cutting machine on the market. This will allow you to work with a bunch of adaptive tools and cut way more materials than the Explore 3.

Remember, for cutting many of these additional materials, you will need to invest in a cutting mat and one of the adaptive tools, which are available at an additional cost. This makes the investment in the Cricut Maker 3 actually more than just the $100 difference between it and the Cricut Explore 3.

A couple of important things to note about the new machines (as compared to the older ones):

1. You can’t load the mat before choosing your materials in Design Space anymore.
2. Once you load the mat and press the button, your machine will run the mat through the machine to measure your material. Then, you have to press the button a second time to start the cutting process.
3. There is a roll holder available for both the Explore 3 and the Maker 3 for use with rolls of vinyl and matless cutting.

So, should I get the Cricut Maker 3 or the Cricut Explore 3?

Now that you have some of the basic information about the two machines, there are some things you need to take into consideration:

• What is your budget? Take into account the cost of the machines as well as any additional supplies you will need for the projects you want to make – cutting mats, blades, adaptive tools, etc.
• What do you want to create? The Explore 3 is a fantastic machine for vinyl, paper, iron-on, and so on. If you want to make projects that use leather (not just the paper-thin kind from Cricut), balsawood, and other thicker materials, you will need the adaptive tool system of the Maker 3.
• Will you have regrets if you don’t get the Maker 3? If you have any inkling that you may want to use any of those adaptive tools, you probably should just invest in the Maker from the beginning. It is the top of the line machine for Cricut and it is definitely cheaper than buying an Explore and then deciding you need to upgrade to the Maker.
• Do you enjoy learning and mastering new skills? When cutting basic materials with the fine point blade, rotary blade, and so on with your Cricut Maker, you will get amazing cuts. However, when trying to cut the thicker materials, for example, balsawood with the knife blade, you are unlikely to get perfect cuts right from the beginning. This will be something you will need to work on and master. It’s not as straightforward as using something like the fine point blade and there is a learning curve. We love the adaptive tools, but it’s important to have realistic expectations for them.

Cricut Smart Materials

What exactly are Cricut Smart Materials?

They are meant to be used in your Cricut Joy, Cricut Maker 3, or Cricut Explore 3 by loading them directly into the machine without a cutting mat. You can purchase Cricut Smart Vinyl (in Permanent and Removable), Cricut Smart Iron-On, and Cricut Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock.

Tell me more about each of the different kinds of Smart Materials.

Removable Smart Vinyl

This vinyl can be removed without leaving behind a residue. Cricut recommends it for indoor projects or craft projects you might want to change up later. For renters, Cricut asserts that you can apply this to your walls and then remove it without any damage.

Permanent Smart Vinyl

This smart vinyl is weather-resistant so it’s recommended for outdoor craft projects or any projects that you want to last as long as possible. In addition, Cricut asserts that projects with this vinyl applied can be placed in the dishwasher (with certain restrictions – further info below).

Note: In general, we have found that all vinyl is removable. Some, having less adhesive, is easier than others to remove. And when Cricut talks about “permanent” vinyl – we prefer to think of it as “long-lasting” instead, because unless you use Infusible Ink, none of it is truly permanent. We have not yet tested just how long-lasting Cricut Smart Vinyl is for ourselves.

Smart Iron-On

In Cricut testing, Smart Iron-On lasted through 50+ washes. You can layer up to 3 colors of Smart Iron-On.

Smart Paper Sticker Cardstock

With this sticker cardstock, you don’t need to use any glue. While for many of our projects, it really isn’t worth the extra cost to us simply to be able to avoid using glue, we can see some fun uses for this. For example, you could easily make sheets of stickers to give away or sell with this product.

Which machines can cut Cricut Smart Materials?

As mentioned above, they were meant to be used in the Cricut Joy, Explore 3, and Maker 3. Cricut says that these machines were specifically designed and optimized for using Smart Materials.

Can you use smart vinyl on a Cricut Explore Air 2 or a Cricut Maker?

Yes, you can use them with the older models of the Maker and Explore, but Cricut advises that you use them only on a mat with these machines. They assert that the newer machines were optimized to work with the Smart Materials for matless cutting. If you use them with older machines for matless cutting, they may jam the machine, cause cutting errors, or damage machine parts.

Remember that Smart Materials are more expensive than regular materials so you may only want to use them when cutting without a mat.

Be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Cricut Smart Materials for more information and to see them in action.

What do you think about these new Cricut machines? We’d love to hear your opinions. Tag us on social media using hashtag #MakersGonnaLearn. Be sure to pin this post to Pinterest so you can refer back to it anytime you want!