PrusaSlicer 2.6 – overview of the most important new features of the software

Last week, PRUSA Research – one of the largest manufacturers of amateur and desktop 3D printers in Europe, published the latest (stable) version of its 3D printing software – PrusaSlicer version 2.6. This program is compatible with all models of devices from the Czech manufacturer, but as it is offered under an open-source license, it can be used with any amateur 3D printer, including Creality3D Ender, Anycubic, or Voron. In this article, we will review the most important new features offered by PrusaSlicer, including: tools for adding text to 3D models, a better way to generate fills or walls, or connecting the software to the library of free 3D models on Printables.

However, we will start with a function that has been present in other programs of this type for some time, but in a new, modified version – generating “organic supports”. This is an alternative version of “tree support”, but according to the company, in its version, the organic supports work differently – the branches are smarter, simpler (shorter), smoother and more stable. The section perpendicular to the branch axis is always circular, and the algorithm automatically applies double contour faces for support where needed.

Prusa says models can now be printed in orientations that were previously unavailable for FDM/FFF technology (e.g. with minimal contact with the build plate) and are usually easy to remove.

Another new feature is a modified support painting engine that allows for automatic painting of forcing supports on the model. The algorithm checks each section of the print, taking into account the center of gravity of the part, weight, table movement, potential print head collision, surface adhesion of the part to the table, material type, and the occurrence of printing bridges.

The Text tool lets you insert, manipulate, and edit text as a 3D object. Although this is not a novelty in the strict sense (Zortrax introduced it to Z-SUITE a few years ago), in the Prusy version it is more functional, because it allows text to be wrapped around curved surfaces, and not to be inserted “flat”. The word processor also imports the font library installed on your computer. In general, in terms of functionality, the Text tool works identically to the popular, free modeling program – 3D Builder from Microsoft, but its integration with the slicer makes applying texts much easier, because it can be done in one environment, without the need to export . STL from another program.

Another function taken from 3D Builder is cutting models along the plane, but at any angle. It’s still not a feature that allows you to freely cut 3D models in a more advanced way (other than a straight plane), but it does give users a bit more freedom. A very useful feature is the tool for adding mounting pins to parts that require assembly after printing. You can set the depth, size, and tolerances of each connector and hole.

The thing that has been working in Z-SUITE for a long time and is now also available in PrusaSlicer is a measurement tool that can be used to measure, for example, the distance between printed models or to check selected fragments, e.g. after rescaling. You can also measure angles between independent models.

The company has also added a number of changes optimizing selected stages or elements of 3D printing of parts:

• dynamic speed of sags is a function that allows you to reduce the speed of 3D printing on sags, which allows them to cool better; the algorithm calculates the overlap of the filament on the previous layer and applies the speed calculated from the sag slowdown function
• sparse fill extension extends the bridge fill lines so that their ends are supported by sparse fill on the layer below
• automatic bridge fill anchoring detects areas where internal bridges need to be anchored to contours and reinforces them by adding an additional line touching the contours on the previous layer
• the improved “Guarantee proper wall thickness” option introduces additional logic to ensure the thickness of the vertical wall of the 3D model, making it no thinner than the vertical wall and there will be no random holes in the surface
• avoid movements over folded overhangs uses an algorithm for estimating the quality of filament extrusion, which mainly takes into account its curvature and overlap with the previous layer; based on this data, it determines the possible filament curl, and then plans idle movements in such a way as to avoid regions with a high probability of filament curl.

Additional features include:

• export as STL/OBJ including mesh subtraction
• assigning tool heads to different functions (applicable to Prusa XL)
• setting the idle temperature
• stabilizing cone for the cooling tower
• creating profiles for filaments in the form of a template
• new fill with lines (monotonic), where the fill lines do not touch each other, but connect to the model’s walls
• new, experimental supports for photopolymer 3D printers
• export of GCode thumbnails to .JPG or .QOI
• more intuitive handling of Klipper firmware
• “Arrange” and “Fill table with instances” functions now consider skirt and brim.

Finally, the integration of PrusaSlicer with Printables – a library of free 3D printing models developed by PRUSA Research. By clicking on the PrusaSlicer logo on Printables.com, the program will open automatically and the selected model will be saved in your user folder.

PrusaSlicer version 2.6 can be downloaded here.

Source: www.prusa3d.com