Free 3D Slicer Software for 3D Printing Windows, macOS, Linux What is the Slicer Software? Slicing Software is used in the 3D printing process for converting the 3D model to a specific instruction module which is understood by the printer (f or example, converting the STL file format to g-code format). Cura is considered as a user-friendly 3D slicer software. It was developed, hosted.
The Slic3r project has been under active and massive development. Make sure you get 1.3.0 now or try the development builds!
IdeaMaker slicing software was developed by the 3D printer manufacturer Raise3D. It was developed specifically for Raise3D 3D printers and is completely free. The slicer focuses on offering a user-friendly service: in as little as 4 clicks you can prepare your.STL,.OBJ and.3MF files to be printed. Here are the best 3D slicer software tools – most of them are free.So, what does a 3D slicer software do? A 3D slicer is a piece of software, running on a computer. It acts like an interpreter for your 3D printer. You feed it a 3D file, usually, that’s an STL, M3F or OBJ file (which describe coordinates in a three-dimensional grid). 3D printing slicing software controls every aspect of your 3D print. It translates 3D models into instructions your printer understands. Better instructions mean better prints, so a simple software upgrade makes all the difference in the world.
Free. For macOS, Windows and Linux.
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What is Slic3r?
Compatible with your printer too. RepRap (Prusa Mendel, MendelMax, Huxley, Tantillus..), Ultimaker, Makerbot, Lulzbot AO-100, TAZ, MakerGear M2, Rostock, Mach3, Bukobot and lots more. And even DLP printers.
Fast G-code generation is fast. Don't wait hours for slicing that detailed model. Slic3r is about 100x faster than Skeinforge. It also uses multithreading for parallel computation.
Lots of input/output formats. Slic3r reads STL, AMF and OBJ files while it can output G-code and SVG files.
Do you like the graphical interface or command line? All the features of the user-friendly interface are also available from command line. This allows to integrate Slic3r in your custom toolchain and batch operations as you like.
Open source, open development. Slic3r is open source software, licenced under the AGPLv3 license. The development is centered on GitHub and the #slic3r IRC channel on FreeNode, where the community is highly involved in testing and providing ideas and feedback.
Dependencies? Nah. Slic3r is super-easy to run: download, double click and enjoy. No dependencies needed. Hassle-free. For MacOS X, Windows, Linux.
Print with dual multiple extruders. Print beautiful colored objects, or use your secondary extruder to build support material. Or put a larger nozzle on it and print a faster infill.
Use brim for the best adhesion. This unique feature improves built plate adhesion by generating a base flange around your objects that you can easily remove after printing.
Microlayering: save time, increase accuracy. You can choose to print a thicker infill to benefit from low layer heights on perimeters and still keep your print time within a reasonable amount.
Compose a plate but print one object at time. Use the built-in plating interface that allows to place objects with drag-and-drop, rotate and scale them, arrange everything as you like. The sequential printing feature allows to print one complete object at time in a single print job.
Cool cooling strategies. A very smart cooling logic will regulate your fan speed and print speed to ensure each layer has enough time to cool down before next one is laid on it.
Manage multiple printers, filaments and build styles. The configuration handling system was designed for people working with multiple machines and filaments: you can save configurations as presets for each category avoiding to multiply your saved configurations.
Enjoy support material. Automatic generation of support material for overhangs.
Distinct print settings can be set for individual parts
by blddk (Slic3r 0.9.8)
Wood + ABS: dual material print by jebba (LulzBot)
Printed with 0.9.8 by starno (model by Yvo Waldmeier, CC-NC-SA)
Dual-color print
Top 16 Free 3D Printer Software for Beginners in 2018
3D printing can help you create a three-dimensional object by computer and 3D printer. However, it may sound a little difficult for beginners to use 3D printers. This article will introduce 16 free 3D printer software to help beginners use their 3D printer much easily. Learn about: How to slice 3d STL file and 3d print Iron Man?
1. Ultimaker Cura - versatile 3D Printer Software
Ultimaker Cura 3D is a slicing software for 3D printers, it can create a 3D model and slice it into layers, as G-Code, which a 3D printer can understand. Path finder 7 1 – powerful award winning finder alternative. Cura 3D is easy to use and you just need 3 steps before printing. Create a model first and then export your 3D files as STL or OBJ formats, these files will be imported, sliced and outputted as G-Code so that the 3D printer can read and follow. You can also set quality, material, speed,cooling and infill in Cura by yourself. Cura 3D is a fully open source software and can be used with most 3D printers. It supports for Windows, Mac and Linux.
2. TinkerCAD - useful 3D Printer Software
Unlike Cura, TinkerCAD is an online computer-aided design software for 3D printing. You can directly access the browser-based app after creating an account on its website. TinkerCAD offers pre-defined shapes and geometric structures, so you can create your models just by dragging and dropping the box to the WorkPlane and adjusting the length, height and width. TinkerCAD is an easy tool for beginners to start up 3D printing.
3. 123D Catch - easy-to-use Free 3D Printer Software
The 123D Catch APP can be used in your smartphones (both iOS and Android operating system), which means that you take photos within your phone and the 123D Catch can turn your photography into a 3D model. This is much convenient and funny for beginners to learn 3D printing. What’s more, you can transfer your photos from digital camera to 123D Catch on your computer and print them out a high-quality product.
4. 3D Slash - 3D printer software for free
3D Slash is much different from other 3D printing softwares, it is also a logo and a 3D text maker. It means that you can turn your logo into a 3D model or import your text to export 3D text. 3D Slash is easy to use and suitable for people of all ages, you can design a 3D model by using a simple building-block concept, which just like a modern stone-cutter. As its user-friendly experience, 3D Slash is a wonderful software to get you started with 3D printing.
5. 3D Tin - Good-to-use 3d printer
3D Tin is an online 3D printing software like TinkerCAD, which is intuitive and easy-to -use. All you need is a Firefox or Chrome web browser enabled with WebGL. It’s a perfect 3D printing software for beginners. What you should do is choosing 3D templates on the Internet and adding them to your sketch, which will be stored in the cloud and freely accessible, and can be out-printed in STL and OBJ file formats.
6. SketchUp - 3d modeler
SketchUp is an ideal 3D printing software to design complex 3D print models for beginners with a user-friendly interface and relatively flat learning curve. 3D Warehouse of SketchUp is a huge library of 3D templates which is uploaded by users. You can choose one and add it on your SketchUp, which is the easiest way to print a 3D object. What&rsquo's more, SketchUp provides free tutorials which can help you develop into an intermediate or advanced engineer form a beginner.
7. FreeCAD - 3d slicer software
FreeCAD is a free and open-source general-purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler and a building information modeling software which is supported by FEM (finite-element-method). This program can be used interactively and its functionality can be accessed and extended using the Python programming language. FreeCAD is a great starting point for mechanical engineers who are new to the 3D modeling world.
8. CraftWare - 3d printing cad software
CraftWare is a 3D printer slicer software which is developed by CraftUnique to support its CraftBot 3D printer. And it can be used for many other 3D printers that accept G-Code. CraftWare is fast and easy-to-use, it allows users to see printing process layer by layer from any angle and modify or delete any places before printing. A clean and simple user interface, as well as big and colorful buttons on the left side, make CraftWare one of the most user-friendly 3D printing software.
9. Sculptris - 3d printer software
Sculptris is a virtual sculpting 3D printing software with a core emphasis on the concept of modeling clay. It comes to be free and easy-to-use, which provides excellent rudiments for people who want to start up the world of 3D sculpting. If you want to print statuettes such as comic characters, Sculptris is a fantastic choice for you. It&rsquo's often described as the most powerful, flexible 3D modeling software in the industrial or professional sector.
10. Blender - 3d modeler
Blender is an open source and free 3D printing computer-aided design (CAD) software. It&rsquo's an ideal software for skilled users who want to create more sophisticated 3D modeling such as contour modeling and polygon modeling. Blender is very popular among media workers and artists for creating animated films, visual effects, art, interactive 3D applications and video games. Blender gives its users enormous design freedom with nearly innumerable tools. But it isn’t a good choice for 3D printing beginners.
11. Meshmixer - free 3d printing software
Meshmixer is a free 3D editing, fixing, and sculpting tool. Its great points are viewing, checking, editing AND repairing STL files as well as spotting potential problems and automatically repairing them. Meshmixer allows users who want to create organic designs like people, animals and creatures to sculpt digitally and mash different 3D models together.
12. OpenSCAD - 3d printing cad software
OpenSCAD is a free software for creating solid 3D CAD models. Unlike Blender, it focuses on CAD aspects rather than artistic aspects in 3D modeling. It might be a good choice for you if you want to code your CAD models for it uses a programming language to create 3D objects. Therefore, it gives designer full control over the modeling process and enables designers to easily change any step in the modeling process. OpenCAD is available for Linux/UNIX, Windows and Mac OSX.
13. AutoCAD - 3d slicer software
AutoCAD, a software for 2D and 3D CAD, was developed by AutoDesk and first released in December 1982 as a desktop app running on microcomputers. Up to now, it has been used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers, graphic designers, and many other professionals. AutoCAD supports a large number of APIs for customization and automation such as AutoLISP, Visual LISP, VBA and ObjectARX.
14. ViewSTL - 3d slicer software
The view is an online and open source way to view Stereo Lithography Files as shaded on-screen images. It is the easiest way to preview STL files. What users need is just open the web page and drag their STL files onto the dotted field. The online STL viewer allows you to display a model in one of three views: flat shading (for quick viewing), smooth shading (to get a high-quality display), or wireframe. It is a perfect 3D printing software for beginners who want to view STL files.
3d Printer Free Slicing Software
15. Netfabb Basic - 3d printing software for free
Free 3d Slicing Software
Netfabb Basic is a 3D printer slicer software with some nice features, for example, you can analyze, repair and edit STL files before you get to the slicing stage. It is a good choice if you need something more than just slicer software and you want to repair STL files quickly without having to learn to use additional tools like Meshmixer or MeshLab. Netfabb Basic provides a 30-day trial version. When the trial expires, the software will continue to run with the same functionality.
16. SelfCAD - Online 3D Modeling and Slicing Software
SelfCAD offers an easy to use platform that allows one to sculpt, slice and print 3D models all in one program, hence you don't need to launch multiple programs in order to work on your models. It's easier to learn hence ideal for users who are inexperienced like students. In addition, this software has a built-in slicer, so you can prepare your model for 3D printing without needing any additional software which can be hard to handle if you are in a classroom or workshop. SelfCAD is free of for the educators and students and for the general users, they have a one month trial period and later pay $4.99/m.
Conclusion
Best Free 3d Printer Slicing Software
All of the 16 3D printing software are free and friendly to beginners. But the big problem is that quite a lot of 3D printers are not compatible with them. It may take you a long time to select a 3D printing software to correspond with your 3D printer. Dobot Magician is an excellent 3D printer which supports all of the above software and saves you a lot of trouble.