In my opinion, the circle test is one of the best ways to test a cutting machine's precision and capability when it comes to performing tight, intricate cuts. As some of you have experienced in the past, older Cricut cutting machines performed poorly when cutting small circles. Silhouette and Sizzix have done a very good job with this area and Cricut has finally joined them.
We had the Silhouette CAMEO, Sizzix eclips2 and the Cricut Explore cut circles with the following diameter (in inches) ; .05”, .1”, .15”, .25”, .5”, .75”, 1.25”, 2.5”, 5”. Download the test file by clicking here. (Size circles.svg file to 10.548 x 5.00). All machines were using brand new factory blades and mats, American Crafts cardstock (various colors, same weight) and manufacturer recommended speed and pressure settings.
Smallest Circle Results
The Sizzix eclips2 was able to cut a manageable .05" circle. And by manageable, I mean that it was shaped like a circle and not just a speck of paper. The circle also stayed together to allow transfer from the mat onto an Epson scanner. The image below is magnified and not actual size. We did this to show you the detail of the smallest circle we were able to cut based on the sizes above. Cricut Explore is shown in dark blue, Silhouette CAMEO in light blue and Sizzix eclips2 in magenta.
Circle Test Results
Circle Test Animation
Conclusion
When creating our SVG projects, Mary never uses circles smaller than .1" in diameter and when she does, they are primarily used as holes for brads or for stitching thread or twine. As far as the circle test goes, we're happy with the performance of all three machines!
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