For me, it’s CAD software. FreeCAD is trash (sorry, lovers). Fusion360 is honestly the best out there for free. The “almost there” app is Shapr3D, but fuck $40/m.

And yes I’ve tried all the others not listed here.

  • papalonian@lemmy.world
    2·
    2 days ago

    Resin printing slicing software.

    There’s currently two main options, Lychee and ChituBox. I’ve only used Lychee (after giving up with Chitu) so I can only speak on that. Lychee has mostly everything I want in terms of features, but customization is very limited (ie keybinds, default behavior etc), and some aspects of the UI can be VERY clunky. And the best part: 90% of the features that you need to slice somewhat effectively are locked behind a paywall. They do offer a 30 day trial, so I have a backup file of all my settings, and every 30 days I make a new burner account.

    It’s a nightmare compared to the plethora of slicing options available for filament printers.

    • kibblebits@quokk.auOPEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Oh and it’s monthly too? That’s the worst. For CAD I only print something like once or twice per month. I cannot justify any cost monthly.

      Have you tried any of the Elegoo.com products? I know nothing about resin printing, but they supposedly support it

      • papalonian@lemmy.world
        2·
        2 days ago

        My filament printer is actually from them. I have a love-hate relationship with that machine. It’s like, 20% stock at this point, and it isn’t the fastest or the cleanest printer out there, but it works well enough.

        I’m not aware of a resin slicer made by them, but without doing the research, my guess would be that it’s relatively subpar. I haven’t been resin printing for terribly long, but once or twice a year I’ll go online to see if there is any discussion of better alternatives to Lychee or Chitu, and the conversation has always stayed the same. Everyone is in the same boat in that those two programs are the only really viable options, despite being… not great.