With the features that are available on Cura and Slic3r today, I would be hard-pressed to hand over $150 to gain access to Simplif圓D. At the time, Simplif圓D was leaps and bounds ahead of all the freeware, and I honestly have not looked back since making the switch until I started writing this post. The clean user interface and rich features far outweighed the license fee. ![]() Back in 2015, when I started taking 3D printing seriously (maybe a little too seriously), I switched from Slic3r to Simplif圓D. The three biggest Slicers currently available are Simplif圓D, Cura, and Slic3r, with the last two being free. When you are building a 3D, you will have to choose a slicer that will work best with your 3D printer design. The Slicer of choice for most people is whatever was recommended with the 3D printer that they bought or whatever was on the computer at their local makerspace. If you have had any previous experience with 3D printing, then I expect you already knew the role of the Slicer. I don’t have the space or technical know-how to fully explain, this numerical control programming language, but basically, G code consists mostly of coordinates that the printer’s microcontroller uses to know where and when to extrude filament. The program then converts these slicers or layers into G code. The Slicer cuts up 3D objects from CAD programs into slices that approximate the original part. Perhaps you have already deduced where “Slicer” comes from. Higher resolution prints can be achieved by decreasing the layer height, which allows the original object to be divided into a higher number of layers, retaining more detail. Printed objects are approximated by stacking 2D layers that have a set thickness known as the layer height (Figure 1). Fused filament fabrication and almost all other 3D printing technologies utilize a layer-by-layer approach. ![]() If we take a closer look at how a 3D printer works we can understand why these programs are called Slicers. ![]() There are a couple of intermediate steps that are handled by a program known as a Slicer. A 3D model that was created on a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program, like Fusion 360 or Solidworks, cannot be sent directly to your 3D printer.
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