Quick Start Guide

A 3D printer takes a 3D model and turns in into a plastic part. To do this there are a number of pieces of software complete this task. A good source of more information can be found here:Software Toolchain (reprap.org)) We suggest the following open source applications:

Slic3r:

Slic3r takes a 3D model (usually a .stl file) and turns it into Gcode. Gcode is the instructions for the 3D printer to create the part. An example of Gcode is show below. A good list of what each line means to the print can be found here.

G92 E0

G1 Z0.350 F12000.000

G1 X-10.000 Y-16.620

G1 F3600.000 E0.50000

G1 X10.000 Y-16.620 F2160.000 E2.31859

Once the 3D model (.stl) has been turned into Gcode, it must be feed into the printer. This can be done by loading the gcode file onto a micro SD card and putting it into the printer or feeding it through a feeder program.