Interesting news from 3D Control Systems: they’re integrating PrusaSlicer.
3D Control Systems’ main service is 3DPrinterOS. It’s a cloud-based system that provides an ability to manage fleets of 3D printers. The service not only prepares & dispatches jobs, but tracks activity, produces reports and generally makes “dumb” 3D printers much smarter.
In the days before 3D printer manufacturers provided their own cloud services, 3DPrinterOS was a revelation: you could launch print jobs without having to physically visit the 3D printer.
That benefit was so powerful that many of the 3D printer manufacturers began to set up their own cloud services. But these all have a big issue: they normally work only with their own 3D printer models. What if you have devices from many manufacturers? That’s a problem that 3DPrinterOS solves, as it can handle a huge range of and manufacturers and their devices.
The catch has been the slicing software. In 3DPrinterOS there has long been slicing capability. However, it wasn’t necessarily the same slicing software that you’d use with a manufacturer’s machine.
Over time slicing software became much more powerful. Features were invented, added and enhanced. Today’s leading slicing software tools would include UltiMaker Cura and PrusaSlicer, and derivatives of them including BambuStudio and OrcaSlicer.
These software tools have become so powerful that it’s been challenging for others to keep up. Basic slicing capability is no longer suitable in many situations, where advanced features can optimize print quality and speed.
This week 3D Control Systems announced they’ve integrated PrusaSlicer directly into 3DPrinterOS. They explain:
“The integration of Prusa Slicer, a highly regarded slicing software known for its precision and versatility, into 3DPrinterOS’s cloud platform provides users with a robust tool to prepare their 3D models for printing. This addition allows users to access Prusa Slicer’s advanced features directly from the cloud, eliminating the need for local installations and ensuring that the latest updates and configurations are always available.”
That last bit is important: some 3D printer manufacturers have used the powerful open source tools as a base for their own customized versions. While that might work temporarily, these version quickly become out of date as new features are added to the main software. Very often you will see a 3D printer shipped with slicing software based on prehistoric versions of a slicer that don’t include now-mandatory features.
The statement from 3D Control Systems suggests that not only have they integrated PrusaSlicer, but they intend on keeping it up to date for all users of the system.
This step makes 3DPrinterOS even more attractive to 3D printer operators, particularly those familiar with PrusaSlicer. They may have balked at moving to 3DPrinterOS because they would not as easily be able to use the powerful PrusaSlicer.
Now that barrier seems to have been taken down.
Via 3DPrinterOS
