Importing DXF with Cricut versus Cameo Software

Comparison of Cricut and Cameo software with importing custom designs in DXF format
00:00 Intro
01:20 Importing DXF with Cricut
05:38 Importing DXF with Silhouette
06:42 Final Thoughts

[mantheousreed]

I found a work around.


But first...I got a Cricut Maker and found that the software still sucks. It was very frustrating to find that Silhouette studio brought the file in with no problem, but the Cricut Design Space brought in an un-recognizable mess. I almost took my Maker back I was so ticked with the software.


The solution for me was to design the dxf files and then to us the "PEDIT" command to join all the lines as poly lines in my CAD program. Then I had to import that into Inscape and then save that file to a SVG file. Going through that process produced cut files that the Cricut could readily recognize correctly. That you have to go through such a process is a joke. I use my dxf file to print directly to my laser cutter with no problems, and the Silhouette software had no problems either.

[mattdonley]

I didn't watch the whole video, but just wanted to mention that you can select multiple objects by holding CTRL or SHIFT as you click each one. From there, you can change the tool action all at once. Other than that, I find it's easier to import the DXF into Illustrator to manually organize, then import into Cricut Design studio as SVG. Just seems to work better than DXF.

[stevedelaire]

Also had trouble using .dxf files with Cricut
This information is way late to be useful for the previous commenters ...
Where I used to work they had an older industrial laser that did not like .dxf files created in newer software.
I figured out that a small change to the text in the file allowed the drawing to work.
Open file with a text editor ... notepad, notepad++ or the like.
Remove these lines in the header (lines 6, 7, 8) (anything marked as AC = AutoCad)

example :

$ACADVER
1
AC1003

Also eliminate any blank lines or the machine won't continue to read and progress on to next lines.
Save file
If file is accidentally saved as .txt then change file extension back to .dxf
My Cricut does cut .dxf with this trick.

[genetaylor]

I purchased a Cricut this fall to make templates for leather work. My first shock was you are unable to draw anything with the software. Now they have thousands of designs you can buy and use for your project. Not what I wanted. But I have a CNC Plasma table and software to make the templates I wanted. Cricut accepts DXF files. Sadly, the Cricut software dropped and or altered many portions of the template designs. Curves were changed to lines, Lines had random angle changes. Plus the software frequently locked up. It took over 4 hours of work to print 4 copies of the same template. A job that should have taken less then 10 minutes from start to cut completion. My decision to purchase the $500 plus Cricut machine and tooling was at best a poor one.
I would have been better served using that money as a deposit on a Laser CNC machine. I DO NOT recommend Cricut machines, because of the extream software limitations.

[Holescreek]

I bought a Cricut Explore Air just because they said it would accept DXF flies. The problem I'm having is that even my simple 1 layer DXF files (for cutting vinyl) are distorted after processing through the Cricut software.

[marcdebruin]

Mmm same here. I want to use it to simply cut out a drawing I made: every line=a cutting line. Shouldn't be too difficult but takes a lot of work around in Cricut. The drawing gets distorted once I go to "make it".

[pigpickler]

You obviously don’t know what you’re doing. There are MUCH easier and faster ways to do this in Cricut Design Space.