For many years, PRUSA Research has been developing one of the most popular, free programs for preparing models for 3D printing – PrusaSlicer. Development works are so intensive that in terms of functionality it is one of the best solutions on the market, surpassing in many cases alternative commercial solutions. The latest option introduced by the Czech manufacturer is a tool for freely applying texts to 3D objects that adapt to their geometry.
The tool called TextTool has been prepared for the PrusaSlicer 2.6 Alpha version, which is currently still being tested. PrusaSlicer offers selection of any system font of the TrueType class (i.e. the one that a given user has installed on his computer) and overlaying it on the surface of a 3D object. This “overflows” its geometry creating an integral part of the object.
This type of functionality has long been very well known from the popular, free 3D Builder program created by Microsoft. The advantage of PrusaSlicer, however, is that textual object personalization can be performed immediately in the production environment – in the case of 3D Builder, the model must first be exported to .STL or .3MF format and then opened in 3D printing software. If it turns out that after cutting the 3D model into layers, the added text generated some artifacts (which is unfortunately quite common when using fonts with sophisticated shapes or inscriptions that overlap geometrically complex fragments of the model), you need to return to 3D Builder (or another program offering similar functionality) and make corrections.
In the case of PrusaSlicer, everything can be done in one program, freely modifying the project and immediately checking whether the text personalization is generated correctly from the G-Code level.
Introducing the new Text tool in PrusaSlicer 2.6! Quickly customize any model by embossing/debossing text or even by using it as a modifier. The real game-changer? With a single click, the text can follow curved surfaces! #3Dprinting #PrusaSlicer pic.twitter.com/oYEMVkGDcH
— Prusa3D by Josef Prusa (@Prusa3D) January 5, 2023
It is also worth recalling that a few months ago, a similar functionality was introduced by Zortrax in its proprietary Z-SUITE software, however, applying subtitles works only on flat surfaces – without “pouring” them on the geometry of 3D models.
Source: www.twitter.com