Hi everyone we are new to the forum and look forward to using our new ecraft in our existing home hobby shop. We make signs, silk screen and garment decorations crafts, etc. We found the ecraft at the CHA show in Chicago this year and are very excited about the features and flexibility of the ecraft.
We currently a 24" and 3 other craft cutters (had a couple more but handed them down...felt like a bait shop around here :) We use several different programs and use Mac and PC. So here we go.
I have been using the ecraft all evening...no problems. Just went to a new project and moved the trolley all the way to the left...fed paper into the machine...hit cut, trolley will not move or begin cutting
Try pressing the two side sensors on either side of the eCraft. (they are those two buttons that the trolley 'hits' or rest on when the trolley starts and finishes cutting) simply, manually position the trolley in the middle, and press the sensors at the same time once, holding them down for a few seconds. This should unlock the eCraft and will continue cutting.
Hi: New here and new to this fantastic cutter! I was wondering what is the smallest point size for a line weight (thickness) that I can cut.
I am trying to design some SVG files to send to the printer and I am having problems cutting the material. The design is about 3" wide by 1-1/2" high and reads dinner party in a funky font (baby kruffy)
It tears the paper because I suspect it is too small and intricate. The design was cut on card stock at pressure setting 8.
Your pressure is WAY too high! First make sure that your blade cap is in place and is free of any debris. Then lower your pressure down. On my blog (link below) on the eCraft videos page, I have a video called eCraft tips that explains how to find the lowest possible pressure for your paper. Also, for an intricate design it is best to have a new (or newer) blade and use your tabs especially if there are a lot of interior cut outs. Hope that helps!
The pressure seems to be high. The easiest way to determine your blade pressure is to do a test cut. We recommend doing a test cut of a simple shape, such as a heart or circle on the corner of the paper. The shape can be small (1 in) and set your trolley pressure at a 1. As the machine cuts the shape, move the blade pressure up until you first see the blue light appear and leave it there. What ever the number the blue indicator light first came on, that is your blade pressure.
I'm just getting around to using my ecrafter and I find that when trying to cut detailed items or text the crafter tends to shred the card. Can you suggest what I'm doing wrong. I've tried altering the cutting blade depth?
Hi, new to this site but what a great idea. have just read most of the questions & answers. has helped alot & have found i'm not the only one with these problems. I was having trouble with paper tearing, now i just use a piece of cardstock as a mat & no problems..may be my pressure setings are to high. Had the same problem with the trolley getting stuck to the left as well but that seems to have corrected itself too. I did find that if i don't open my cutting program & then turn on the eCraft they don't talk to each other. Thanks Denise at purplepaperparidse, your site is sooo helpful. Don't have MTC but am loving SCAL3
Thanks nett_n_wes! I am going to be doing more SCAL videos with at least one each month posted on the 1st, so mark your calendar!
Angelika - My guess is that you need to stabilize your paper. If you can get some of the flexible vegetable chopping mats from the Dollar Tree, those work the best, but in a pinch just use a piece of cardstock. If you are still getting tearning, then your pressure is too high. Good luck!
If you are having issues cutting detailed items, check the following:
-Be sure you are cutting with your gray blade cap cover. Removing the blade cap greatly increases the pressure of the blade.
-Pressure:start by cutting a test cut on your paper on pressure 1 and as the machine cuts, move up the pressure until you first see the blue light appear, and leave there. Whatever the number the indicator light first appears, that is the correct blade pressure.
Try the above, and see if you see a difference. If you continue to have difficulty cutting, contact our customer support department at cs@craftwellusa.com
Hi all, I am a new user based in the UK. Can any one help me to 'ungroup' the images that I have purchased from the craftwell site. Also my 'lock aspect ratio' button doesn't seem to work, nor does holding down control, am I doing it wrong or is this a common issue
Good to meet you all.
I just took my ecraft out of the box today and boy am I having fun so far!
What I really want to know is about the battery.
From what I have read, there is a rechargeable battery to the machine, but for the life of me I cannot find it.
I think I read that there were problems with it and Craftwell is going to fix it.
If that is so, when will it be available and what will it cost?
Speaking of cost, where is the software people are talking about?
I went through the downloading process on the machine and had access to all of the cards, plus a myriad of things from my computer.
The thing is, I didn't have to pay for it.
I saw the individual images for sale, but no price tag on the software.
Am I missing something?
So glad you are enjoying your eCraft! I don't know too much about the battery but I can tell you that it hasn't been released yet. Perhaps one of the great people at Craftwell will update us on that?
The individual images that you are talking about are available at eCraftCentral.com. There is a link on the forum here to it towards the top on the left hand side. They have a lot of images available and they are reasonably priced and I have found that downloading them is a snap.
Once again welcome to the world of eCrafting and be sure to let us know how it is going and share some projects with us!
I found the battery pack on fotobella.com and bought it right away! 106.79, tax included, and free shipping.
I paid $5.00 extra for 5 day shipping, so it turned out to be 111.79. I'm going on a 3 day retreat the first weekend in November, so I wanted to make sure I had my ecraft with me. This way, I don't have to worry about finding an outlet. Can you believe you have to reserve an outlet or bring a power strip and hope the people you are sitting with have access to one of the outlets? They say the charge lasts for 4 hours and it's a lithium ion battery. Hubbie says I'll might not ever have to replace it. It is also listed on Nonadesigns.com, but they are on back order and it's about $15.00 more. The battery is not easy to find, even when you get to fotobella.com. Go through an advanced Google search, ecraft battery, and it will take you to the right page. I don't exactly know why it's not listed on their regular products list, but there it is. It should be here in five business days, so if you want to wait, I'll let you know how it works as soon as I get it!
Bad news, guys. I just got an email from fotobella.com. They told me they did not have the battery in stock and they were refunding my money. I called craftwell and they told me it wouldn't be available until sometime next year! Her only explanation was that they were still "working on it" so I guess we'll just have to wait.
Sorry for your disappointment RoxysMom! I was surprised when you said you ordered it, because I would have expected to have seen some sort of announcement when it was available. Hopefully it will be sooner than later for you! I hope you have a great time at your retreat and can find an outlet without a problem!
If you want to use the designs off of the SD card then yes you do need the SD card. But if you are making your own designs then no you do not need the SD card.
Yes, you can still register it as you. We can reset your serial number for you. After you buy your eCraft contact Customer Service at CS@craftwellusa.com with your serial number, and they will reset it for you.
i have tried everything to download the software for my ecraft without sucsess the instalation file does not come up also when i do try to download it says that the site is reported unsafe can anyone out there help i have sent emails but no one is answering me
Setting up and cutting a pre-printed template - This is a pure how-to question. I purchased an ecraft machine yesterday to replace my cricut that we use to cut out gift tags. I hate those cutting mats. But this time, we want to pre print the sheet and then feed it though the cutter.
So, after looking at everything, I'd like to cut out Image 10 Tag 5 Background but cut out multiple per sheet (no problem with that one).
However, I would like to run the sheet of paper through a color laser printer and print on it BEFORE cutting a sheet full of tags.
Does anyone have a template already created that I could use so I would know the positions of each tag before printing so that I could print the wording on page through the laser printer and then use the ecraft to cut out the pre printed tags?
If not, any clues on how I would go about this task?
Could someone please tell me why the Multi select button is not on the ecraft pro software or is there something wrong when I down loaded the updates I was trying to weld some letters together but the multi select seems to be gone
Thank you
Maria
When I first got my Ecraft it had a multiSelect in the program and I was able to weld letters
and it is also in the manual. They must have taken it out when they upgraded the software.
In the most recent versions of the software the multi-select button was eliminated in favor of a much more efficient way of selecting items. If you click on the arrow icon on the left hand side toolbar and then you click and drag a box around the items on the mat. So much easier!
Thank you for your great help, I can now finish my xmas cards. I am still learning to use my ecraft to its full potential, just wish I didnt like doing so may different crafts.
Hello, I downloaded the new software ecraft. would have to change the program's internal e-craft?
I have seen that there is the manual version 2.2 and this manual the reader screen is different and gives more options.
I must do to update the version of e-craft?n i have the version 1.1
Just downloaded the eCraftShop Pro version 2.2.6 with my brand new ecraft.
Was learning via the tutorials today and for the life of me can't find the 'weld' or 'preview' button anywhere that they are showing in the tutorial for the octagon card...is this the latest version of the software or does it need any upgrades??Pls help someone.....
to weld - type the word or letters, once you have them moved into place....Click the Select tool, and then use your mouse to highlight the objects you want to connect. Then select Path>Union from the tool bar, your letters should now overlap.
Thanks a lot LisaS....i can weld easily now.....still unable to select using arrow but the select all option helped....but there is no preview before cutting is there??
Purplepaperparadise.com is a very big help for all beginners...thanks a ton Denise
Hi Denise Once again thank you for your help. I did what you said with the arrow button but I was hoping it would meld the letters together but it just cut the whole word but separate letters. Can this still be done or am I still doing something wrong. (Original question #81)
I grab each of the letters and move them until they are slightly over-lapping each other, then click the arrow button, click the screen and while keeping the mouse button pressed, drag your mouse. You will see that a box forms on the screen - make sure all the letters are in the box - then 'path' (at the top of the screen) and 'union', this will 'weld' them :)
I hope this helps...learning new software can be a pain in the tush, but you'll be whizzing around the program in no time!
Sometimes the letter O can be mistaken for the number 0. If that isn't the case with you, call customer support and they can assist you. Craftwell has great customer support, so you are in good hands!
still trying to weld. On the videos there is a weld button on the tool bar, but I don't seem to have one, do I need to download advanced software, and where do I get it?
Hi everyone we are new to the forum and look forward to using our new ecraft in our existing home hobby shop. We make signs, silk screen and garment decorations crafts, etc. We found the ecraft at the CHA show in Chicago this year and are very excited about the features and flexibility of the ecraft.
We currently a 24" and 3 other craft cutters (had a couple more but handed them down...felt like a bait shop around here :) We use several different programs and use Mac and PC. So here we go.
Welcome Craftysansan! Hope you will share some of your creations with us!
WELCOME Craftysansan!We are glad you have joined the Craftwell family!
Team Craftwell
I have been using the ecraft all evening...no problems. Just went to a new project and moved the trolley all the way to the left...fed paper into the machine...hit cut, trolley will not move or begin cutting
Hello Rena,
Try pressing the two side sensors on either side of the eCraft. (they are those two buttons that the trolley 'hits' or rest on when the trolley starts and finishes cutting) simply, manually position the trolley in the middle, and press the sensors at the same time once, holding them down for a few seconds. This should unlock the eCraft and will continue cutting.
Team Craftwell
Hi: New here and new to this fantastic cutter! I was wondering what is the smallest point size for a line weight (thickness) that I can cut.
I am trying to design some SVG files to send to the printer and I am having problems cutting the material. The design is about 3" wide by 1-1/2" high and reads dinner party in a funky font (baby kruffy)
It tears the paper because I suspect it is too small and intricate. The design was cut on card stock at pressure setting 8.
I appreciate any help. Thanks everyone!
Your pressure is WAY too high! First make sure that your blade cap is in place and is free of any debris. Then lower your pressure down. On my blog (link below) on the eCraft videos page, I have a video called eCraft tips that explains how to find the lowest possible pressure for your paper. Also, for an intricate design it is best to have a new (or newer) blade and use your tabs especially if there are a lot of interior cut outs. Hope that helps!
Thanks I will give it a try.
KellyKo,
The pressure seems to be high. The easiest way to determine your blade pressure is to do a test cut. We recommend doing a test cut of a simple shape, such as a heart or circle on the corner of the paper. The shape can be small (1 in) and set your trolley pressure at a 1. As the machine cuts the shape, move the blade pressure up until you first see the blue light appear and leave it there. What ever the number the blue indicator light first came on, that is your blade pressure.
Team Craftwell
Hi
I'm just getting around to using my ecrafter and I find that when trying to cut detailed items or text the crafter tends to shred the card. Can you suggest what I'm doing wrong. I've tried altering the cutting blade depth?
Hi, new to this site but what a great idea. have just read most of the questions & answers. has helped alot & have found i'm not the only one with these problems. I was having trouble with paper tearing, now i just use a piece of cardstock as a mat & no problems..may be my pressure setings are to high. Had the same problem with the trolley getting stuck to the left as well but that seems to have corrected itself too. I did find that if i don't open my cutting program & then turn on the eCraft they don't talk to each other. Thanks Denise at purplepaperparidse, your site is sooo helpful. Don't have MTC but am loving SCAL3
Thanks nett_n_wes! I am going to be doing more SCAL videos with at least one each month posted on the 1st, so mark your calendar!
Angelika - My guess is that you need to stabilize your paper. If you can get some of the flexible vegetable chopping mats from the Dollar Tree, those work the best, but in a pinch just use a piece of cardstock. If you are still getting tearning, then your pressure is too high. Good luck!
Hello Angelika,
If you are having issues cutting detailed items, check the following:
-Be sure you are cutting with your gray blade cap cover. Removing the blade cap greatly increases the pressure of the blade.
-Pressure:start by cutting a test cut on your paper on pressure 1 and as the machine cuts, move up the pressure until you first see the blue light appear, and leave there. Whatever the number the indicator light first appears, that is the correct blade pressure.
Try the above, and see if you see a difference. If you continue to have difficulty cutting, contact our customer support department at cs@craftwellusa.com
Team Craftwell
Hi all, I am a new user based in the UK. Can any one help me to 'ungroup' the images that I have purchased from the craftwell site. Also my 'lock aspect ratio' button doesn't seem to work, nor does holding down control, am I doing it wrong or is this a common issue
Good to meet you all.
would it be possible to share a link to a video we made showing how we used our eCraft
Craftysansan,
All you need to do is copy the link and paste it here in the forum.
Hi everybody!
I just took my ecraft out of the box today and boy am I having fun so far!
What I really want to know is about the battery.
From what I have read, there is a rechargeable battery to the machine, but for the life of me I cannot find it.
I think I read that there were problems with it and Craftwell is going to fix it.
If that is so, when will it be available and what will it cost?
Speaking of cost, where is the software people are talking about?
I went through the downloading process on the machine and had access to all of the cards, plus a myriad of things from my computer.
The thing is, I didn't have to pay for it.
I saw the individual images for sale, but no price tag on the software.
Am I missing something?
Hi RoxysMom,
So glad you are enjoying your eCraft! I don't know too much about the battery but I can tell you that it hasn't been released yet. Perhaps one of the great people at Craftwell will update us on that?
The individual images that you are talking about are available at eCraftCentral.com. There is a link on the forum here to it towards the top on the left hand side. They have a lot of images available and they are reasonably priced and I have found that downloading them is a snap.
Once again welcome to the world of eCrafting and be sure to let us know how it is going and share some projects with us!
Great news, everybody!
I found the battery pack on fotobella.com and bought it right away! 106.79, tax included, and free shipping.
I paid $5.00 extra for 5 day shipping, so it turned out to be 111.79. I'm going on a 3 day retreat the first weekend in November, so I wanted to make sure I had my ecraft with me. This way, I don't have to worry about finding an outlet. Can you believe you have to reserve an outlet or bring a power strip and hope the people you are sitting with have access to one of the outlets? They say the charge lasts for 4 hours and it's a lithium ion battery. Hubbie says I'll might not ever have to replace it. It is also listed on Nonadesigns.com, but they are on back order and it's about $15.00 more. The battery is not easy to find, even when you get to fotobella.com. Go through an advanced Google search, ecraft battery, and it will take you to the right page. I don't exactly know why it's not listed on their regular products list, but there it is. It should be here in five business days, so if you want to wait, I'll let you know how it works as soon as I get it!
Bad news, guys. I just got an email from fotobella.com. They told me they did not have the battery in stock and they were refunding my money. I called craftwell and they told me it wouldn't be available until sometime next year! Her only explanation was that they were still "working on it" so I guess we'll just have to wait.
Sorry for your disappointment RoxysMom! I was surprised when you said you ordered it, because I would have expected to have seen some sort of announcement when it was available. Hopefully it will be sooner than later for you! I hope you have a great time at your retreat and can find an outlet without a problem!
I'm new at the e craft. do you have to have the sd card in order for the computer and e craft to work together?
Margarita,
If you want to use the designs off of the SD card then yes you do need the SD card. But if you are making your own designs then no you do not need the SD card.
TeamCraftwell
If I buy a secondhand eCraft will I be able to register it?
Angelaf,
Yes, you can still register it as you. We can reset your serial number for you. After you buy your eCraft contact Customer Service at CS@craftwellusa.com with your serial number, and they will reset it for you.
TeamCraftwell
i have tried everything to download the software for my ecraft without sucsess the instalation file does not come up also when i do try to download it says that the site is reported unsafe can anyone out there help i have sent emails but no one is answering me
nrmmllrd,
Try using this link instead to install the software:
http://register.ecraftcentral.com/UploadFile/eCraftShopPro-2.2.6-Setup.exe
If this is not successful, contact our tech support at ts@craftwellusa.com
Team Craftwell
How do you type a word vertically? I am not real great with computers. I have been playing with it and can't seem to find out how to do it.
Setting up and cutting a pre-printed template - This is a pure how-to question. I purchased an ecraft machine yesterday to replace my cricut that we use to cut out gift tags. I hate those cutting mats. But this time, we want to pre print the sheet and then feed it though the cutter.
So, after looking at everything, I'd like to cut out Image 10 Tag 5 Background but cut out multiple per sheet (no problem with that one).
However, I would like to run the sheet of paper through a color laser printer and print on it BEFORE cutting a sheet full of tags.
Does anyone have a template already created that I could use so I would know the positions of each tag before printing so that I could print the wording on page through the laser printer and then use the ecraft to cut out the pre printed tags?
If not, any clues on how I would go about this task?
Thanks....
Hi DessertGuru,
eCraftshop Pro is not set up to do this, but here is a method that works with MTC.
http://purplepaperparadise.blogspot.com/2011/05/print-cut-with-ecraft-hi...
Also, here is the SCAL version for this.
http://purplepaperparadise.blogspot.com/2011/11/scal-3-video-for-ecraft-...
Hope that helps!
Could someone please tell me why the Multi select button is not on the ecraft pro software or is there something wrong when I down loaded the updates I was trying to weld some letters together but the multi select seems to be gone
Thank you
Maria
Hi Denise
Thank you for your prompt reply
When I first got my Ecraft it had a multiSelect in the program and I was able to weld letters
and it is also in the manual. They must have taken it out when they upgraded the software.
Hope they put it back in
Maria
Hi Maria,
In the most recent versions of the software the multi-select button was eliminated in favor of a much more efficient way of selecting items. If you click on the arrow icon on the left hand side toolbar and then you click and drag a box around the items on the mat. So much easier!
Hi Denise
Thank you for your great help, I can now finish my xmas cards. I am still learning to use my ecraft to its full potential, just wish I didnt like doing so may different crafts.
Thank you again
Maria
Stick with it Maria, you will get there and then you will see that the eCraft can help you with all of your crafting endeavors!
Hello, I downloaded the new software ecraft. would have to change the program's internal e-craft?
I have seen that there is the manual version 2.2 and this manual the reader screen is different and gives more options.
I must do to update the version of e-craft?n i have the version 1.1
thanks
Gemma from Barcelona
Just downloaded the eCraftShop Pro version 2.2.6 with my brand new ecraft.
Was learning via the tutorials today and for the life of me can't find the 'weld' or 'preview' button anywhere that they are showing in the tutorial for the octagon card...is this the latest version of the software or does it need any upgrades??Pls help someone.....
to weld - type the word or letters, once you have them moved into place....Click the Select tool, and then use your mouse to highlight the objects you want to connect. Then select Path>Union from the tool bar, your letters should now overlap.
Thanks a lot LisaS....i can weld easily now.....still unable to select using arrow but the select all option helped....but there is no preview before cutting is there??
Purplepaperparadise.com is a very big help for all beginners...thanks a ton Denise
Hi Denise Once again thank you for your help. I did what you said with the arrow button but I was hoping it would meld the letters together but it just cut the whole word but separate letters. Can this still be done or am I still doing something wrong. (Original question #81)
I grab each of the letters and move them until they are slightly over-lapping each other, then click the arrow button, click the screen and while keeping the mouse button pressed, drag your mouse. You will see that a box forms on the screen - make sure all the letters are in the box - then 'path' (at the top of the screen) and 'union', this will 'weld' them :)
I hope this helps...learning new software can be a pain in the tush, but you'll be whizzing around the program in no time!
Jen
Hi mcm52, after you have selected all the letters, go to the Path menu and select Union.
i have been trying to activate me ecraft but it just keeps saying add correctly which i am doing i dont know what else to do can anyone help me
Hi nrmmllrd,
Sometimes the letter O can be mistaken for the number 0. If that isn't the case with you, call customer support and they can assist you. Craftwell has great customer support, so you are in good hands!
still trying to weld. On the videos there is a weld button on the tool bar, but I don't seem to have one, do I need to download advanced software, and where do I get it?
Sorry, just read one of the other comments on welding and can do it now, hurrah, always was a slow learner.
No problem Mealy! Glad you figured it out!
I am having also troube in selecting 2 elements, to then do to path...
How do I select 2 objects?
And how do I preview?!
Click on the arrow (top, left of the virtual mat), then click on the virtual mat and drag around the objects you're trying to select.
There is no preview...yet, but may be part of a future update :)
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