I have a couple of CNC cutting machines.  One is a Cricut.  The other
is a larger commercial machine that I have had for a while.  Both
work pretty well but I want to advise against the Cricut for several
reasons, but I'll offer a solution for those who do want to work with
one.

My larger machine works with a control program called "Sure Cuts A Lot"
which is pretty much the standard for home users and with more advanced
versions for commercial users.  I'm sure there are other ways to
control the machines but Sure cuts is what I have the most experience
with.

The machines use a swivel knife so a control program needs to take that
into account.  It is possible to use g-code and to add suitable offsets
with a post processor program but that is more than the average person
wants to deal with.

So, what is wrong with the Cricut?  The manufacturer attempts to force
the user to buy expensive cartridges with cutting patterns and makes it
quite difficult to cut using vector graphics which is what the
commercial machines use.  They really do not want you to create your
own images and not pay them for their stupid little cartridges.

However there is an old version of "Sure Cuts A Lot 2" that will connect
to a limited number of Cricut machines (expression, personal, create
and cake) and allow you to cut anything.  I don't know what the options
are for newer machines.  You also have to downgrade the firmware to a
version compatible with "Sure Cuts".

Cricut made it a point to update the firmware to make it incompatible
with "Sure Cuts".  To do this you need to get an old version of Cricut's
creativity software which is basically garbage but it is the only way
to downgrade the firmware without serious hacking.

I am not sure but I sort of remember that some of the software will not
work on a Windows 10 computer.  I have an old Windows XP machine that
I use to run the Cricut which I have done only a few times.  The machine
works quite well for the vinyl I have cut as long as the knife is sharp
and various settings are made right.

There is a choice of two different cutter angles and one might work
better for thick paper.  You can also control speed of cutting and
cutting depth and pressure so it should be possible to get good
results.

There is one other annoyance of the Cricut machines and this might make
cutting paper difficult or at least not an easy difficult for more than
just a couple of pieces.  My larger machine has a diamond grit coated
feed roller and a few adjustable idler wheels that can be positioned to
allow accurate feeding of a wide variety of materials.

The Cricut uses a "reusable" medium-tack carrier sheet.  It is difficult
to get this to work reliably and the sheet needs to be replaced
regularly.  Some [people find it is best to just use a sheet of plastic
of a similar weight and to tape the material to be cut at the edges.

If you find a cheap machine at a thrift store, etc, be aware that the
machine will not run without a loaded font cartridge.  Even if you
don't want to use the images on a font, there has to be one installed
or the machine will not pass the boot test.  So if you are missing the
cartridge you will have to buy at least one.

If anyone still wants to try cutting gaskets with a Cricut I will share
the software I have and the details as to how to get it to work but it
might not be possible to register one of the programs so it might be
necessary to get an old trial version to be able to do the firmware
downgrade.  I think I can still find the link for this.  I bought the
legit full program at a thrift store for $5 but it might not be
possible to use it on other computers.

If you already have a Cricut or can buy one really cheap it might be
worth spending some time getting it to work.  It took me about 3 hours
of online research and fiddling to get my "Personal" to work.  If you
want to reliably cut paper vinyl, et cetera, I highly recommend a
better machine.

At one point Cricut did make a machine that allowed direct computer
control but I do not know the details nor if it is still being made.
Even if they do make such a machine today, I think a much better
machine and value would be had elsewhere.

Spencer Chase