3D Neophyte

[mg]

Everyone,

Nope, I have never printed before, I'm going to build a printer instead of purchasing one assembled, should get more bang for my buck, plus the fun factor, you know the accomplishment of it all!!

Now my question is about creating 3D models, before its sent to the slicer program, what software packages do people use?  And by people I mean what do use yourself.

Thanks

[carlos]

On the free side, there is Cura and Slicer. Both are great apps. I would say Cura is the easier of the two to get started with. Slicer offers more precise controls right off the bat. but hands down the best slicer program is Simplify3d. It's a paid app and well worth the money.

[passing by]

he asked about 3d modeling software ) i use Autodesk Fusion 360. It is powerful and free for hobbyists

[carlos]

Ha, that's what I get for speeding through. Sketchup is also free and reasonable for the learning curve, but it can start to feel limited depending on what you plan to model. You can usually overcomes it's limitations by downloading additional features via the large plugin library. There is also 123D by autocad similar to sketchup but not as powerful, but a bit easier to learn.