3D Printing Conference: Complexity is Free, or Costly?

Brian Evans, Metropolitan State University of Denver professor and 3D printing educator, struggled to get a 3D printing demo to work at today’s Inside 3D Printing Conference in New York City.  Showing conference attendees the multitude of open-source 3D CAD and slicing software available, he also exposed the complexity facing those choosing to go the low-cost, open-source route to consumer 3D printing.

“Fail early and fail often,” he sheepishly said to the crowd when his part failed to begin printing.  “This is the challenge of using open-source,” he admitted.  Mr. Evans also praised higher end consumer 3D printer MakerBot for its easy-to-use user experience.

When asked which slicing software he recommended for slicing 3D files for 3D printing, he responded, “It depends on how dedicated you are.  If you really like to tinker, I’d go with Slic3r.”  Otherwise he recommends finding another program that takes some of the complexity out.

Authored by Brian H. Jaffe, founder of Mission St. Manufacturing and contributor to On 3D Printing.