is Simplify3D for a new inexperienced user?

[wonderings]

Not sure if I should be in this forum completely brand new to 3D with ZERO experience. I purchased an Ender 3 printer that should arrive in a few days. This is purely to play and tinker with at the moment. Planning to start using premade models from thingverse.

Is Simplify3D something I would find useful for the 3D printer I bought? Do you create 3D models as well as prep 3D models for print? Does this act like a print engine so to speak where you prep the file for print and print directly from the software or export and put on a sd card to connect to the printer?

[airscapes]

You need a 3D model that was created properly so it will print properly, many of the files on Thingiverse have issues, some can be repaired some can't

Once you have a printable STL file you need to slice it into Gcode which is the text code your printer will read and respond to, that is done with simplified 3D or some other freeware slicing software.

The Gcode can be sent to the printer via USB (if you printer has a usb interface) directly from t laptop or computer that is running S3D. This sometimes causes issues if the computer is busy doing something else which then causes the printer to stop and wait, which messes up your print. Therefore it is better to upload the Gcode to and sd card and then move the card to the printer.

There is a lot to lean with 3D printing an it is not really plug and play like I had thought when I was at your point. S3D is one of the best products but it is not free so that if budget is an issue look into one of the opensource programs.

Good luck with your new hobby!

[SWCNT]

My advice would be to start with a freeware program until you get your feet wet and see if 3d printing is something you enjoy. The Ender 3 can print from SD or over USB, but any freeware program I'm aware of, can print over USB, and of course you can always save directly to SD (if you have an SD card reader).
S3D is not for making models though, only for slicing a model into lines so the printer "read" the 3D shape and print it.
As for learning, you should check out Thomas Sanladerer's Youtube channel here. It has really solid advice especially useful for beginners.

[wirlybird]

I pretty much started out with S3D since it was the slicer of choice/recommended for my first printer. It was a bit of a learning curve but it did a good job also and even at its defaults did a good job.

[wonderings]

Thanks for the reply, there is definitely a lot to learn. I did look at a free program called Slic3r. Seemed a bit laggy (on a 5k iMac maxed out) and does not look like it will work with future updates of MacOS after Mojave. I am not opposed to spending a bit of money on software if it will make things simpler for a completely inexperienced person. I guess ultimately would be nice to have a bit of automation at start that then allowed for more hands on customizing as time went on and I began to understand more. As I mentioned originally I plan to just start with models I download and figure out some of the basics with that before even attempting to make anything myself from scratch.

[wirlybird]

The first thing I would look for is if S3D has specific profiles for your exact printer. If it does then that is a big help to get going.
Sometimes there is a profile that is for a similar printer model and will work fine for you also.

Slic3r is a good one and especially Slic3r PE (Prusa Edition). It is more customizable but you'll need to know a bit more to make changes effectively.

I usually have at least two options for slicers for any one printer since any particular slicer doesn't do "everything " good. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.

[RGV250]

Hi,
My first time on the forum and a total newbie.

As for your question, I have 4 3D printers (I like building them, well that was my excuse) but in reality I had very little luck in actually printing anything and was getting to the point where I thought all I would be able to do was build another in the hope that one would magically work. To be fair (to me) some did have mechanical or electrical issues but the closest I got to printing anything was with a CTC Twinmaker (Makerbot clone) which someone recommended as he had one working. I found I could do certain things with ReplicatorG and others using Makerware (both supplied with the printer) but I was never happy with the results, I always had to use a raft on everything otherwise it would not stick and having to swap between software for different functions is never good for starting out.
One weekend I decided to give Simplify3D a go (I was a bit reluctant as it was a lot of money if it did not work) but I was soon really impressed, it installed without a hitch, automatically connected to the printer and I find it so simple to use, there is a lot I will probably never use but it does not get in your way.
So far every print has worked first time so for me it has given me a lot more inspiration to get the other machines printing.
So far I have only printed things from thingiverse such as test blocks, calibration blocks and god knows how many frogs as my sister likes them.

One of the other reasons I thought Simplify3D would be good for me is if I do get all of my other printers to work they are supported so I will only have to learn it once.

I did have an issue and the support was really fast replying which helps.

Anyway, good luck which ever way you choose.

Bob

[erniehatt]

I own S3D but rarely use it to be honest, I find that Matter Control does all that I require,

[SusiT140V]

Like erniehatt, I rarely use it these days either.

TL;DR

Try the free stuff first.


Otherwise -

What it does, it does well, but in its current form (IMHO) it does not stack up well against other Free slicers such as Cura, Slic3r, etc.
It used to be that Simplify3D was THE one to have, but not so of late. Perhaps the upcoming 4.1 release will put it back on top again.

As others have suggested, I would really try one of the free versions first to see how you like 3D printing. All slicers have their strengths and weaknesses.

Simplify3D's strengths are the approachable (relative) simplicity of the tabbed settings interface and the generally good slicing. It also has ways of breaking prints into different sections (with different settings) using the Variable settings Wizard, and processes can take your printing opus to a whole new level.
It's weaknesses include poor support manipulation, limited infill geometries, fiddly gap-filling settings, and a huge bug that will not let you print materials that warp with an attached brim when trying to use an ooze-shield to keep the heat in the object (it attaches the brim to the ooze-shield and NOT the actual object - Duh!).
Talking of which - the infrequent bug-fixes.

There was also a lack of contact with the Simplify3D staff on the forum, but that seems to be fixed now, so that is a positive step. I hope it continues.

One last thing - the v4.1 release is supposed to be imminent. No-one knows what the pricing structure is going to be - Buy outright or Sub., a free upgrade from v4.0.1?
Perhaps the new welcome presence of Simplify3D staff could let us know? Thanks.


To sum up -
You could do worse, but it's a lot of money to spend if you decide 3D printing not for you.

[dkightley]

To balance the mini-reviews above I thought I'd offer my "tuppence worth"....

I purchased a MakerBot in 2014 so I could 3d print parts for a T gauge model railway. Here's a video of the completed layout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyxZTt8yv80&t=128s

I initially used the slicers supplied (Makerware and ReplicatorG) but found they were not flexible enough to print the complexity and variety of parts I was needing to print. NB there are over 1600 3d printed parts on the layout! In November 2014, I discovered and purchased S3D....which gave an immediate boost to my 3d printing productivity......and I've used S3D ever since!

Not having the desire to go round all the others slicers and compare how they work to S3D, I've taken a different approach...that is to learn exactly how S3D ticks and find out what the effect is of tweaking any one of the approx. one hundred settings. I've also made a conscious decision to stick to one material, PLA, which fulfils virtually all of my requirements for 3d printing.

As a result, I've been able to push the envelope for 3d printing on a "home 3d printer" to a point where I can get reliable prints that are very small...like this:

Now to your question....is S3D suitable for a beginner? My answer is "Yes" and "No". If you're expectations are "plug and go", ie you're simply wanting to download someone else's work and simply print it....then I would say "No....use the slicer supplied with the printer", however if you're really wanting to get stuck into being able to design and print anything from a tiny complex engineering part to a large artistic model, then I would say "Yes. S3d would be money well spent".