Thank you so much for your review!!! This was absolutely amazing info! I’m getting my first Cricut and I am now confident in my decision! I appreciate the time you took and how thorough you were. I’m sure I will enjoy my new Cricut! I will be looking forward to seeing your craft ideas!! 😊 The upgrades on the Maker 3 make it worth the investment if you frequently work on large projects and wish to do matless cutting using SmartMaterials. Its faster cutting speed, when compared to the original Maker, makes it worthwhile if you are cut a lot of projects or use your machine for a small business. Many crafters have found more success working with other materials, including leather and other brands of vinyl and iron-on. If you’re one of them, you don’t need Smart Materials.

As your project cuts, the roll holder evenly feeds your Smart Material in and out of the Maker 3. Once it’s done cutting, your Maker 3 positions the end of your cut just above the trimmer. Before you unload your project, just slide the trimmer across for a clean, straight cut. Should I Get the Maker or Maker 3?

Notice the gold gear in the drive housing—that gold gear is what allows Maker and Maker 3 to use those additional tools the other Cricut machines cannot use. The buttons are the same, too. There's a button to turn the machine off, a button to load and unload materials, and buttons to start and pause the cutting process. You need to update the Cricut Maker 3 regularly to keep up with firmware releases from the brand. The firmware updates are typically small-sized, but they are important to keep your machine functioning optimally. Once an update is available, you’ll get a prompt on the Design Space interface. What Warranties Are Available? Did you know that my course covers both the Explore 3 and Maker 3 as well as the Explore Air 2, Maker, and Joy? Cricut Made Easy teaches you everything you need to know about your machine, Design Space, materials, mats, and blades. With over 16 projects and 21 chapters, this hands-on e-course teaches you how to use your machine to its full potential. With the prerecorded lessons, take my course at your own pace, and rewatch lessons as needed.

I’m a wife, mother to 3, seamstress, and lover of all things crafty! Sweet Red Poppy is my creative outlet where I find and create inspiration. It’s a place where I can share my never-ending sewing projects and my love of learning! You can find the Adaptive Tool System feature on both machines, as well. This feature allows you to actively manage the blade’s position by lifting and rotating it intelligently into the perfect position for your next cut. This enhances precision and makes it easier to maintain optimum pressure. You can use nearly all of the same tools and accessories with both machines, but there are a couple of exceptions. Cricut introduced two new accessories with the Maker 3: a larger portable trimmer and a roll holder. The new portable trimmer is needed because Since Smart Materials are 13 inches wide, and the original trimmer was only 12 inches. Of course, you can use the larger trimmer to cut smaller materials. Looking to buy a Cricut Maker? You might be wondering what the differences are in Cricut Maker vs. Cricut Maker 3. This post covers the differences between these two Cricut machines so you can make an informed decision about buying! Now, let’s dig into how these machines are similar and more importantly, what’s different about them. What’s the Difference Between the Cricut Maker 3 and Maker?Yes! You can use smart materials on a mat like you would regular vinyl, iron on, or paper. This is particularly helpful if you have offcuts of Smart Materials that are no longer wide enough to be cut matless. Don’t worry—that extra material doesn’t have to go to waste! Cricut Maker 3 Speed Improvements The portable trimmer now measures just over 13 inches to accommodate the Smart Materials. While this is designed to go with the new machines, you can use it no matter which machine you are using.