- Our 3D modeling & 3D printing community here at i.materialise uses tons of different software to get the job done: from free online 3D design apps to high-end professional software. There are several reasons why it’s so difficult to find ‘the best’ 3D modeling software: There are tons of 3D modeling programs out there. It isn’t a case.
- 3D Builder is a free Windows 10 app for beginners that lets novice users create desired 3D models without knowing too much about CAD. This software allows quick 3D model creation as it takes external 3D object, image, and 3D scanned copy of an object as input.
- 10 Best 3D Printing Software for Beginners to Try in 2020. Printing Solution; Mayank Dixit September 14, 2020.
- Top 16 Free 3D Printer Software for Beginners in 2018
Tinkercad is an impressive suite of free, lightweight 3D tools offered by Autodesk as an easy entry point into the world of 3D. Autodesk develops five different applications under the Tinkercad banner, including modeling and sculpting apps, an iPad based creature designer, and a tool to assist with fabrication and 3D printing.
3D printing can help you create a three-dimensional object by computer and 3D printer. However, it may sound a little difficult for beginners to use 3D printers. This article will introduce 16 free 3D printer software to help beginners use their 3D printer much easily. Learn about: How to slice 3d STL file and 3d print Iron Man?
1. Ultimaker Cura - versatile 3D Printer Software
Ultimaker Cura 3D is a slicing software for 3D printers, it can create a 3D model and slice it into layers, as G-Code, which a 3D printer can understand. Cura 3D is easy to use and you just need 3 steps before printing. Create a model first and then export your 3D files as STL or OBJ formats, these files will be imported, sliced and outputted as G-Code so that the 3D printer can read and follow. You can also set quality, material, speed,cooling and infill in Cura by yourself. Cura 3D is a fully open source software and can be used with most 3D printers. It supports for Windows, Mac and Linux.
2. TinkerCAD - useful 3D Printer Software
Unlike Cura, TinkerCAD is an online computer-aided design software for 3D printing. You can directly access the browser-based app after creating an account on its website. TinkerCAD offers pre-defined shapes and geometric structures, so you can create your models just by dragging and dropping the box to the WorkPlane and adjusting the length, height and width. TinkerCAD is an easy tool for beginners to start up 3D printing.
3. 123D Catch - easy-to-use Free 3D Printer Software
The 123D Catch APP can be used in your smartphones (both iOS and Android operating system), which means that you take photos within your phone and the 123D Catch can turn your photography into a 3D model. This is much convenient and funny for beginners to learn 3D printing. What’s more, you can transfer your photos from digital camera to 123D Catch on your computer and print them out a high-quality product.
4. 3D Slash - 3D printer software for free
3D Slash is much different from other 3D printing softwares, it is also a logo and a 3D text maker. It means that you can turn your logo into a 3D model or import your text to export 3D text. 3D Slash is easy to use and suitable for people of all ages, you can design a 3D model by using a simple building-block concept, which just like a modern stone-cutter. As its user-friendly experience, 3D Slash is a wonderful software to get you started with 3D printing.
5. 3D Tin - Good-to-use 3d printer
3D Tin is an online 3D printing software like TinkerCAD, which is intuitive and easy-to -use. All you need is a Firefox or Chrome web browser enabled with WebGL. It’s a perfect 3D printing software for beginners. What you should do is choosing 3D templates on the Internet and adding them to your sketch, which will be stored in the cloud and freely accessible, and can be out-printed in STL and OBJ file formats.
6. SketchUp - 3d modeler
SketchUp is an ideal 3D printing software to design complex 3D print models for beginners with a user-friendly interface and relatively flat learning curve. 3D Warehouse of SketchUp is a huge library of 3D templates which is uploaded by users. You can choose one and add it on your SketchUp, which is the easiest way to print a 3D object. What&rsquo's more, SketchUp provides free tutorials which can help you develop into an intermediate or advanced engineer form a beginner.
7. FreeCAD - 3d slicer software
FreeCAD is a free and open-source general-purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler and a building information modeling software which is supported by FEM (finite-element-method). This program can be used interactively and its functionality can be accessed and extended using the Python programming language. FreeCAD is a great starting point for mechanical engineers who are new to the 3D modeling world.
8. CraftWare - 3d printing cad software
CraftWare is a 3D printer slicer software which is developed by CraftUnique to support its CraftBot 3D printer. And it can be used for many other 3D printers that accept G-Code. CraftWare is fast and easy-to-use, it allows users to see printing process layer by layer from any angle and modify or delete any places before printing. A clean and simple user interface, as well as big and colorful buttons on the left side, make CraftWare one of the most user-friendly 3D printing software.
9. Sculptris - 3d printer software
Sculptris is a virtual sculpting 3D printing software with a core emphasis on the concept of modeling clay. It comes to be free and easy-to-use, which provides excellent rudiments for people who want to start up the world of 3D sculpting. If you want to print statuettes such as comic characters, Sculptris is a fantastic choice for you. It&rsquo's often described as the most powerful, flexible 3D modeling software in the industrial or professional sector.
10. Blender - 3d modeler
Blender is an open source and free 3D printing computer-aided design (CAD) software. It&rsquo's an ideal software for skilled users who want to create more sophisticated 3D modeling such as contour modeling and polygon modeling. Blender is very popular among media workers and artists for creating animated films, visual effects, art, interactive 3D applications and video games. Blender gives its users enormous design freedom with nearly innumerable tools. But it isn’t a good choice for 3D printing beginners.
11. Meshmixer - free 3d printing software
Meshmixer is a free 3D editing, fixing, and sculpting tool. Its great points are viewing, checking, editing AND repairing STL files as well as spotting potential problems and automatically repairing them. Meshmixer allows users who want to create organic designs like people, animals and creatures to sculpt digitally and mash different 3D models together.
12. OpenSCAD - 3d printing cad software
OpenSCAD is a free software for creating solid 3D CAD models. Unlike Blender, it focuses on CAD aspects rather than artistic aspects in 3D modeling. It might be a good choice for you if you want to code your CAD models for it uses a programming language to create 3D objects. Therefore, it gives designer full control over the modeling process and enables designers to easily change any step in the modeling process. OpenCAD is available for Linux/UNIX, Windows and Mac OSX.
13. AutoCAD - 3d slicer software
AutoCAD, a software for 2D and 3D CAD, was developed by AutoDesk and first released in December 1982 as a desktop app running on microcomputers. Up to now, it has been used across a wide range of industries, by architects, project managers, engineers, graphic designers, and many other professionals. AutoCAD supports a large number of APIs for customization and automation such as AutoLISP, Visual LISP, VBA and ObjectARX.
14. ViewSTL - 3d slicer software
The view is an online and open source way to view Stereo Lithography Files as shaded on-screen images. It is the easiest way to preview STL files. What users need is just open the web page and drag their STL files onto the dotted field. The online STL viewer allows you to display a model in one of three views: flat shading (for quick viewing), smooth shading (to get a high-quality display), or wireframe. It is a perfect 3D printing software for beginners who want to view STL files.
15. Netfabb Basic - 3d printing software for free
Netfabb Basic is a 3D printer slicer software with some nice features, for example, you can analyze, repair and edit STL files before you get to the slicing stage. It is a good choice if you need something more than just slicer software and you want to repair STL files quickly without having to learn to use additional tools like Meshmixer or MeshLab. Netfabb Basic provides a 30-day trial version. When the trial expires, the software will continue to run with the same functionality.
16. SelfCAD - Online 3D Modeling and Slicing Software
SelfCAD offers an easy to use platform that allows one to sculpt, slice and print 3D models all in one program, hence you don't need to launch multiple programs in order to work on your models. It's easier to learn hence ideal for users who are inexperienced like students. In addition, this software has a built-in slicer, so you can prepare your model for 3D printing without needing any additional software which can be hard to handle if you are in a classroom or workshop. SelfCAD is free of for the educators and students and for the general users, they have a one month trial period and later pay $4.99/m.
Conclusion
All of the 16 3D printing software are free and friendly to beginners. But the big problem is that quite a lot of 3D printers are not compatible with them. It may take you a long time to select a 3D printing software to correspond with your 3D printer. Dobot Magician is an excellent 3D printer which supports all of the above software and saves you a lot of trouble.
Every human is born with a creative mind. One of the most modern ways to transform our imagination into reality is 3D printing.
We can easily materialize our vision into a tangible figure using this technology. Even though it has emerged as a strong backbone for many businesses, you can get started with it for free!
How, you ask?
Just rely on a free software based on 3D printing technologies to help you begin your journey! Here we discuss ten of the free 3D printing software systems available in the market now.
3D Printing Free Software List in 2020
1. Ultimaker Cura
A. What Is It?
Ultimaker Cura is one of the most widely used 3D printing softwares in the world. It currently has over a million users around the planet and comes in 15 languages to serve its global customer base. Every week, this software is used to print about 1.4 million 3D objects.
B. History
The open-source slicer software named Cura was developed by David Braam, the talented software engineer at Ultimaker. Although it was initially released with the open-source general public license, now it operates under the LGPLv3 license to allow more third-party integrations.
C. How Does It Work?
Cura works with the popular operating systems of Windows, Linux and macOS. It slices the original 3D model file given by the user into many layers. This sliced version is called g-code which the 3D printer can understand easily. It is compatible with file formats like STL, OBJ, XMF, X3D, JPG, PNG, GIF and BMP.
2. TinkerCAD
A. What Is It?
Tinkercad is an application that enables the newbies of 3D printing to explore various features and functionalities of this process. Targeting amateurs and young users including children, Tinkercad has proved itself to be a capable and responsible platform for inspiring the next generation of 3D printing enthusiasts.
B. History
It was launched in 2011 as an online program to run on web browsers. A visionary engineer named Kal Backman and his partner Mikko Monen founded the titular company to make 3D modeling easy for everyone. Within a year of its launch, Tinkercad helped users to publish more than 100,000 3D designs!
C. How Does It Work?
The main attraction of Tinkercad is that it doesn’t require the user to have any prior experience in 3D printing. It is an application that you can use online through the web browsers which have WebGL. All you have to do is place materials, adjust its shape and combine several finished shapes to create a new model.
3. SketchUp
A. What Is It?
This is an online program that enables you to create 3D models for many purposes including architecture, interior design, engineering, video editing and of course, 3D printing. Along with its free version for personal use, you can also use it for commercial or educational uses too if necessary.
B. History
SketchUp is one of the oldest 3D modeling programs to exist online. It was launched way back in 2000. In its long run surpassing two decades, it has changed ownership three times between @Last Software, Google and Trimble Inc. Joe Esch and Brad Schell developed this software in 1999 for their startup.
C. How Does It Work?
The free version of SketchUp is a web-based application which means you can only access it online. This is not a standalone software system that you can download on your particular device. You can draw the 3D models here, save them locally or export them as STL files.
4. Slic3r
Best Free 3d Printing Software For Beginners Windows 10
A. What Is It?
As you can guess from the name, Slic3r is a free software dedicated to slice up the 3D CAD files and convert them into G-code. Along with being free of cost, it is also an open-source software which means you can check out their repository on GitHub and make some contributions of your own like its thousand forks.
B. History
The project of Slice3r was undertaken by RepRap in 2011. Being a community of 3D printer enthusiasts themselves, their main goal was to inspire the amateurs by removing the burden of restricted budgets. The main developer among them was Alessandro Ranellucci.
C. How Does It Work?
Slice3r’s main job is to translate the 3D model file into G-code which your 3D printer can understand. Additionally, this software also offers useful and authentic functionalities like micro-layering, variable layer heights, command line slicing, AMF support, sequential printing, distinct extrusion widths and honeycomb fill.
5. OpenSCAD
A. What Is It?
You can use this free software to build solid 3D model designs. However, it has limited modifications pertaining to basic geometric shapes. That is because this software aims at helping the individuals involved in automotive businesses. The solid shapes help by simplifying the designs for mechanical parts.
B. History
It has been a decade of OpenSCAD being in the industry. Clifford Wolf and Marius Kintel developed this piece of software. They used several programming languages like C++, Qt, OpenGL and CGAL to code it. Now OpenSCAD comes in seven languages including French, Russian, Spanish and German for its global user-base.
Best Free 3d Printing Software For Beginners Free
C. How Does It Work?
The software relies on constructive solid geometry principles to create each solid 3D model. Primitive geometric shapes like boxes, spheres and cylinders help you to make many combinations for the required part. It is compatible with multiple operating systems like Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD.
6. Sculptris
A. What Is It?
Wifi scanner 2 9x9. Sculptris boasts to be the perfect place for budding artists. Staying true to its name, this software can help you to sharpen your digital sculpting skills. So if you have been looking for a 3D printing software that has an artistic spirit like yours, your search may end here!
B. History
This software was first released in late 2009. Since then, it has gone through many iterations and currently offers a stable edition named Alpha 6. Its original developer Tomas Pettersson supervised its features and functionalities under the ownership of Pixologic until 2014.
C. How Does It Work?
Instead of the other 3D modeling softwares, Sculptris functions like a virtual platform for sculpting. By being its user, you can manipulate the structure in any way you want, just like a real ball of clay! Such manipulations include pulling, twisting and similar movements you usually observe in sculpting.
7. Blender
A. What Is It?
The open-source software toolset Blender comes with an impressive range of features and functions catering to various industries. It simultaneously satisfies the needs of 3D printing, animations, motion graphics, visual effects, interactive applications and similar projects.
B. History
Blender began its journey over two decades ago in January 1994. It was originally developed by Ton Roosendaal and is currently operating under the supervision of the Blender Foundation. The main programming languages used to build it include C, C++ and Python.
C. How Does It Work?
![Free 3d modeling software Free 3d modeling software](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vIA71tSpTC8/maxresdefault.jpg)
You can rely on this software to meet most of your 3D printing requirements. It is equipped with a comprehensive array of tools that will help you to build and modify the model. Its sculpting section offers you a dynamic topology, 20 different brush types for different textures and similar exciting features.
8. 3D Slash
A. What Is It?
This software is dedicated to modeling unique and artistic 3D structures. Its compatibility is not limited to the mainstream operating systems like Windows, macOS and Linux. You can also use it with Raspberry Pi or access it from a modern web browser enabled with Web GL.
B. History
3D Slash was created by Sylvian Huet – French engineer, entrepreneur and one of the pioneers of 90s virtual technology. Their 3D modeling software was launched in 2014 with a mission to make this technology easily accessible to the public. Now it is being used by individuals and professionals alike for various projects.
C. How Does It Work?
The highlight of using 3D Slash over most other 3D modeling softwares is its refreshing intuitive interface inspired by the Minecraft game. So whatever you do here, it will feel like playing a similar game of building 3D structures! Its free version allows creating models with eight standard colors and storing them online.
9. MatterControl 2.0
A. What Is It?
The original software of MatterControl was aimed at making it easier for small business owners and individuals to manage their 3D printing jobs. However, its latest stable release of 2.0 brings in the advantage of designing models for 3D printing as well.
B. History
MatterControl is a property of the company named MatterHackers whose founders Kevin Pope, Michael Hulse and Lars Brubaker are all equally passionate about technological advancements. Sketch 41. They released its original version in 2013 and then upgraded it to meet the popular demands of 3D printing capabilities.
C. How Does It Work?
This is basically an open-source software package that builds, modifies and slices the 3D models. Its advanced features include software bed leveling, customized support generation and dual extrusion with integrated controls. Additionally, you can organize and manage the 3D printing tasks of existing projects with it.
3d Software For Beginners
10. FreeCAD
A. What Is It?
FreeCAD can be a great software for beginners who are not accustomed to the 3D printing world. It is an open-source parametric 3D modeler relying on geometric shapes as the base. You can both import and export a wide variety of 3D files here including STL, SVG, DXF, OBJ, DAE, IFC, VRML, STEP etc.
B. History
3d Printer Software For Beginners
This software was launched about 20 years ago in late 2002. Three talented programmers named Jurgen Riegel, Yorik Van Havre and Werner Mayer developed it. They used two popular coding languages C++ and Python to write the code. FreeCAD now holds an LGPLv2+ license to allow integrations.
C. How Does It Work?
Since it is a parametric 3D modeler, you can modify any design here by accessing its history and adjusting the required parameters. FreeCAD provides a 2D shape based on geometric constraints and uses it as the foundation for designing the rest of your 3D model.
Free 3D Printing Software At A Glance
Still wondering which of them will be the most suitable one for your projects? Here is a summary of all the software for 3D works we discussed above. Take a look to see how they fare against each other and end up being the best choice for you!
Conclusion
These ten softwares must have given you loads of ideas to put your imaginative mind to good use!
Each of these programs targets a particular industry or user group. It can be a basic 3D printing free software for beginners or a polished one targeting professional users. Either way, you can find one suitable for your individual needs.
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