Opinions on software, please...

[GPriv]

I have yet to dive into software and honestly I'm a bit wary.

I know from experience that whichever I start with I'll probably live with forever. So... suggestions please!

I will be designing parts for an e-bike project. They aren't small and intricate, but are specific with measurements. Different pieces will be mated post-print. Also, at least two will have multiple contours for mounting switches and latches, etc.

I will print only in ABS (and I have the Rostock MAX v2), if that would matter, and I'm a PC person.

What say you...?

Big Thanx!

G

[BONE]

I'm using the Repetier software in the instructions. It was both slic3r and Cura in it. I'm prefering Cura at the moment, but it looks like there are pros and cons to both. I'm wondering what else is out there at the moment for Delta's also.

Also, figure out how to print off the SD card right off the bat. If you run off the computer and it hicups, your print will hicup also. Turns out SD cards are more stable during printing.

[GPriv]

Ah... good tip with the SD card! Why have the 'puter running during printing!

Check this out: http://www.matterhackers.com/downloads" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I purchased "TripleDees" (I felt I had to name it since it called out for similar in the instructions) through this company.

[BONE]

Diggin the "TripleDee" name. Mine is the "BONE ZONE"

I'm liking the MatterControl Auto level feature. There is not a lot of info on it on the website that is useful. I'd be curious to see how it works on the MAX v2. I'll have to give it a try in the future, but I'm going to leave mine alone for the time being, since it's running pretty good and I probably still have some things to learn. I'll probably down load it and give a looksy in the mean time.

[Captain Starfish]

You'll find that, regardless of which program you use, you will encounter issues on some prints and the advice here will be "try another slicer".

So find the host program that you like. I prefer MatterControl. It's still a little buggy (in fairness I haven't found one that isn't) but the guys at MatterHackers are very responsive to bug reports and so on, the user interface is slick and once you get your head around the way they do profiles it's all very easy to use.

Then decide whether you want to use the host program or SD card normally. I prefer a host connection - it saves the time of uploading the file which can be considerable if you do it via the USB connection, and it allows instant cancel and easy control/monitoring and restarting of jobs. As already mentioned, the auto-levelling feature on MatterControl is pretty schwinnnng and for it alone (ignoring the other nice-to-haves) I prefer using it over Repetier.

Then decide on your slicer for the job. My go-to is MatterSlice, for simple prints it makes very smooth and fast prints which come out clean and I like that. It lacks the tweakability of Slic3r, and I'll go back to Slic3r occasionally if the job demands it. But Slic3r is killer for newbs with way too many settings and tweaks, it's slow as hell to generate the gcode, and the gcode it generates makes the hot end dance around the job like a spider on PCP. I haven't had a lot of joy out of Cura or Kissslicer but others here swear by them. There are others, but I haven't had the inclination to shell out cash for anything when the free tools do a fairly decent job.

It is worth gathering a small set of test STLs from thingiverse or repables and running them through each of the slicers. MatterControl now has a very nice layer preview which shows paths, speed, extrudate thickness, gotos etc so you can get a good idea of what the job's going to do before you warm the printer up. Do go through that exercise to get a feel for what each of the slicers is like.

Importantly, get into the mindset that it's perfectly normal to import STL into a standalone slicer program, save the GCode, import that GCode into the host control program and run the print. There is nothing mysterious or difficult about doing that compared to limiting yourself to the slicers included with the host control program and you usually gain access to a lot more fine tunability doing it this way.

[GPriv]

Thanx for your time writing all that. It all makes sense...except that I have to still wrap my head around the terms and what it all means in the veritable vs. virtual reality. Though extremely proficient at mechanics (and just about everything mechanical) and certainly know my way around a 'puter (Windows) all this stuff is just a tad over the center wall for me. I'll get it, but have to devote reading and doing time.
Honestly, I can't wait to get it all. I have a very exciting project that requires the 3D.
Again, thanx.

[BONE]

Starfish,
Great write up, thank you.

I going to meet up with someone tomorrow who has Simplify3D. You have to pay for it, but it might be worth it. I still need to try Matter Control, and that sounds promising also. I'll try MatterControl first since it's free. Til tomorrow.

[GPriv]

Cool beans.

[geneb]

The auto-level feature in MatterControl isn't for delta configuration printers.

g.

[BONE]

The auto-level feature in MatterControl isn't for delta configuration printers.

g.

To bad, I wish that was stated more clearly on their website.

[RegB]

I think the OP has need of PARTS DESIGN software, but our replies have been about 3D printer driving and slicing software - which are necessary, but useless if you don't have any parts to put through them (-:

So, AutoCAD, SoftWorks, SoftEdge - - are kinda/sorta "free" if you can get your designs done within the trial period (-:
Low'ish cost if you qualify as a Student, or perhaps as an "educator".

Blender is free, but not an IDEAL parts design tool, i.e. it CAN be done.
This fellow figured out how;
http://rab3d.com/tut_blender.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

GeneB likes DesignSpark.
I haven't tried it yet, but I probably will because Gene seems to know about such things (-:
{Seriously, I do respect Gene's opinion}

[Captain Starfish]

The auto-level feature in MatterControl isn't for delta configuration printers.

g.

The auto-level feature in the Repetier firmware isn't for delta printers.

But I'm pretty sure I've gone through the bed level config in MatterControl and could have sworn it made a difference. And if it ain't for deltas, why is it asking me to run calibration drops at about a third of the way to the centre from each of the three towers?

[geneb]

They may have updated it - but keep in mind that auto-level is NOT the same as auto-radius, and auto-radius is the goal with a Delta, not auto-level.

IMO, DesignSpark is (so far) the best no-cost design tool. There's been some talk about Cubify Design on a mailing list I'm on and nobody's yelling bad things about it. I think it's around $150. I used to be a big Inventor user until I got a taste of SolidWorks. I haven't looked back.

g.

[GPriv]

They may have updated it - but keep in mind that auto-level is NOT the same as auto-radius, and auto-radius is the goal with a Delta, not auto-level.

IMO, DesignSpark is (so far) the best no-cost design tool. There's been some talk about Cubify Design on a mailing list I'm on and nobody's yelling bad things about it. I think it's around $150. I used to be a big Inventor user until I got a taste of SolidWorks. I haven't looked back.

g.

Let me understand this correctly: for no cost, you go with DesignSpark; if you're going to open your wallet it's Solid Works hands down. Yes?

[RegB]

Not so much "If you are going to OPEN your wallet" (for SolidWorks) as "If you are willing to SACRIFICE a large portion of your discretionary spending for a SIGNIFICANT period of time".

SW ain't easily hidden in the domestic budgets of most of us, not even in the beer budget.

[teoman]

Indeed.

It costs an arm, a leg and your firstborn.

(4k usd for the software and 1250 annual for support). 150 usd for students.

[GPriv]

Well....I'm a student of life! Does that count????

(seriously, only $150 clams if you're a student?? I could go to the local junior college and solicit someone for $50 to buy it for me!)

[Captain Starfish]

Gene - absolutely. This is only setting the orientation of the plane, nothing to do with spherical correction. I find, though, that it's a hell of a lot easier and quicker to do this than go through the iterative process with end stop screws etc every time I swap the bed glass or nozzle.

GPriv - I used to be one of those guys who tried to claw back every tax dollar I could and then a few more. My accountant got sick of my enthusiasm at one point and said "If you're going to lie, just lie. No crazy work arounds that they'll see through in ten seconds, it's an absolute waste of your time". RE SolidWorks: same. If you're going to get a student to buy it, just download a pirate copy because the effect is just the same: you're using a copy of the software in violation of their licence T&Cs.

Back to the choice, though: I've used AutoCAD for years. Dabbled with Inventor but never got my head around it. It's only in my latest job where a colleague is using Creo that the concept of parameter based modelling is finally starting to click. And FreeCAD seems a halfway decent, open source, free tool for exploring that. I'm going to give my next couple of models a go in that and see how I get on. Because solid modelling in AutoCAD really does bite the big one.

[GPriv]

I was actually kidding, and imagining myself in a trench coat and black-rimmed Ray-bans: "hey kid. wanna make 50 clams?"

[Polygonhell]

If you have or can get a student ID, Solidworks is well worth it.
Outside of that I thought whatever Alibre is calling it's hobbyist solution these days isn't bad.
I'm not a big fan of direct cad solutions, I find making small dimensional adjustment hideously painful in comparison the parametric packages, maybe if I learned to measure better it would be less of an issue.

[GPriv]

I'm not a big fan of direct cad solutions, I find making small dimensional adjustment hideously painful in comparison the parametric packages, maybe if I learned to measure better it would be less of an issue.

Sorry to say: I have no idea what this means. I'm a total newby to all this. I have yet to even open (or download) a program to "test the waters".

[Polygonhell]

I'm not a big fan of direct cad solutions, I find making small dimensional adjustment hideously painful in comparison the parametric packages, maybe if I learned to measure better it would be less of an issue.

Sorry to say: I have no idea what this means. I'm a total newby to all this. I have yet to even open (or download) a program to "test the waters".

In parametric CAD you specify contraints on dimensions to position things, so I might specify that 2 holes are 100mm apart, on the same line and symetric about some construction line.

In direct CAD you generally model by dragging stuff around and specifying relative positions often with constraints, but the constraints don't tend to remain part of the build history.

In parametric cad ideally though not always the model is entirely constrained, and if I change one of those constraints everything should update to reflect it, i.e. if I decide the holes should have been 110mm apart, they are still meet all the other constraints.

They require very different ways to think about modeling, I just prefer parametric, there are plenty of other people who feel direct cad is the only way to go.

[Captain Starfish]

I was actually kidding, and imagining myself in a trench coat and black-rimmed Ray-bans: "hey kid. wanna make 50 clams?"

Lol, it's a pretty picture

[Holy1]

I have used Cubify Design since January and have not looked back. It is 199. Usd . No license or subscriptions. Cubify.com
Really easy to use and learn. Start with some tutorials and go from there. It has a 2week free demo period.

[RegB]

I have family members with student IDs who are in grades that should qualify (-:

As parents and/or grand parents doing some amount of home tutoring one would think that a student/educational license would be "appropriate" for the parents/grand_parents too (-:

Get the next generation sucked into math/sciences/engineering instead of letting them go to <fill in the blank>

I see it as an opportunity for the software vendors to grab market share in the mid term by grabbing (what we used to call) mind-share in the short term.

pirate copies on flea bay ?
Used for a while and found to be lacking/too hard to learn/or commercial copy and project(s) all finished ?
Is the license transferable ?