Best 3D Printing Slicer: PrusaSlicer, Cura and More
Every 3D printer user needs a good slicer. We've tested them all, so you don't have to.
A lot of moving parts are involved in 3D printing. While having the best 3D printer is great, did you know specific software is also needed in order to make a 3D model ready for printing? These programs are called slicers, and they're essential for making your 3D printer, well, 3D print.
What is a slicer for 3D printing?
A 3D printer slicer is a key part of the printing process. See, a slicer is a piece of software for your PC or Mac that can convert a 3D model file -- normally with the file extension .STL, .3MF or .OBJ -- into a file that is usable by your 3D printer. A printer is essentially a sophisticated plotting machine that moves to certain coordinates told to it by the slicer in the programming language G-code. That's why slicer software is so important.
A slicer does exactly what it sounds like. It cuts a 3D model into small "sliced" layers that are printed individually but stacked on top of each other. A slicer is also responsible for:
How hot the printer should be
How fast the printer should go
Where to put the supports on the model
How much infill is required for the model
Where the print head should be at any given second
How much material to extrude in each layer
And many more settings that can be tweaked
Basically, everything that makes your printer useful is told to it by the slicer, so it's the most important piece of software you can own.
Now that we know what a slicer does, we can talk about which ones are the best to use. The best slicers will be determined by what kind of 3D printer you have and what you use it for. Resin printers often require different slicers to FDM machines, so this article will tell you which is which.
2023-06-08 00:51:16
