MakerGear Forum

This is exactly why I despise ONLINE COMPUTING !!!!!!

IS there a Standalone Software Package that will run the MAKERGEAR ???????

TheRyanRanch wrote:IS there a Standalone Software Package that will run the MAKERGEAR ???????

I've been using OpenSCAD to build my models, Slic3r to produce G-Code, and Printrun/Pronterface to drive the printer since Day Zero, all running on various Linux boxes. All Free Software, in both cost and freedom.

It took a bit of effort to figure out how to put all that together, but I have complete control over all the pieces.

You can configure Slic3r and Printrun to work as a one-click model-to-printer solution, but, because I spend far more time adjusting the model (and sometimes the slicing parameters) to produce the proper result than I do printing, I tend to Fire the M2 only on the final G-Code version.

The bonus: when something breaks, I have all the pieces and can put it back together again...

I'm on the same boat as Ed, Im 2+ years in with the M2 and the school I originally started with didn't want to fork out for a S3D license if they didn't have to. So I learned and now I don't necessarily see the need to spend $130 for software that is just a bit better than what I use. The main downfall is that it seems that Slic3r has been dropped from support for about a year now.

I use Fusion 360 for my 3D modeling if you're looking for some other quality 3D software.

Matt_Sharkey wrote:Slic3r has been dropped from support for about a year now

AFAICT, real (i.e., paying) work intruded on Alessandro's spare time early this year, but he's been hammering away at the backlog for a few months.

Somebody could fork the Slic3r project and carry on with it (*), which is one major benefit of Free Software. I have decades of work locked up in dead proprietary programs from defunct companies. Most of it's not worth retrieving, although I do miss a few odds & ends.

(*) That rarely happens, because all slicing programs start when someone says "Slicing programs are too complicated. I'll write a simple slicer!" Fast forward three years and the program has more options than fit on a tabbed interface. Witness KISSlicer, Cura, S(implify)3D ...

[Edit: formatting.]

Matt_Sharkey wrote:.....I use Fusion 360 for my 3D modeling if you're looking for some other quality 3D software.

+1

TheRyanRanch wrote:This is exactly why I despise ONLINE COMPUTING !!!!!!

IS there a Standalone Software Package that will run the MAKERGEAR ???????

The "out of the box" settings for Slic3r + RepetierHost produce non-crappy results on the M2. Simplify3D is still *better*, but you can use things sliced with slic3r. I still do occasionally.

ednisley wrote:Somebody could fork the Slic3r project and carry on with it

There's nothing I enjoy more than taking abandoned open source software and revitalizing it. I should look into this. . .

Tim wrote:taking abandoned open source software and revitalizing it. I should look into this. . .

Heh. You're one of the (few) folks who could do that; it'd keep you off the streets at night, too. [grin]

I meant "somebody could" in the "it is possible" sense: the source code is available for inspection / reuse / correction / whatever by anybody with sufficient motivation. IIRC, Ultimaker paid for a fair chunk of Slic3r's recent improvements and, in the CNC world, Tormach hired programmer(s) to work on LinuxCNC's motion planner.

With, e.g., S3D, the source code is their Secret Sauce: when they decide they've had enough fun, that's the end of the story.