Way back in 2009 or even further back I picked up a copy of Make the Cut a fabulous software that let me control my Cricut craft cutter. I was able to cut anything I wanted and items of my own designs. Awesome.

Well that was fun, until Provocraft decided they didn’t want third party software controlling their machines. Then sued the makers of Make the Cut. Make the Cut was tied up in court for years. Googling the company shows several lawsuits. Eventually the software was locked down and the code needed to make the software able to work with the cricut was locked out. If you upgraded your copy of make the cut past MTC 4.1.0 it can’t be hacked to work. You also need to install the pccplugin which you have hopefully saved on a thumb drive somewhere.

Make the Cut is now abandonware. The developer has allowed the site to come and go it is currently up and you can download the software, though there are reports in the forum that the new serial numbers no longer work. The forum and site are up now, I was unable to get any assistance from the owner for getting my reg key. I used their automated system and it did not work. I also have not received an answer via their support ticket system. According to several users on the forum, the user has not responded to anything on the forum for over 5 years at this point (writing this 12/2020).

If you have access to the computer you had Make the Cut installed on you can use these instructions to attempt to retrieve the registration code. I was able to successfully reboot my nearly dead old laptop and pull the code out. Then I emailed it to myself AND saved the MTC4.1.0 installer, pccplugin, and reg code to thumb drive. This will get stored in a safe place and I’ll also back these files up to the cloud. And you should to.

I’ll update my old posts about MTC. Apparently now you need to use Sure Cuts a Lot, but I do not think it can be hacked to work with the crapcut. Again I salute Provocrap with a middle finger salute. We should be able to use the Crapcut with any software in the same manner we use a printer.

Use these links at your own risk:

• https://archive.org/details/MakeTheCutVersion4.1.0
• https://diydata.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/cricut-cutter-with-usb-it-can-be-done/
• https://www.dllme.com/dll/files/pccplugin_dll.html

An no I will NOT send you copies of this stuff. I’ve provided the links, follow them.

Please read the comment section of t his post closely for the information you are looking for. Other readers have posted info.

Seriously READ the comments section.

The info in this post pertains to the ORIGINAL CRAPCUT NOT THE NEW EXPRESSIONS 2. Don’t even ask. It won’t work. Provocrap has blocked ANY outside software from working with the crapcut. Why? Because they suck.

If you bought an expressions 2? Sell your machine on eBay and get one of the machines listed on the MTC website.

Google make the cut 4.1.0 look for a page on TUMBLR. You will need to download MTC 4.1.0 and install it. After that download and run the plugin installer. These are items 1 and 2 on the tumblr page. (No I will not post a link to it, you can work google.)

You will also need to purchase MTC from MTC. You need the serial number to use the software. Don’ be a cheap ()&%^&$^&*% asshole. Seriously. The software is $80, or 2 carts at full price or 4 carts on sale. BUY THE DAMN SOFTWARE. What you just downloaded is NOT THE FULL SOFTWARE, you need the serial number. SO BUY IT. /rant

When you plug it into your computer it WILL NOT CUT IF you don’t have a cart in the machine. For it to cut, plug in a cart, any cart, it doesn’t matter.

For those of you on twitter and tumblr you know I’m messing around with a cricut machine. For those of you who don’t know what a cricut machine is, let me tell you all about it. Provocraft makes the machine to be used with preloaded and very expensive cartridges.  The cartridges run anywhere from $25 to $80 and I’ve seen some hard to find and previous years carts running in the $125 range on eBay. The carts are cool but pretty limited in what their capabilities. You are stuck with those images only, sure you can change their size and create linked chained but that’s about all.

My mom got me the cricut after watching me mess around with hers. The idea of the circuit- a plotter with a knife is amazing but provocraft really put shackles onto the machine by forcing you to use the carts. As soon as I unboxed it I was looking for ways to hack it. I found a half dozen tutorials on how to dismantle it and to replace the knife with a pen. All of which were helpful and interesting looking but not what I was seeking.

I found what I was looking for in a forum about the cricut- Sure-Cuts-a-Lot and Make-the-Cut. 2 different programs that addressed my needs. I downloaded both trial programs and tested them out. I was gifted with a copy of Sure-Cuts-a-Lot and it addressed a lot of what I needed. By combining  the program with my scanner and the freeware program Inkscape I was able to design my own cuts. I could stamp my handmade  stamps, scan them then cut stencils and masks of the exact same shape. The 2 programs unlock the cricut machine and make it truly useful for an artist.

In addition to Makes-the-Cut I’ve found a variety of other hacks all over the web. Provocraft makes plotter style markers for their machine. I purchased a set and find them to be a tad wide for my liking. I found the following hack for gel pens. Iake a staples mini sized gel pen and roll on a staples pencil grip. I was only able to find the squishy gel style, so for this I roll the grip on half way then roll the grip over itself, doubling it’s thickness. I slide this into the clamp and finger tighter the clamp. I hit go on MTC and then pause when it gets ready to write. I adjust the height of the pen to make sure its touching  the paper. I hit go again and check to see that the pen is writing properly and then pause it and mark the top level of the pen with masking tape, making it easy for me to take the pen in and out of the machine.

This hack can also be done with rapidiograph pens and possibly other technical pens. I tested the theory with my rapiodocraft broad pen and sure enough it worked great and was filled with noodler’s. This makes me confident that I could get great lines using great ink on most papers. I’ve also received word that the cricut can take HP plotter pens with little to no modifications. This is of course something I’ll have to test out.

These hacks really open up the possibilities of this little machine.