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RE: Introducing Myself!!
I will definitely give that a try. For my projects so far I’ve used Tinkercad to model but I need a better modeling software that is low cost. I have thought of fusion 360 but I havnt Made the leap yet.
Do you use simplify 3D to slice your models? The program looks amazing but it is a little pricey compared to the kinda frustrating slicer software that came with my printer.
I've never been a big fan of Tinkercad. But from a conceptual point of view, I really don't think in a way which is compatible with building up models from primitives, nor am I particularly good with surface modeling, which means the way that Blender does things really doesn't work for me.
Most of my work is done in either Fusion 360 or Onshape. Fusion has the broader set of tools, including some fantastic surface modeling tools which work directly with the parametric models and one of the best rendering systems available. Onshape runs in a web browser and can give you an incredible amount of power running on a potato. Fusion is free for Makers and small businesses which run under $100,000 a year, which is more than generous enough, and Onshape is free as long as you don't care if your designs are public on their server – and for most of us that's not an issue at all.
My choice of slicer actually depends on my mood. Because I have OctoPrint running on a Raspberry Pi attached my printer, I just use the web interface to toss whatever files I want to work with onto it. I've used MatterControl with a great amount of pleasure but most of my slicing in the last few months has been with Cura 3. In my opinion, Simplify 3D is just too expensive for what you get. Understanding how an FDM printer works and thinking about what you're doing, you can use any slicer out there and get pretty good results.
Right on, thanks for the information. I haven’t really run into a situation where I felt I couldn’t make it work unless I got Simplify3D to your point. The printer I had first was an XYZ and the slicer software wasn’t the greatest. I now use mattercontrol and I use Cura sometimes when I need more options. I have heard of onshape and I think I will give that a try next. I was thinking of trying that or fusion 360, I really like the browser style modelers. I attempted blender a couple of times but ended up abandoning it because it was just to complex for me at a beginner level. Tinkercad has worked out for me, I usually build really basic things like phone cases, sewing circles, etc that are really basic shape wise. I needed something better and I think you helped me decide. Thank you so much for all the info, Happy Printing!