PrusaSlicer 2.6 might change how we work with 3D files (and you can use it with any 3D printer)!
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- Опубліковано 31 тра 2024
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Read the article to this video here: toms3d.org/2023/02/24/prusa-s...
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Skull holder for glasses by 3D in Plastic printables.com/model/358815
Rugged Box (Parameterized) by Whity www.printables.com/model/2584...
Spider-Man/Peter Parker by Eastman www.printables.com/model/3669...
Filament is all Prusament PLA go.toms3d.org/Prusament
Printed on the MK3 go.toms3d.org/Prusa
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Prusa team: You might want to look at the woodworking industry for different ways to join parts using the Cut Tool. There's dowels (the round parts in the video), biscuits, dovetail, etc. With printing these parts you can do more geometric designs like +, octagon, H, etc.
This is a great point. I have been using Japanese traditional joinery in some of my parts. Many of the methods are mechanically strong while also giving a lot of area for glue surfaces. The ability to have those joints automatically generate could be a gamechanger.
I’ve been watching Japanese carpentry for exactly these reasons… having them integrated into Prusa slicer would be amazing…
The slicer thus far has not let you add a block 45 it on one side to reach into a part then run support off the top of it. Program will literally ignore it and run supports through it.
Go even further and use something like a space filling curve to split the part so there is insane amounts of surface area when slid together.
LuBan has had this as a feature of their application design for slicing up large object into manageable parts. I’m glad to see Prusa adding this feature. A couple I would like to see has to do with their resin slicing in PS. Support for more than Prusa machines. Also a hole tool that would core out the hole and optionally slice a model of the subtracted core that could be printed as well. Not just a geometric core to use as a plug but also comprised of the actual surface texture that was cut out. So the plug could be glued back in place leave the model surface almost untouched.
That cut and pin feature is a gamechanger! I have a small print bed and having to modify big STLs externally is frustrating, very nice to have it integrated into the slicer!
Yes, it’s so unbelievably helpful. Gonna be much easier to print a lot of things now.
That last observation about features in Slicer or CAD tool - ideally (and of course nothing is ever this simple) it's good to have features in the slicer that focus on the specific printing technology in use (FDM in this case). Then as mentioned, the CAD design itself can be focused on the object design, less on the manufacturing constraints - so one CAD model would (ultimately) be used in different manufacturing technologies (FDM, SLA, and beyond printing) with manufacturing-specific tweaks managed by the printing tool. Same extends to assembly - that cut-n-peg feature makes sense to get around FDM limitations, but would be different for SLA resin and different again for (e.g.) SLS powder.
The moment PrusaSlicer started supporting STP files I never created another STL from a CAD model. I also really love the new automatic pins thingy
Cura supports the file formats of a lot of the major cad programs, NX, inventor, solidworks. By far my favourite functionality of cura to be able to import the native inventor files
@@fritzwalter1112 HOLD UP REALLY????????????? Man I've been exporting my CATIA files as stl's for printing since forever. thanks for letting me know, I didn't keep up with that new feature
@@Defeshh I don't think it's that new. Also since cura 5, at least the inventor plug in left the marketplace, so I have to use cura 4. I don't know if the catia, solidworks, NX, blender, freecad,.. Plug ins still work.
One thing they added that I haven't seen a lot of attention on is dynamic speed for overhangs. You can have speed k factors based upon the angle of the overhang which really does result in better print quality and even being able to skip support on some steeper angles without slowing down the entire print. I've enjoyed this feature in ideamaker for a long time and so glad to see it added.
Oh nice! I use height range modifier to slow down overhang print speed... , Which is troblesome and not efficient at all
SuperSlicer already had that feature for a while, tho.
@@mocotonio I was only stating that Prusaslicer has this feature now, and that I enjoy the feature. Also, Superslicer hasn't seen an update since September even though PrusaSlicer which Superslicer is based on has seen several updates. Merill doesn't get much help from others with code submissions on Superslicer. I honestly worry that the community will burn Merill out if they haven't already.
@@mocotonio sure but that's irrelevant to this tread/discussion. The focus is on new features added to Prusaslicer. Not talking about what other slicers have lol
@@shaowlnkngfu3803 My point is that he could be using SS this whole time if he wanted that feature, most people aren't aware of that and i was pointing it out.
10/10 on the new approach! Rapid Prototypin really shouldn't need a separate CAD file from your final design that you have manufactured.
This might not be necessary for hobbyists, but is definitely a godsend for anyone in prototyping
That cut and pin tool alone is making me consider swapping to PrusaSlicer from Cura. I still consider myself a massive 3D printing amateur, but being able to add pins or dowel holes to cosplay parts is a huge plus. Trying to align things by hand alone is always a headache.
That and the better support generation is plenty enough for me. Cura has overall been disappointing to me as a newbie especially when it comes to supports. Even though the new experimental tree support algorithm is good, I still find myself looking at the preview thinking "damn, I could've done this better on my own" and cura doesn't even have manual support painting for me to do that. All of these new features put prusa head and shoulders above cura in my humble newbie opinion
@@mtnentertainment3454 you can use a plugin to make manual supports in cura. They should implement that obviously
wow this cut tool (9:15) is awesome! Does anyone know if it also exists in cura? I am still rather new to 3D printing but like cura very much and would not like to switch for PrusaSlicer, even though it is a very good tool.
I like the direction they're headed, toward more complete "build prep software" that takes care of a lot more of the manufacturing specific tasks. With the improved geometry recognition/handling in 2.6, I could see a future version that, for instance, recognizes 4mm holes and lets you add a modifier to fit your M4 heat insert of choice, along with increasing the wall count around the hole. Also automatically date/rev stamping prints, etc. The improvements they've added to profile management (like template filaments separate from a specific printer profile) are a good direction for printing across different printer models more transparently.
I feel like that can already be done.
You can add a modifier to the object, set it to where it can be more walls or less added to that section.
@@ImageSC True, but it's a tedious process, manually create a cylindrical modifier volume, manually size and position it correctly, set modifier properties. It's worse for creating a negative volume to widen the hole for a heat insert, since there's no snap to center feature. Then repeat manually for every single hole. If you could bundle a custom volume modifier with a custom property modifier, and snap it to center on a hole in the model, you could apply this to 20 threaded holes in 30 seconds.
@@danlauber6493 most of the supported file formats only describe an object as a list of triangles or faces. They doesn't have the concept of a hole. That's interpreted by the slicer. I guess a STEP file could have the information from CAD that a hole is for an insert, but that's about it. I think it at least knows "it's a hole", and not just something that isn't "outside the model". For the other formats, the slicer has to analyze the heck out of the model to figure out if something looks like it's a circular hole, and then determine if it might be for an insert. That information simply isn't available from the file.
The thing is, every such feature needs to integrate on top of the core functionality, i.e. the slicer. With so many features added on top of it, implementing major changes to the slicer becomes increasingly hard. That can only lead to one of the two possible outcomes: either users adapt those features at a scale that justifies the trouble of maintaining the whole thing, or they're going to switch to whatever better slicer comes around next and just use existing tools to replace the missing secondary features.
There's a plugin for Cura that does the date/rev thing you mentioned, so i guess it's just a matter of time.
much box! And don't worry about CAD vs Slicer. I love all the new features, as I had to suffer through lots of CAD/workarounds for printability.
thumbs up for a PrusaCAD 😀
The measuring tool is exactly what I've been waiting for.
It's going to make it so much easier to scale R/C car bodies to suit an existing wheelbase.
I yelled out loud YESSSS when I saw that. So often I want to double check that some features turned out the right size and that wasn't really easy.
Do you by chance know if such a tool is available in cura? That's something a lot of people often need.
@@sireveman cura has had this as an extension in versions pre 3.0... literally years ago.. 95% of the time if Prusa has it new cura had it 2+ years before that..
@@EDC3DPnot always the case
The auto location pins on the cut tool is one of the most useful features yet. Glad they have introduce tree supports at last. Fast becoming my favorite slicer.
I hope they make a feature, that automatically avoids placing seams at thin features.
oh yes that would be great
I haven't had this problem before, but I use paint on seams when I want them somewhere specific. But its still an issue to get a straight line with your mouse.
They'll add it once cura does
I hope they make a feature that gets my XL to ship.
would love seem to be placed inside the infill tbh.
I can't wait to use the auto pin feature!!! I do that manually ALL THE TIME. 1/16" precision pins can be bought by the pound and work amazingly well. I think it's the best way to take a print needing tons of support into 2 or more prints needing no support at all. SO EXCITED!
I love this. Even though I can design however I need or want to. Anything to make the workflow faster is a win in my book.
I also love how this new "suite" of tools is making 3D printing more accessible to people just entering the market. It's a market that has continued to grow as printers become more accessible, and software like this become easier to use for beginners and more feature rich for people who have been in the game for a while so to speak.
Thank you all in the community: From the content creators (like you Mr. Sanladerer), to the creators and the people behind the scenes solving complex problems (and making it look easy) to make our lives just a little easier.
Let's all keep up the good work!
As a 3D printing newbie I appreciate all of the tools that were added. Most of the ways I want modify an existing STL is covered there and now I don’t have to muck around with something that is either too basic and does a part of what I need or too advance that I need to take courses to make it happen.
I think the features (and probably roadmap) is solidly aimed at people like me to make 3D printing much more accessible.
I'm an old school unix type who really values the design philosophy of small, simple tools that each do one thing well and which are easy to compose to solve a particular use case (think text pipeline filters ala grep, sed, awk, etc.). But even with that bias, I'm really keen on the idea of expanding PrusaSlicer into the CAD space, all the way if possible. I think the difference here is that there are benefits to having process information flow "backwards": I often find myself having to incorporate slicer process variables (recommended wall thickness for two perimeters, layer height, build volume dimensions, etc) into the CAD design phase. A concrete example would be explicitly modelled support which needs to know these things to leave the appropriate air gap, something essentially impossible if the slicer does variable layer height tricks. Also, the scope for improved UX with tight integration with Printables makes the sum of CAD + slicer more than the sum of its parts. Thirdly, I use (and love) Onshape for most of my CAD needs, but I'm fully aware that they can take away my toy at any time. Having a solid opensource option would be much better (yes, I know FreeCAD, no, it's not a real option). Even a very basic CAD incorporated into PrusaSlicer would likely nucleate the development of a solid cross platform opensource CAD, which gives me hope that it might be achievable (it's a much bigger project than in-house Prusa developers could reasonably hope to address on their own).
Why would FreeCAD not be a real option? The topological naming bug is being solved by realthunder
Btw it’s a real question, I’ve been getting into FreeCAD lately and I think it’s a largely underrated software.
Maybe the solution would be to make yet another fork to make the one integrated cad+slicer we’re dreaming about
Yeah, that's why every version if windows get bigger and slower. For prusa, they only need to focus on one feature and not need an entire code base rewrite vs freecad and topological naming. At some point prusa might get big and fat with features a printer might not use. Thus far at least it is all related to fdm printing. Processing an stl seems to be far less mathematical then a solid model in CAD. That means an opportunity to have some CAD features and still be lean and mean.
I literally just printed my first model and had to twist and juggle it to cut it into 4 parts. When I glued it together I realized I should have pins next time.
Now I see this…. 🤯
Going to download 2.6 this week and reprint the model again. A 36 hour re-print will be worth the reduced post-processing work I still have. 👏
That slicing tool is SUPERB for taking a big model and slicing it up into small chunks to print at massive scale, too!
I can see the questions about the text and cutting being a bit of a layer violation, but I can also see them as being reasonable as printer prep or dressing. When the cad is done, it may be intended for a larger printer, or for various sized printers, so it makes some sense to deal with that at the same time you determine appropriate temperature, orientation, and so forth.
The lettering may be regarded similarly to custom engraving.
I suppose it's an evolving field. CAD used to consider cutting threads as dressing until 3D printing came along where it's better to design them in.
PrusaCAD would be a really interesting direction to move in. Traditional CAD software has issues doing FEA and other more advanced analysis on printed parts, because it doesn't take in to account things like wall thickness, print orientation, and infill density. It would be awesome to see a CAD+slicer combo built from the ground up with these ideas in mind, and have optimisation to allow them to dynamically determine these parameters. Like, if you have a section of a part that your FEA determines will handle a lot of stress, then it can automatically slice your part with a higher infill density in that region.
I would honestly love this idea. I think all in all ultimaker cura would be able to do this MUCH better then Prusa. Considering cura handles 100:1 the amount of features plus plugins / extensions, a WORKING dual extrusion platform. But I think this is great. I spend literally 10's of thousands of dollars running solid works and STL's are still nearly impossible to edit. Having a slicer that doubles as a cad program with the focus on just 3d printing utility, would be a game changer. I would buy that software 7 -10 thousand dollars a year for solidworks I use solely for STL editing and creation I would jump in a heart beat!
It would be a great colab with something like Alibre. The only problems is I don't see it happening as open source as tons of programming would have to happen. I would pay up to a couple hundred dollars for it as a perpetual license or less if it is an add-on to it.
A decent open-source CAD is something we've all been waiting for regardless, as well as something more specifically designed around the 3D printing realm (rather than machining). But I don't know if that would be asking too much. Maybe someday they'll expand in this direction though. Perhaps tie-in with Blender, I hear they're trying to make some CAD functionality in that, and it's already well suited for more organic-looking parts - 3D printers are well suited for both traditional CAD angular bracket type stuff and more organic looking figures and such, an ideal 3D printer CAD would be capable of both.
@@quillmaurer6563 Could be interesting if they did. Blender-CAD, on paper one could imagine maybe a toggle to switch between traditional modeling and CAD modeling(my understanding is how Blender works a mesh and how say Fusion works a mesh is totally different), Even better would be for Blender and Prusa to work together as said with Tie-In with a simple "Export to PrusaSlicer".
Or in more open source angle "Export to Slicer", And any slicer that has taken on the Blender import code branch could do it.
I for one would welcome merging of CAD and slicer. Maybe you could preview the slicer output during design, or even manually design or modify the print head path, while designing a part?
Personally for some who doesnt use CAD, these new features are just awesome. Not everyone has time or skill to learn to model, but still enyojs printing these features are a game changer. Good job prusa slicer team, keep comming out with more features like this.
I am soo happy for this text generation tool!!! I am the 3D printing specialist in a tech startup, my job is basically to be middle man between engineering and production/RnD. That means that I have dozens of gcode to create and optimize. To make sure I can track the print quality changes of every slicer modifications I give a specific code to each Gcode engraved on the part. I often get 10 to 30 gcode iterations of the same exact STL soo going back in Fusion changing the engraving, exporting the file and switching up the .3mf projects is a very time consuming process and it honestly sucks haha. Being able to to this modification in 1 click saves me hours of boredom and thousands of dollars to the business.
PrusaCAD 🔥
That would be pretty awesome!!
Isn't the 360 fusion (personal use) almost that ?
@@MrDrake333 Only that autodesk has decades of experience
Shapr3d is screaming with advancement very quickly
@MrDrake333 nope, they have constraints on how much you can earn with itm
As someone who has had to make super-complex models in CAD (to the point where FreeCAD can't handle them, so I had to use Fusion360), then cut them apart, plot and cut pins, then figure out the optimum angles for printing so that the supports do not ruin features on the final printed piece, I am absolutely ECSTATIC about these new features. I have actually been putting off a couple projects because I simply didn't want to deal with the hours required to make them functional as prints (instead of milled from stock, which is its own headache). I can't believe how far the Prusa team has come in their slicer. I used to stick with KISSlicer for a long time, trading ease of use for precision, but Prusa Slicer beats it by several miles now.
I'm planning a trip to Eastern Europe in a few years, and I really need to make a stop by the Prusa HQ to simply give them all my thanks.
Hey Velocitasfortis, yes - I have been amazed by what good coding can do for 3D printing and hardware manufacturing in general. Stop by, I think the PrusaHQ here in central europe will welcome you!
The tree supports are such a life saver, not only for minimizing filament wastage, but also electricity consumption. Very nice video as always. Thanks Thomas :)
I think that a lot of these features really help when you need to 3D print a prototype or replica of a part not designed for 3D printing. This is also a massive aid to technicians and teachers at schools where kids have no idea how their CAD designs will translate into 3D printing.
On the other hand, it probably slices files normally and simply perfectly fine anyway so the new features are just there when you need them.
Thanks for the great video Tom, I’m definitely going to start using this! 🧡
Loving the new tools in 2.6. Just last night I broke the spanner wrench for my water filtration system. No worries, grab a similar file off the web, measure/rescale it and print. Sure I could have spent another half hour to hour drawing one, but way faster not reinventing the wheel. The cut and pin features are nice as well allowing me to draw larger objects without having to hassle with cutting it up and worrying if I placed the alignment pins correctly. No issues so far, just most efficiency with my time which allows me to get more done.
I'm seeing so many people frustrated with what they see as Prusa being left behind but honestly, we absolutely still need them. In the premium hobbyist space they are still unbeaten in terms of offering what I need - a well managed ecosystem of software and hardware, with a focus on reliable and repeatable printing and ease of use features. You might be able to get faster, or cheaper, elsewhere, but in terms of designing or downloading a model and being able to quickly get it set up for printing without so much as having to watch the first layer go down? I don't see another company that offers that as reliably as Prusa, even those building on some of Prusa's work.
At the end of the day, my printer might be working for longer on the print than some newer machines, but I am not working as long and I value my time over my printer's.
Thank you for (re)introducing me to Prusa Slicer. It has come a long way and 2.6 alpha is really an impressive package. I dare say this will be my new go-to slicer. Thanks again!
I think that the features that you are concerned about, are more about iterative development than they are about becoming a CAD system. There are 2 cases that I see:
1) While working on a new model it is not uncommon to want to make very simple changes while printing test prints, where you don't really want to make the changes in CAD and then export them, as there could be a huge number of small tweaks. This allows you to make certain types of small tweaks within the slicer and then only transfer the changes that work to CAD.
2) Models where you only have the STL (like from Printables) that you need to make very small changes to, it is much easier to make those changes in the slicer than it is to import the STL into CAD and making changes. This is probably the biggest use case, as there are way more people who just print things, than there are who design their own parts in CAD.
Only Prusa knows in which directions it will take the slicer, and I do have confidence in their decisions. When they make mistakes, they own it, and do their best to correct those mistakes. It is very possible that they may stumble a few times while working on these new features, but everyone has the option of rolling back to a previous version, or not upgrading in the first place. As you said though, ASKING what we want to do on import is something that has been needed for a long time, and it is great to see that it is finally there.
Love the new 2.6.0 Prusa Slicer. I have used the organic supports dozens of times and can't believe how successful it works for me. Thank you for calling out some of the details about the Highlight overhang by angle, which help me not to miss a beat!
The Text Projection is Amazing, I hate having to do that in Fusion.
This is the reason I buy a Prusa printer. The printer and the software are awesome. So exited for the new big printer. Made an Preorder ❤
My ender clone works fine with Prusa slicer!
But your ender did not pay for Prusa slicer development 😉
How are you enjoying your VFAs in your prints? Yeah, the vertical lines along flat surfaces.
oh, so much envy here
Have you ever tried using cura... Prusa is 95% of the time 2+ years behind them.. and prusas community is way larger than ultimaker
I'm like the new organic support and am now printing things that I was not looking forward to printing because of the support, I have been using it for about a week and had missed the auto generate button so thanks for that, was an S3D user but once I made the move I have been happy with it and it only seem to be getting better, keep up the good work
I think having a tool oriented to 3d printer pre-processing and taking them out of the CAD is a good thing. Those are optimization that in the end do not help the cad process, just make it more difficult. If we can design freely without worrying about it too much and then use a dedicated tool where those optimization are easy, overall quality is going to improve.
You are basically describing all CAM software that's slowly been swallowed by CAD packages for ease of swapping from design to manufacture.
Yes it's useful to have it stand alone, but a ton of design-for-manufacture stuff ONLY works when the method of manufacturing is known at design time anyway, so it's been proved time and time again, that integrated CAM inside a CAD package usually has the best results.
@@HonestAuntyElle that's true. I've noticed some tools inside onshape, eg add metal bends or flanges or something like that, which is clearly useful only if you are working with metal sheets. It would be great if there was an option wizard once you open the file to select the manufacture method and have specific tooling options show up.
I've been using 2.6 alpha 3 for macOS for a few days. I love the organic supports and the auto painting of supports. I have used the measuring and cut tools and find them quite useful. Thanks for your insights.
Looks lovely. Thank you Prusa Slicer team.
I have had some challenges with the organic support feature. One, the print did not print the upper part (extended hand with sword.) and one had massive supports that were difficult (almost impossible) to remove (HO picnic table in Printables.) I even split the print at the roof line. The roof did great, but the table and seat had excessive supports. Maybe I haven't mastered the setting. The first time I saw the warnings, they gave me a cause for concern. I finally ignored, and it printed fine. Especially confusing was the knight (Chess pieces by Philz of Printables)where it said it wasn't on the bed. I repositioned both in PS and NetFabb, but the warning was still there. Finally, I ignored and it printed fine.
I appreciated this video as I picked up a couple to new points. Well prepared and presented.
Been watching your channel for 3 or 4 years now - i always learn something, even though I worked as a FSE for an industrial printer manufacturer, your videos are still more informative than what we were given as "professionals" lmao
HA! Prusa CAD. It's heading that way and I'm not sure how to feel about it yet. But the new slice and peg-n-hole is awesome. That is so tedious in CAD. Also love that measure and scale tool!
If I were motivated to do it (had a need for it) I could probably port these features into a Fusion plugin. Because open source is great 😃👍
I think these features make a lot of sense for PrusaSlicer and aren’t overstepping into CAD. To me they appear more like advanced CAM features. I just can’t wait for them to be added to Bambu Studio.
Several of them seem to be backport/enhancements from what Bambu has already done, especially with the text and 3mf handling. But the rest? Absolutely, can't wait.
@@mkosmo Not exactly. The development of the text tool started before BambuStudio sources were released and it is quite different internally.
How long will that take though, just ordered a P1P, I'd rather just use PrusaSlicer with an SD Card than wait for organic supports to trickle down
@@cenciende9401 good luck with that. With the Bambu printers, you’re basically stuck with their slicer.
@@AdrenalineTheory hence my use of the word backport.
Thanks for pointing these out Thomas
Great review. Thanks. I'm of the thought that in an ideal world I should not have to take into account 3D printing - or other fabrication tools - at all during the design phase of my parts so the more the slicer takes care of 3D printing limitations the better. Some of this additions are a great step in that direction.
Interesting video!
I think the additional features are aimed at allowing 3D printer users who don't have CAD experience to adapt and customise a model for 3D printing without having to leave the slicer or learn a CAD package. If you're just getting starting, learning the slicing side can already be overwhelming in the beginning.
I design my own parts with FreeCAD but I also download from thingiverse, etc.
Having to pull the file into FreeCAD, then maybe convert the mesh to a solid part to perform more complex work on it. Exporting to a mesh again to go to a slicer... I can see great benefit in having some frequently used tools inside the slicer. Use them if they help, don't if you prefer the CAD route.
That slice model and add pins feature was awesome for example!
I welcome all these features. The Text tool is perfect for personalizing objects so I don't have to constantly go into my design and modify it. The Cut tool with the pegs is great because now I can design the object as a single piece and I don't have to worry about designing with the print size available to me. That saves me a lot of work. Tree supports allows me to design with less 3D printing in mind and more of what I want.
Agreed. I've often been given or asked to print a file and find out it is either very awkward to print, or doesn't fit my printer, or I want to break it up to print on several printers for speed. Usually it is a file that is awkward though so being able to break it up quickly and print it with easy location of those parts is huge. Honestly I can model things to be cut and pinned in Slicer as well, which saves time.
Dear Thomas, You are the reason I found out that my Ender 3 Pros and V2s where compatible with this Masterpiece-Slicer close to 2 years ago. This 2.6 Release will help my Bussiness a ton. Keep up with this great work of yours!!!
Thank you!
It's an honour to see my model in this video, thank you very much!!!! ❤❤
Thank you too!
Thanks for the great overview. 2.6 is so full of amazing features - thank you Prusa!
Great overview Tom! Thanks for hitting all the highlights in a detailed and well illustrated way. 💪🏼
Great video Tom ! This is why I love your content, not only showcasing new and interesting 3D printing tech but also thinking about how it shifts the use and workflow as a whole
I’m a fan of the text tool to drop the revision on the part. it’s easier to remember while I’m reviewing the set up. I generally forget to grab a marker when a print is done and I want to check and use the part.
A hot upgrade to the tool would be the use of template variables that takes the STL file name and or some print settings and puts them on the model automatically for your updated part revisions.
Imagine automatic embossing of values on dynamic temperature towers and other calibration prints.
Oh man exciting progress... there is so much more scope for improved modifiers... stuff like advanced boolean operators etc are just so much easier to implement in in raster space than in CAD space :)
Have been doing some of that text, scale and cut/pin work with MS 3D Builder. It's quite a powerful tool and overlooked for some quick work. Look forward to the 2.6 upgrade.
Thanks for this video. The organic support was a real find for me and I appreciate you making this video. It has been a great help
Great content! I'm brand new to the 3D printing world, but this video really helped me understand more about the slicer in general. I'll definitely be giving PrusaSlicer a try!
This is huge! While each item may sound small, I think many of this by the selves are huge, and then like you said, add them all up and this is a big release.
Being able to cut and add dowels, is something I never thought would be possible in the slicer. I thought I would always have to do that in cad.
I think those are the most essential editing tools you need.
Making them accessible directly in the slicer in a easy to use form enables a lot more people to customize their prints.
As printers become more wide spread to the point where they just a tool to churn out fun parts downloaded somewhere this is the way to go.
CAD software isn't for the faint of heart and requires a considerable amount of time investment additionally to the slicer. "Occasional" users won't put up with that.
Exactly right. That's my use case right there. I print other people's designs. No time to learn cad. But it's frustrating being unable to make small alterations without flipping into fusion, which is a total rabbit hole
Thank you ! Tom for answering my questions on this subject on Twitter and getting this video out so quickly you rock!
Thank you for your channel. I always enjoy watching your demonstrations of new 3D printing techniques.
Tree supports are exciting - I've been making them manually as part of the models when necessary, so this should hopefully save some time.
I grew up with slic3r and love it, so should be at home with this!
Good update briefing! Thanks, Tom.
Awesome! I’ve wanted tree supports for ages, but didn’t want to mess with other slicers.
hell yeah! I've been using a pretend SLA printer with Prusa Slicer to generate tree supports, then exporting them and the model to slice for my real FDM printer for a while now, but these look way better for FDM printing than my tweaked SLA trees!
you could have done it with prusa this whole time, just kind of a nuisance. open file using an SLA profile, slice it, export file with supports, then you can load that. pain, but not impossible.
Thanks for the overview. For me tree support is the most interesting new feature.The other ones not so much. And thanks for having no background music, that makes it much easier for me to understand what you say. 👍
This video has gotten me out of a jam. I just got my Elegoo Neptune 4 and I am using an older MacBook with 10.13.6…since the software they “include” doesn’t actually work I’ve been searching for a good slicer to use. You nailed almost every aspect I’ve been looking for. Thanks for doing this in-depth look. It really made my mind up.
I may buy the new Prusa Printer with multiple print heads. Want to support them too.
Cut with dowels is a game changer. If they allow hex or octagonal prisms for the dowels, you could lay those flat on the build plate for even mroe strength. If they allow things like dovetails or mortise-tenon joints, that would be even better.
2.6 is another game changer, especially the tree support and text
looks like they just added the most used "basic" CAD stuff that most of us use and now I dont need to bother with CAD programs. I like it a lot! Especially if you just take something from internet and you dont want to do anythin in CAD or you dont even have CAD or you are new to that... adding some text that you print this for someone can be huge :) Slicer with CAD utilities. Thanks for video
I watched a video on how to make a spoon and it was such a seemingly stupid simple but with a complex process. A little sculpting in a slicer would be very welcome too.
Way I see it, them "encroaching" on CAD features is a natural evolution for a slicer that's meant for end users. After all, there's a very large ammount of people who are 3d printer owners and have never touched a CAD suite - just grabbing a model online, touching it up and being good to go
Eventually I'd hope for a clearer separation between the raw slicer features of preparing a model specifically for printing and the easy to use tools for modifying the model, but maybe as a multi-feature CAD platform in the likes of Fusion360
Love that hinting feature
Bambu studio has it and I love it.
That infill lettering was a cool idea. Text tool is quite handy. I hate doing that in CAD. Would be nice if it could do a true surface projection. Slice tool improvements are cool too.
Outstandingly informative, and the visual aids were always on point. Thanks!
Measuring and scaling looks great. Great video very informative. Thanks
Good update!
Thanks for sharing
Loving the new type of support in this version.
Love all the new tools. Anything that makes the 3D printing process easier/simpler is great. Now using F360 to add text to an object is terrible next to PS 2.6.0a3, not that using F360 before was any fun. Slicing models and adding pins to realign the models in one go, just wow. Autopaint supports, then do a little touch-up where it might need a bit more, time saver.
The last time I needed to put text on a model, I used Microsoft 3D Builder. It's pretty nice that I can skip that step from now on.
As the URL handler goes, a Universal Profile Repository, for profile sharing, would be fantastic, I have struggled with finding Cura/Sapphire Pro profiles for a while now, and usually have to print and edit until I get something workable. As with all such open source efforts , organization and management & verification is time consuming, but the essential key to success.
I really like the added features. Lots of those things I wanted to be able to do easily and I don't mind at all that I can do it from within the slicer.
"organic" supports are effing awesome. Totally uses less material, and it opens up so many prints because I had ruled out quite a few due to support issues, separating from support being impossible etc. Now I can put tree supports where I need them, make the separation areas less noticeable. The tree autogenerating supports are smart too, they save a ton of material!!!
As someone who works primarily in Zbrush and doesn't use CAD in his workflow it's really nice to see these new additions
I think it's really great that they're adding these features at the slicer level because it's no guarantee that a particular CAD software has them or that a user knows how to use them. By having stuff like this in the slicer it unlocks the feature for everyone regardless of upstream software.. and hey if you want to do it in CAD, you still can :)
I tried an experiment. My work computer has some corporate fonts installed that my personal computer doesn't. So I used the text wrap tool on my work computer with one of the corporate fonts and transferred the 3mf file to my personal computer. I renamed a copy of the 3mf file as a zip file so I could explore the files inside the 3mf. I did not find the font file, only a reference to it by font name in one of the meta data files. When I opened the 3mf file on the personal computer the applied text looked as designed without any errors complaining about missing fonts. I only got the font warning when I went to edit the text object of the model on my personal computer.
This is great news for people downloading 3mf files that they don't need to have the original font. Unless they are changing the text item, they don't need to make sure that they can find the original font file.
It is also great news for people publishing models that use proprietary or licensed fonts. They don't need to worry that they would be accidentally distributing the font sourse IP that they don't have permission (or desire to) to distribute.
Thank you Prusa !! Text in the slicer was something I figured wouldn’t take half a decade..
I think is becoming more like a CAM, where if you need to do little modification before milling/turning a piece. Another thing that you haven't thought about is the industrial potential, you talked about it like a tool for makers, but if you have a business based on 3D printing you will receive files from strangers, and being able to to little adjustments directly from slicer makes your life much much easier
great new information Thomas, as usual. Thanks for sharing.
I think the extra features and are most definitely something that belong is a slicer. 3D printing is still used for prototyping designs and rather than having to make all corrections in CAD, smaller ones can now be done directly from the main tool used to turn ideas into actual objects. If you look at the slicer as an extension of the creation process and consider the fact that it's mostly doing with a few clicks that in CAD costs a lot of clicks, I feel it's only growing in its role as part of the work-flow.
Thank you for making this video, Thomas!
Just a camera tip 2:50 don't use auto-focus on B-rolls where there is a single subject that the camera should focus on.
One thing you didn't mention about 3MF and PrusaSlicer - PrusaSlicer can already load STEP files. If 3MF contained STEP formatted models instead of STL triangles it would be a great distribution format for all the 3D print models repo sites. Modifying STL files to make changes is such a pain.
It can handle stps? Awesome, thanks for the hint!
Thank you for all your efforts Thomas! You have done a masterful job for the 3d printing community & I just want to express my heartfelt thanks & appreciation sir. Keep doing what you're doing!
Great changes for me. I often take stl from the web, need to measure and adapt e.g. for hole sizes - or personalise gifts with text! Auto-Tree-Support seems interesting for me as well. Never used cutting and pinning, good to know it's there - I love to have it in slicer since it's very difficult for me as hobbyist to do it in Fusion.
Thanks for the presentation, Tom!
Awesome info … would love to see more on the software side. The fusion text emboss failures u showed were great. And the comparison against prusa doing same successfully. The pins and scaling are awesome too. Pushing the functionality of a slicer, especially open source slicer is what open source is all about. Looking forward to seeing more features to blur the lines on that last comment you made(what should a slicer do).
These updates look AWESOME!! Prusaslicer is getting so good!!
Oh wow time to download! Lots of great features, hard to use just one slicer these days. I really like the project management aspect with the additional plates and BOM, reference photos/docs, etc, that the Bambu Studio / SoftFever suite bring. But love the calibration plugins from Cura. And ofc all the fine tuning in PrusaSlicer coming in clutch.
Great walk-through
Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us :-)
Cut and pinned one model in blender. Oh the pain. Also Text was always a ton of work. Cool addons, thanks for showing them around!
I really love the possibility of adding Text! So far i used 3d Builder from microsoft, but it always messed up the model...
Go on with the great work Prusa
I love my Mk3 printer, and I like Prusa slicer 2.5. The features of 2.6 seem very handy. I appreciate what they've done/and are doing for the industry as a whole. Their filament is very good as well. They got my continued support!
Good time to upgrade to a MK3.5 or MK3.9, or even the full 4 if you want!
@@Swarm509 maybe, I like to keep the mk3 working and just get another mk4. But they have some interesting options...
I love this on so many levels, thank you! I love that Prusa continues to improve their software. I love that open source is continuing to work. I love that the new file format allows options. Especially love the tree support.
I think it's good that Prusa is adding more features to slicer. I don't think that's taking away from the use of CAD. I see it as complementary, along the lines of other manufacturing techniques. Ideally, you'd design the part completely in CAD. But sometimes, we're taking files from the Internet, and printing them direct. Or, we have a simple design we've made, and it's faster to make a tweak in slicer than edit in cad, or import the STL into cad, convert to a shape and then process. I don't see it as overstepping.
Really good reviews. Thanks a lot