Whats up with S3D ?

[bvandiepenbos]

I have S3D
have not used it much, but seems ok?
their site has not been updated in a long time, same old content.
Forum is not very active (at least from the developers responses) people sure do post many good suggestions that they should take heed if they want to be the best.

not impressed for $140 and no trial version.

they better get with it... Repetier + Slic3r is getting better as of late.

[Toyguy]

I decided to take a chance on this and just bought a license today. Haven't had any chance to look at it yet though. You're right though, the Development presence on the Forum is really lacking - hopefully that's not a precursor to a silent death like KISSslicer. That said, the community seems reasonably active and at least there have been some updates and patches. Time will tell - I've blown more than $140 on other things that didn't pan out so I'm not too worried about the cost. I'd just like to see a really nice, consistent, all-in-one solution.

[jmpreuss]

You're right though, the Development presence on the Forum is really lacking - hopefully that's not a precursor to a silent death like KISSslicer.

From his support forum top sticky post

"READ THIS FIRST BEFORE POSTING - How to contact support

Postby Simplify3D » Sun Aug 04, 2013 6:33 am
If you need to get in touch with our customer support staff, please email us directly at [email protected]. We will be able to assist you much faster using this method. Please avoid posting the same question in multiple locations (i.e. in an email, a forum post, etc). Emailing us directly is the best way to get in touch.

If you are a new user, please be sure to read the Quick Start Guide included with the software (which you can find at any time by going to Help > Quick Start Guide from within the application). Many common questions are answered in this document. We also offer several illustrated setup guides for different classes of 3D printers which you can find on our support page (http://www.simplify3d.com/support/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;).

Finally, we are constantly updating the software to add new features and improvements over the previous revisions. You can go to Help > Check for Updates from within the application to make sure you are using the latest version of the program."

He seems to prefer that people contact him directly. Of course it would benefit him to have answers publicly available so that he doesn't get the same questions over and over again but to each their own.

I do know the product is definitely under active development, there was an update just a few weeks ago and a major version update not much before that that was a dramatic improvement.

[frankjoke]

I bought it and returned it because I could not get any print working for my printer.

The printer was listed as working but there were no config nor hint how to tweak settings for it.

I got money back (and complained as well that I will get back only if test is available).

[daftscience]

A while back I had emailed them and they sent me a link to a 30 day trial version. I didn't use the trial version much because I got busy and couldn't figure it out. Anyways, I went ahead and bought it a few weeks ago. It's pricey, and different than what I'm used to...but the "Define you're own support" feature is a HUGE plus.

[bubbasnow]

i need to call them about multimaterial prints... slic3r is kind of buggy when it comes to this.

[mhackney]

bubbasnow, I emailed them, talked to the owner in multiple emails. Told him who I was (my 3D printed reel had just appeared on 3D Industry News where I was described as an "innovative designer"). I pointed him to my build thread here (the largest # of visits of any thread on this forum). I told him precisely what I was hoping to do and that I would appreciate a trial license for 24 hours wherein I would make a quick purchase decision. No cigar. I pointed him to 12 threads on various forms (not theirs) where the discussion on Simplify3D was less than inspirational but I explained that I am willing to deal with some idiosyncrasies in a new product and offered to purchase under the condition that if the product was really not going to do anything for me I could get a refund. Again, no cigar. This guy (I think it is a 1 person company) just does not get it. He does not get the power of social media and the benefits derived by leveraging evangelists. The fact that he does not participate in his own forums is a big testament to his naiveté.

Since then, I've had two owners (one from this forum) slice some of my reel parts for me. I provided all of the parameters required to get a reasonable part. In both cases, the results were unusable as-is. I had to manually do a lot of post processing to get the part to even print. And then when it did, it had a seam line right down the side plate - the most visible part of the reel. This particular issue is inherent to Simplify3D and the way it lays out the shell layers. Could this be tweaked with advanced settings, I don't know but one of the users was experienced with Simplify3D and since I already seen the seam problem, I showed him photos and asked explicitly if he could eliminate that. But no luck. In fact, his part was a little more difficult to print because he had tried a fews "tricks" in Simplify3D.

That is a sample of 2 and not my direct usage of the software. But, neither test nor anything I've seen or read give me any indication that this product is ready for me. I don't require a lot of support options - I design those into objects I print EXPLICITLY so I have complete control over support. But, that said, there are many accounts of frustration with the support capabilities of Simplify3D not working as advertised.

By way of full disclosure, the situation with KISS going AWOL, Slic3r becoming basically unusable and Simplify3D have re-enforced my conviction that slicing is the weakest link in the software tool chain. I've known this for some time - almost everything I print has post-processing applied to it. In the CNC world, CAM is the equivalent to slicing. CAM applications are typically much more expensive than CAD and are really where the "magic" happens with regards to part quality, materials savings, and time savings. The personal 3D printing world is bumping into the limitations of the current slicing applications and no one (that I've seen) is doing anything significant to address it. So, I'm working with a team that has CAD and CAM experience (and high end stuff at that) to prototype and ultimately productize a unique approach to the "slicing problem" that I've been working on for about a year. The approach is powerful and intuitive and has some other very powerful features that I can't disclose yet. I've vetted the concept with several industry experts who all gave extremely positive feedback. We are quite a long ways from having anything available or to show so please do not ask. We are also investigating business models for the software that will serve the personal 3D desktop printing community while providing the all-important revenue necessary for us to build a business and continue to innovate and support the product (and a few others we have on the drawing table). As we've all observed, home users don't mind dropping $1000 on printer hardware but are not willing to purchase software to extract the best performance out of it, so the project may die on the vine. But, I am optimistic and encouraged that many others are experiencing the same challenges I am and would be willing to support a product that solves the problem elegantly and is not outrageously expensive. We also want to focus on the "CAM" part of the problem, not the host application or the firmware, etc. CAM apps in the machining world are typically free-standing or maybe integrated with the CAD applications and do not delve into machine control. We want to be the absolute best at this one gnarly part of the problem, not 2nd or 3rd best at everything! Please do not continue the discussion on this here in the Simplify3D topic, simply tuck this information into your brain and wait patiently until we're ready to share more!

cheers,
Michael

[daftscience]

I wonder when the trial stopped with simplify3d? I still have the email, but the link is dead.

At any rate. Don't get me wrong, I won't say that Simplify3d has blown me away. However, I think that seam can be removed by using random starting points (one checkbox.) As far as making supports go, it's better than any other slicer I've used, but I agree, I thought I would have a tad more control. I'm still learning how to use it and am hoping that they will still be providing updates.

At any rate, I really don't mind paying for the software, if the price is reasonable and it offers something new. But when it comes to anything non-makerbot the people buying 3d printers are more DIY and into the whole open source, open hardware scene it's going to be tougher to get them to pay when there are free alternatives.

Good luck with your project, I'm always going to keep my eyes out for better software because you are 100% right about it being the weakest link.

[McSlappy]

Mhackney.

If I assume what you are alluding to is what you are working on, then I'm very interested. I think there's a place in the market for a purchasable product that really works and offers the controls necessary for making your sliced products exceptional.

Yes most of the industry wont pay for a product at first, but once they move beyond basic shapes and parts I think that the 'slicing wall' will prompt them to upgrade. There are many parallels to this in every industry out there.
You could take S3D as a great example - their product doesn't seem to offer users users too much new in slicing options and has gotten a lot of mediocre reviews. Yet it's price tag is actually what makes people sit up and notice. They expect something amazing for $140, if they could deliver this, I don't think they'd have a problem selling it to anyone who uses their printer for producing products (there's dozens of people on this forum alone who would happily shell out $140 for it. Shit, I use 3DS max which costs more than that per month if you don't spend the $3k to buy it outright!). Sadly it seems they haven't hit the mark they were aiming for.

I guess what I'm saying is to keep going, accelerate it if you can - there's a vacuum in the market (just as you point out). Don't be afraid of charging for it - the cost will be worth every penny for the people it's aimed at, I'll be among the first to buy. A product that does something great and costs money becomes the benchmark for all others, it will drive the whole industry forward, you already seem to do this naturally anyway so just keep going. Kickstart it if you need to, it will go very well I guarantee.

[bubbasnow]

ur my hero Michael!