Simplify 3d software

[Ian Smith]

This software looks very exciting and claims to have many interesting features.  No demo version to try, but lists two of my 3 printers in their "supported" page.  Neither are actually setup in their software.  They have many in the profiles but neither of mine are there.  Also when you are manually configuring the printer, a lot of basic settings are missing.  ie for dual extruders there does not appear to be any setting for how far apart the extruders are. 

Does anyone else agree that only printers with actual profiles should explicitly appear in their supported list.  They can also have a section or statement saying "others" supported through customization options. 

My first impression is that the software is not as mature as they claim it to be.  I have asked for support and possibly a refund.  For now I have uninstalled.  I will let you know what type of response I get from them.   When they are charging $149.00 USD  I was expecting a lot more in the package. 

https://www.simplify3d.com/

[theglasairpilot]

I have been using Simplify3D for quite some time now, and I must say it's the best I have had so far. I have a duel head setup myself and spacing was all set up in the firmware,NOT the software. The software for sure could do with a tweak or two, BUT I have not seen anything that comes close.

John Grindon

3D Evolution printer Inc.

[Ian Smith]

Hi John, 

From what I can tell this will be a great product if you have one of the printers that they already have setup in the software. The features that they advertise are very exciting. ie. being able to manually place just the support that you want.  Varying the density of the print, to achieve strength but also speed up the print.  Great, I really want those options. 

Unfortunately to set up the software for my printers will require hours of tweaking to build the profiles. This after they claimed to support both my Ditto Plus and Rigidbot out of the box.  That is a false statement on their part.  They may be willing to support those printers, but it is not built into their software.  The profile that they were able to send me for the Ditto Plus, will not even import due to XML errors.  They didn't send a profile for the Rigidbot, but did point me to the Rigidbot Wiki so that I could read about setting up the dual extruder in the firmware.  I did that when I upgraded my printer thank you, and was not the question I asked them.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm just a bit frustrated with software that oversells itself,  and then expects the user to do all the work. In a year or so when they actually have the product ready for market, I will gladly take another look at it. 

[Ian Smith]

They have sent new profiles that I will try to load tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Ian Smith]

Well these profiles install, and on first glance appear to have the correct settings. There is a bit of a learn one curve with the software as you have to know combined mouse click key strokes a such as Ctrl Rick click or alt right/left click or scroll to move around your model. There support is hinting about a new version, but there is no timeline. They have given me two weeks to decide if I will keep it or not. I probably will, because a couple of the features have so much promise. But the UI will drive me crazy for a long while. Its just awkward to use.

The main feature that I want is the ability to vary layer height. One height on the perimeter shells and a different height for the core fill. Also being able to customize the support should be useful.