Should You Pay For A 3d Printer Slicer? Simplify3d Dive

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With the recent release of Simplify3d v5, I wanted to take a dive into the software. In this video, we will cover the history of the company, why I never purchased a license back in 2015, my thoughts on v5, and lots of additional info along the way.
Find out more or purchase Simplify3d here:
www.simplify3d.com/
Joel's video on Simplify3d v5:
• Simplify3D V5 FIRST LOOK!
Grant from 3D Musketeer's Video on Simplify3d:
• An Introduction to Sim...
3D Printing Professor's video on Simplify3d V5:
• How Simplify 3D V5 cou...
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[@cemmy410]

Anyone who's been watching the recent Prusa Live streams knows that Prusa-slicer (and therefore cura and SS if they want to, due to the magic of open-source) is about to get a lot of really cool things. Organic supports, in-slicer measurements, and as of this week embossing text directly onto STLs. Those last two on their own are maybe not the most useful things, but that level of model editing/interaction being right there in the slicer really is unique and hopefully a sign of things to come (imagine, for example, being able to push/pull faces and holes to adjust tolerances right there in the slicer instead of having to keep going back and forth between it and CAD? Or how that would allow non-designers to adjust tolerances without having to know CAD? etc.) What is S3D doing besides playing catch up? And they have the nerve to charge $200? I just can't imagine backing that horse in 2023

[@ajc4477]

It's stupidly expensive and I really wouldn't trust them as a company at this point.

[@AndrewWorkshop]

I was dumb and paid for the upgrade, not worth it in my opinion.

[@leonabc298]

Have to disagree with both of you. Best money I have ever spent. I’ve invested tons in equipment, but the one thing I don’t have is time. And S3D has paid for itself over and over.

[@DarrenGerbrandt]

Huge lag in updates + no innovation + huge price tag = 0 new customers. Also, remember that the price tag is in US dollars, so for me here in Canada, that price tag is $279, almost $300 and that pay first 2 week trial is a joke. I understand that developers need income but seriously they need to pull their heads out of their ass if they really want to bring in new customers.

[@johnnyhellfire6]

It's a money pit honestly, $200 for software that hasn't been updated for a while (save now of course) and it doesn't even have pre set profiles for most printers. They rested on their laurels, thinking their product was only for "professionals". In retail, this happens all the time, companies sell over priced pos and other types of software they never update and are lacking so many features

[@odw32]

1. They are dealing with a negative reputation due to long delays & broken promises regarding a free upgrade for existing license holders. 2. They don't really offer anything super unique. And there's so much left to innovate, both in terms of (non-planar & multimaterial/multitool) slicing and smarter profile management, and in terms of pre-slicing (CAD) and post-slicing (connectivity & monitoring) features. Instead, they just caught up to the status quo. 3. Maybe at $20 they could attract some curious new users, but $200 is an amount where most people carefully weigh all the pros/cons.

[@marcusone1]

Totally agree... I'm not too concerned about #1, as most charge some kind of upgrade fee after a year (yes, they said coming soon for way too long :) )... but $60USD for what upgrades? and worse, removal of a "seat" (only 1 pc without being able to easily switch - must uninstall fully from what I hear, rather than doing something like AutoCad where it force logs out the other computer, so is super easy to switch PCs). Nevermind, that why would I take my perfectly tuned printer on Slicer-of-choice, and try to move back to S3D?? For fun... but don't think $60 or if your new, $200, is going to provide me with enough fun ;) :D to make it worth while lol.

[@nicholasvonbriesen9547]

I’m not paying 200$ for a slicer that is arguably worse than the open source slicers out there such as Prusa slicer or Cura.

[@schm4704]

My S3D journey was over when their "no trial version, but a full refund if you don't like it" promise turned into some "half a dozen emails exchanged before we transition into the beginning of the refunding process which takes weeks to complete" BS.

[@ModBotArmy]

Oof, sorry to hear that. This is a big part of my concern with any pay up front and get a refund situations. IMO there should be enough confidence in the product to allow it to be demoed.

[@Demento1974]

I've been a long time S3D user (I paid into it when it was at version 3). Over the years, the S3D slicer has been good to me and always produced nice results as far as prints go. So when v5 FINALLY arrived, I took the plunge to see what's been updated. Let me tell you that the bulk of the "updates" have been done "under the hood" and aren't readily accessible for tweaking/modding. Also, many features in the last version (4.1.2) were removed from the GUI/workflow in v5 (i.e. infill % slider bar, check boxes to show/hide STL models). And as a "bonus"... the software crashes any time that I go to slice a model that uses supports. I've tried every single combination of settings in trying to narrow down if it was a particular setting/group of settings causing the crash but no joy. S3D v5 at this point is still very much a poorly-tested, beta version. Hopefully with their "newfound commitment" to provide updates in a more timely manner, things will improve.

[@benbionic]

just use prusa slicer... it's fast, I never get crashes, and it's free.

[@VorpalGun]

At this point the free competitors are good enough that there is no reason to stick to simplify. I'd recommend Prusa Slicer. It has built in profiles for many many printers, not just their own ones.

[@Visualize01]

SuperSlicer > PrusaSlicer Same UI, same tried and tested preset profiles, same features, but so much more extra good stuff and optimization for when you really need to get a print right.

[@VorpalGun]

@@Visualize01 For a while, yes. However, SuperSlicer is currently lagging behind PrusaSlicer by one version when it comes to features added in PrusaSlicer such as the recent new Arachne perimeters. And for the last version, by the time SuperSlicer had released a version based on the latest PrusaSlicer, PrusaSlicer was already in late betas for the next version. So for now it is back to PrusaSlicer for me. I find those cutting edge features more useful than the SuperSlicer specific features for my use case.

[@BenHeckHacks]

Same. The one major advantage (connecting multiple printers) does work but you don't get one tab per printer! So you may as well load multiple instances again. Disappointing.

[@Joe_Galaska]

Six years ago I got into 3D printing when Walmart sold the Anet A8. After assembly I had little success getting good quality prints from the machine. I saw discussion on Simplify 3D and I purchased it. It managed to provide me with an interface that allowed adjustment to the prints but did not overwhelm me. You could say that Simplify 3D was taking me from nursery school to high school. I began reading about settings from watching KZbin and reading comments building my confidence and allowing me to print with success many of the those models that KZbin Creators have featured. So when the new version came out I went ahead and upgraded while watching as many KZbin videos about Simplify that I could find. The new software is buggy for some depending what features you work with everyday. I am not sure that V5 is ready for prime time but I hope the programmers at Simplify 3D are paying attention and release updates frequently. I purchased V5 as an upgrade and it cost me $59.00. V5 is not my daily driver as I recently received Bambu Labs P1P. The Bambu Lab software is my immediate focus.

[@cy-one]

I have an X1C on preorder, what's your take-away from the Bambu Studio and the P1P so far?

[@Joe_Galaska]

@@cy-one I have had my Bambu P1P for about a week. I was printing 30 min after I had it unboxed. Getting used to the Bambu slicer is going to take some time for me. Older dogs don't learn so quick and I am an older dog. I am considering purchasing the AMS but have not done that yet. I think you are going to love your X1C when you receive it.

[@cy-one]

@@Joe_Galaska Awesome, thank you for the quick reply :) I haven't done 3D printing for 3 years or so and used CUDA back then. Both the lack of affordable multi material printing capabilities (Palette is rather expensive and locks you in with their slicer) as well as engineering grade filament took me out of printing back then.

[@Apophis-en9pi]

I used s3d v4 until it became outdated compared to PS and SS. I'd never even consider paying for it or paying for the new version. Super slicer is all you need and more. Honestly Cura, PrusaSlicer, and Super slicer are awesome.

[@LetsJeep]

Invested $170 for S3D with the promise of free upgrades. The interface was great for direct motion control and slicer combined with preset material profiles. Worked decent from day one on the Marlin/reprap based Leapfrog Creatr. When other printers came along, I sadly discovered S3D was not directly compatible with MakerBot Z18 or the Voron 2.4 with different interface systems. Sure, it will slice and spit out G-code with limited features for newer capable hardware. But then each printer required separate software for user motion/auxiliary control interfaces. Which brings a sense of damned if I do pay $65 with taxes for the "free" questionable upgrade - or damned if I don't - making it worthless.

[@mairmatt]

I use SF3D since 2017, bought for 150 Euro as a boxed version in a retail store. Now I'm expected to pay 55 Euro for an update for a not-so-bleeding-edge-software that sells for 185 Euro. But the offer for the update has an expiration date to put pressure on me. And as the cream topping I could only purchase it over the US-based webshop that doesn't even come close to the minimum of legal requirements in the EU. I lost all trust in this company. Game over.

[@strictnonconformist7369]

I’m in the software development field as well as a 3D printer user, and some of my past employment involved CNC controller software before RepRap existed, shortly after, 3D CAD software that supported generating CNC machine toolpath generation from CAD files, and there was one important difference compared to this company: the software was always supported and being updated regularly. If you’re wanting to compete against free, you’d damned well better support your software and keep on relentlessly improving it, while also keeping a good track record with your customers, lest you lose to open source software done out of passion for no pay, but to scratch an itch. History has shown that on average, open source software doesn’t progress as fast as commercial software that has a budget and is popular in the market, but if the commercial software doesn’t keep moving forward, a fixed target is much easier to hit and then shoot past. Part of the problem for commercial software creation, even if it innovated and created new solutions, is that open source re-creations are at least a little bit simpler to achieve the same result, if only because it’s been shown how it can be done because it has been done: it’s not rocket science to analyze things from an existing solution and reproduce it, and having the original vision and making the original decisions to solve the problems is harder, as what isn’t seen in the end result is how many false starts were made and abandoned. It’s fairly rare for something truly innovative to be created, start to finish, with no issues along the way. Simplify 3D 5.x I predict is their last version as they sail away into bankruptcy: they’ve not played the game correctly, and the free options are more than good enough that they’ll not likely get new customers and have already burned all the bridges with their past customers. They’ve committed slow-motion business suicide. They’d need to pull many rabbits out of their hats to make their selling price a compelling value for solving problems for enough users, by making notably better solutions to problems than the free slicers, and they need to do that while also making stable software at the same time. In theory, it might happen, in practice, their window is closing very rapidly.

[@bartsalemink5729]

Amen to that. There is however another hurdle. In the commercial market the price of any investment gets justified by the return profits from that investment. This is however largely a hobby market. So there is no financial gain from the investment. A combination of e.g. cura and prusa slicer will cover 99.99999% of the needs of an equal amount of users. Hell even the print farm owners use that. So unless it will boast print quality enormously or does groundbreaking magic the free slicers can't do, I don't see a business case for any paid slicer. Let alone at that price point.

[@strictnonconformist7369]

@@bartsalemink5729 agreed, and this is a chicken/egg scenario for software project death.

[@bcrx7]

I have used the software since 2015 after I spent a few years using other software that were available at the time. They have really missed the boat with this update. Back then, they promised future upgrades were going to be all free. Then a few years later, it changed to only updates within one year. $60 for an update that is barely trying to get in par as far as the features out there and then dropping the number of seat from 2 per license to 1 is going to prove to be a big mistake and it is going to be the final nail in their business practices as far as I am concerned. They should've given this update to all current license holders as a free upgrade and they need to provide a 2 week trial for new customers.

[@woodwaker1]

Totally agree on the approach to current users, give us a free upgrade or at least a long trial period to let us see why it is worth spending the money.

[@paintballercali]

I don't see why you would use anything other than prusa and cura. The next update of prusa looks to make it the best slicer. I'm a cura user.

[@peircedan]

In general I will use open source software when reasonably possible. So far I am happy to stick with my first slicer which is Cura. If I had to pay $200 for a slicer I would not have purchased my budget printers.

[@GeekDetour]

Thanks, Daniel! I am still curious about print quality - I would pay for a slicer that would provide some really good results. Even more: if a slicer would provide profiles for newer printers, that would be very useful to me. They also say their slicer is faster - is it? Depending how faster it slices, could make a big difference and justify the price.

[@kaitlynk2145]

Another great video! Happy Holidays!

[@MandicReally]

I tried Simplify V4 years ago and was underwhelmed. Maybe I wasn't ready to take advantage of it, but I requested a refund and walked away from it. Other slicers have come so far, I feel like waiting so long to release V5 with seemingly so few updates is a bit of a "too little too late". Hardcore users will disagree I'm sure, but I couldn't see buying in now after so much burned trust.

[@johan23501]

Don't know if you did it already (if so, oops sorry!😅). But is it possible that you make a beginners guide for SuperSlicer? 🤘

[@lasskinn474]

repetier-host isn't a slicer, it just uses cura/skeinforge/slic3r/prusaslicer. it's a control interface more or less.

[@chrisryan3445]

It looks "good" but I won't be upgrading my license. I originally went with them as they are one of the few slicers that supported X3G directly without any conversion needed (the joys of using an early Makerbot clone back in 2014 when I first started). I have a terrible feeling that this could be a last minute cash grab before they go under given the years of stagnation. I hope I am wrong but it seems odd to come out with something that brings it to near parity with other free options without anything really new.

[@digital0785]

There's an x3g plugin for cura so not a huge deal really. Imo even if it's better quality as others they missed the boat at this point and charging for something they said they wouldn't is imo deplorable. If anyone has the verbiage saying paying for an old version would get you an upgrade when 5 comes out they got a class action waiting to happen

[@JonS]

I used to use S3D a lot, but I'm not very tempted to upgrade to v5. Not enough to justify me switching back from Super Slicer. In the past I would mostly made use of the height-based processes, and of course the faster slicing speed was nice, but now there are just too many missing features. For example, ironing was first prototyped in S3D, but it's not even a feature in v5. I almost never use fuzzy skin, but I want a slicer that has it for the rare times I want it. I have great hopes for organic supports. Those won't be in S3D for the foreseeable future.

[@woodwaker1]

Good video and spot on comments. I purchased S3D about 2 1/2 years ago so that I could print some specific parts that needed variable layer height and the best supports possible. Even then is was supposedly close to a new release and I was going to get it at no additional charge. I switched back to Prusa Slicer this summer when they announced the 2.5 version. It seems to do everything I need and is easy to use. I feel that S3D abandoned us, no communication until they said we want money for the update that will get us close to CURA and Prusa. I think current registered users should get a no cost trial period of at least a month. If it is as good as they say, then we would pay, but at this point it is more of the principal that I'm not interested.

[@fiteboss]

Your experience mirrors mine. I use S3D a lot, but their empty promises and foot dragging without communication have doomed their getting another penny from me.

[@3DMusketeers]

Oh hey I know that guy at 5:52 :) I am happy they kept their UI, but currently, I have no plans on updating my copy. Like you said, so much is happening on the free slicers I do not see a point personally. It served me AMAZINGLY well for the years before PS got good, but, it did not keep up with the pack and is due to be retired IMO. Sucks though, their supports were some of the best.. WERE.

[@unherolike]

As someone who bought it back in 2016 its been 6 years I've jumped ship and just started using PS its hands down got all if not more features that it took Simplify 6 years to put into their slicer.

[@corty1980]

I first started my 3D Printing journey mid 2016 and from the get go I had been using S3D. I had tried other slicers and none of them ever clicked with me so as a result I stuck with S3D. When I saw Joels review of v5 I went over to the S3D website and wasn't really happy with the upgrade price, as not being in the US the price was almost double. Though I ended up getting it begrudgingly, overall I would have thought that the time it had been absent from the market they would have made more changes/upgrades. I'am glad though that they kept the interface the same and didn't change it drastically. Personally if I was starting 3D printing now I would NOT get S3D because at $199US you could pretty much get a budget 3D printer for that.

[@stabbyronnie]

Hell yeah! $200 for a unnecessary slicer with minimal features and nothing additional to add over slicers costing $0! And you'll get updates at least every 3 to 5 years!!! Makes total sense!

[@therick0996]

Switched to Super Slicer a few months ago and haven't looked back

[@3dpprofessor]

Thanks for the shout out. I do think some of the points in my video , specifically concerning turning their financial future over to the whims of the community, might have been a little ambitious, but I do stand by the point that if they don't answer a niche that isn't currently being satisfactorily serviced, like belt printers or polar printers, that they could carve out a niche for themselves. But I agree that for $200, they aren't targeting the hobby market at all.

[@PowerChaos]

if you like to know , for me ( got it 2+ years ago ) it would be 69$ and a 10$ discount at current moment , so 59$ to upgrade the license but i personal do not feel the need to upgrade , it is expensive for software that i do not use , it was great if you got different printers and the algorytme was better in most cases (also slicing speed) but those days as you also mentioned, the other slicers improved a lot so most of the advantages that simplyfy gave are lost in time, they all support a lot of printers ( was one of the advantages of simplyfy ) so your not bound to there own slicer anymore so unless they step up and add some uniq functions that no other slicer has does it seems that they are out of the game for competition. i going wait until they release a few updates to see how long it takes to update and what they improve/change/fix

[@jackcoats4146]

I got the upgrade in the US yesterday. It cost $59 US. For the wait, there needs to be a 'knock your socks off' feature set to command the full retail price over the various OSS versions.

[@woodwaker1]

So was there that feature?

[@jackcoats4146]

@@woodwaker1 I pulled the trigger before I determined that. Haven't played with it yet.

[@woodwaker1]

@@jackcoats4146 update if you find the feature.

[@jackcoats4146]

@@woodwaker1 👍

[@contserios]

Hii, love the content! I respectfully suggest however you solve your video lighting problem. Your videos are very dark. Keep up the good work

[@TheOoze777]

I bought S3D a few years ago when I first got into 3D printing. That was around the time when open-source slicers were beginning to come into their own, but were, for me at the time, harder to figure out. Simplify 3D was...well...simpler. As I learned more about 3D printers/printing I eventually outgrew S3D and moved on to other, more directly supported, free slicers. Recently, as a previous S3D owner, they offered me a discounted upgrade to version 5 for about $60 which, after reviewing the features, was not even worth the discounted price let alone the full price of $200. I thanked them for the offer but declined and wished them luck, because they are going to need it.

[@dev-debug]

I'm retired but was a Software Engineer. There is no software without flaws the difference is how long it takes you to fix those reported flaws. Regular updates are a must if you want paying customers to know you care and are active. Three years with zero updates while others are releasing multiple updates a year does not reflect good on them. Especially since those other slicers are free to use. They need to rethink their business plan.

[@Tom-Ha]

great video, I was also a S3D user 3+ years ago. I got an email for version 5, and ordered it on the spot. Shame that time marches on and Simplify3d got left behind. I love the fact they kept the UI, that was why I refused Cura for so long. I am still on OctoPi, which I know is so 2020, but S3d has not even caught up to that. There is a "Hack" S3d Support says they used that allow my to upload instead of print, but a hack is still a hack, and a hack is not OctoPrint is supported.

[@L7TECHKILLER]

Great Video! *** 😁Question what is the printer model you are using in your video its sweet looking? It reminds me of my KP3S's I have. I to paid for S3D years ago. Its a $60 upgrade fee for me. I think we should get It for free or I would think about it for $19.99. It Suck I cant even try it and I have being a customer for years. I'm stuck with 4.1.2 S3D. I have been using Prusa Slicer for along time now. That has been my go to since I got my KP3S & KP3 & My ELF Creativity Corexy. Thank you & Merry Christmas. -Buck

[@CostalCreator]

I am a paid v4 user but haven't used it for years as their support dropped off and I was looking to use simple things that have been included in most other slicers for many years since, such as gyroid infill, tree supports, etc. While an easy to use and impressive slicer in the past, I don't see how most can justify the cost with all of the free and powerful options available. I regularly use several slicers depending on the use case and printer being used. My "discounted" upgrade price would be $60 for the moment but from the videos I've seen, there's little justification for that upgrade cost. From a business stand point, Simplify3D would be wise to allow free upgrades for existing users for this version for adoption sake. Without that adoption, they have a broken or non-existent business case and I don't see how they can stay valid and in business for much longer. Then again, they managed to eek out 3+ years after providing NOTHING to users from v4.x so who knows.

[@donkeykong3x3]

What was that adxl mount on the S1 that showed briefly @3:27?

[@jon9947]

Merry Christmas!

[@TMS5100]

Try comparing the print quality of simplify3d sliced models vs cura or slic3r with the exact same settings. In the past S3D generated better print quality with the same settings vs cura or slic3r. Would be interesting to see if that is still the case.

[@TheThomSirveaux]

I bought into S3D almost six years ago, when it was legitimately the best slicer out there for fine turning each setting to get things just right. They also included a "promise" that all future updates to the software would be "free." I don't remember there being a qualifier for "oh, when we release the next version, you'll have to pay for that, though." So, seeing that I can "upgrade" to V5 for a "mere" $60 (which includes a $10 "discount" from the normal upgrade price of $70), I just said "fuck it. I'm all in on Super Slicer." Haven't looked back.

[@doxielain2231]

My journey has been slic3r, sf3 (for the supports), prusaslicer, and now I use mostly cura and occasionally prusaslicer. I haven't really used s3d for two years now

[@FamilleSchrobiltgen]

6 years ago, a colleague brought me a cracked version of S3D, I tested it for an hour and ... bought it! This slicer gave me a perfect print within 10 minutes of work where I spent 3 weeks to get any average open source slicer. Today, I'm still using it as it'allowing me to 3d print as I'm printing on paper. Did I pay the new upgrade? Yes, I did. An as I'm waiting for my new PS1 combo, I'm really excited to test it versus Orca Slic3r.

[@ChinaAl]

I originally started with that Repitier Host. Never understood that one. Quickly moved onto Ideamaker and stayedwith that for a few yesars then picked up S3D and still with it. V5.1.2. Great

[@tomeknapierala5246]

I use OrcaSlicer with a sidewinder x2 with Klipper and it works great. Fast printing with good quality

[@AndrewAHayes]

I never paid for Simplify 3D years ago and I wont this time round, 1 update in donkeys years and people seem to forget about how they have been crapped on from a great height. The whole movement has been accelerated on Open Source and I think this is the way to go, people should however make the donations to software they use regularly.

[@ModBotArmy]

Yeah, a big part of it I feel is going to be what they do from this point moving forward. They lost many customers from the years of nothing happening, and I do feel it will take more than this update to build back that trust. I am not against paying for a slicer (be it open-source or a paid product). I do still feel there is room for open source and not on the hardware and slicer side of things, but transparency is something very important to me. Without that there cannot be trust.

[@adilsongoliveira]

You said SuperSlicer is your default slicer for Klipper machines. Any specific reason for that? I moved to Klipper a couple months ago but still use Cura.

[@Litzwire]

I’ve upgraded but thus far have found no way to enter per layer temperature settings. On v4 this was easy, enter the line number, enter the new temperature press return and it was done. On v5 in the temperature section I click on add new setting, a dialogue box comes up asking for “new value” which I enter and press return and then nothing, or the program freezes. It took 5 minutes to find that bug. Disappointing. I’ve used Simplify3D for several years and like it very much so hope this is fixed soon. Oh and does anyone else miss the percentage infill slider?

[@benbionic]

I used slic3r for years before prusa took over and it had a lot of good development, without a hardware company backing it, and even back then it had everything I needed over simplify. I never upgraded and I never missed it. I even got some friends to swap from simplify to the original slicer because it did some things better. Now that being said prusa has done an amazing job to make it even better faster, and I see no reason to move away from prusa slicer. I don't even have a prusa at home anymore and use prusa slicer because it's so reliable and easy to get going on any of my machines. For $200 simplify would have to do some amazing work but the simply haven't they are lost in the past and I think this means this will be their last release.

[@ncascini01]

Man, that's a tough pill to swallow. Dropping off the face of the map and offering an outdated-looking product that doesn't do anything better but costs $200 more, without the trust that $200 means something as an investment. I think they should go to a subscription-based platform, and be honest with themselves about who their target customer base is and ditch the old ui or at least make it only an option that must be changed to make ui look old and call it legacy mode or something. Being a niche product to the few people who still use the product isn't going to sustain them as a company so they need to market a product that new customers will be interested in. With the subscription service, they will automatically need to show a plan of action and have somewhat frequent updates or people will stop giving them money. If they can prove themselves with that service though, they'll have a consistent source of planned income that they can use to recruit talent and keep things going. If they do what I said though, I think they need to be promising some cool upcoming features that they're working on that get people excited about what they can provide that no one else can. If I were interested in such features, I'd be interested in subscribing to something like that before the features came out so that I could learn the software's ins and outs and be prepared to use the features. So, make it easy for new customers to come on board and show people why you're the best.

[@unionse7en]

ha I'm still using my Davinci. Like this : flash with repetier, but I use full Cura on my PC (not repetier host to slice) then send from PC to DaVinci over Flashair in the SD slot. Current CURA is great.

[@Jckyecheah]

What's the name of the 3d printer at the front in red color?

[@PrintingPerspective]

So what I heard from this video, for me it seems like the company comes back just to make a cash grab. Especially if the slicer doesn't offer anything significant and they charge an insane $200 for it with the features that free slicers have. Am I the only one thinking this? Or I am missing something important?

[@henninghoefer]

Off topic question: What's the printer on the table? On topic: It seems the only thing S3D has on Prusa Slicer is the ability to directly control a printer? 200$ for that seems quite steep. Also, Bambu Studio does it for free for me (Don't know if that part of it works with Vorons though)…

[@Graham_Wideman]

I bought S3D 4.1 back in 2019, and it has been useful. And normally if an update comes out for software that I find useful, and it's in the $60 range, I would update without thinking much about it. But here's the thing: Updates are only low risk if there's a reasonable expectation that the inevitable issues are likely to be addressed in subsequent bug-fix updates. S3D doesn't just lack a track record on this, they have a track record of no updates for 3+ years, and making pronouncements about imminent updates that were either disconnected from actual development status, or outright lying. So despite the attraction of some of the new features (albeit only paralleling competitors' offerings), to contemplate just updating, let alone purchasing any new licenses, requires getting past the preponderance of the actual evidence that you're falling for a con. That is the barrier that S3D would need to get past. Maybe if we see them delivering a series of updates, being responsive to customers, or giving more insight into the team behind the product and how it's not the same as the team that produced nothing new for 3 years, maybe then they can start to reverse the wariness that customers currently have. But right now, it's no surprise that v5 is landing with a thud.

[@hithere2561]

I had really strong interest couple of years ago but their communication was a thing that scared me off. Now Ill sit and wait couple of years before I consider them trustworthy - in case they really are gonna update regularly and they really have customer support. Trust is something that is hard to earn and easy to lose

[@nickvarley8365]

Short answer: no. Long answer: still no

[@kongchho]

I love simplify 3d and is the only slicer I use. There's so many little things that make it a great experience for me to use. But I would never recommend this to anyone. In fact I always recommend prusa slicer or cura for anyone getting started. It's just not worth it. If you're invested in simplify I'm sure you'd feel the same way.

[@WhiteG60]

V5 MAY be 'as good as' Cura or SuperSlicer/PrusaSlicer, but it's certainly not better anymore. There's zero reason to give them money for an on par product when the competitors are free. Simplify3D lost their chance by taking so long to come out with v5. If this had come out 2 years ago? There's an argument to be made that it's worth supporting, but going dark for 3 years on updates and then wanting more money from the loyal people who stuck with you is a kick in the shins.

[@woodwaker1]

Maybe higher than the shins

[@AndrewFRC135]

I have been begrudgingly using Simplify3D v4 for about the last 3 years. I chose to buy Simplify3D years ago because it was a "professional" tool and not beholden to any hardware manufacturer. It came with very good presets for my older modified hardware and I was immediately up and running. It was and still is good software, always getting the job done. I could create very specific advanced presets by modifying the FFF files in notepad; a little clunky but very flexible. However, it has certainly become outdated and, as the community at large moved on, wholly unsupported. Earlier this month, I finally decided it was time to invest in upgrading my workflow and downloaded SuperSlicer. Obviously the interface and engine are quite different, but I was immediately impressed by the level of detailed control it offers. The built-in printer/filament calibration routines are an amazing feature! About a week later, as I was running calibration prints for my last filament type, I see an email drop into my inbox from Simplify3D advertising their brand-new v5 release. The timing could not have been more comedic; I bust out laughing in my office right then and there. Software project management is a very difficult thing to get right and Simplify's fall from grace is a cautionary tale. I do hope they manage to regain their footing, as competition breeds innovation. However, I will certainly not be giving them any more money for quite a while. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

[@knightsljx]

good luck trying to charge $199 when 1) you're behind your competitors by miles, 2) your competitors are FREE

[@alanb76]

I bought and used Simplify 3d years ago, and it was expensive but useful at the time with some unusual features. Their printer support was never very good for my printers, and as Cura, Slic3r and Prusa Slicer improved there was no reason to keep using S3D. I saw that employees reported on Glassdoor there were problems at the company and we saw examples of the company disrespecting customers as well. They have a lot to make up for going forward to earn back the trust of many. I wish them luck but they have a ways to go yet.

[@edrumsense]

4:05 Take a look to the Editor/Slicer called Matter Control. It's like Tinkercad with a Slicer, the problem is that the slicer is still very poor.

[@giro2504]

I honestly loved S3D when I first got into 3D Printing. After a while there were too many other options around which made me leave towards Prusa Slicer. I would love to use S3D one day again but based on the current circumstances, S3D is just not as good right now as Prusa Slicer, CURA or other Slicers.

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

I learned on it. Bought it just before the last v4 minor update. Switched to Prusaslicer (and then Superslicer) soon after once v5 turned "vaporware". There's no reason for me to go back to S3D. Definitely not at this price point. If only tree supports were adopted w/ SS.

[@eskanderx1027]

Hey, ever heard of the web based slicer called Kiri:Moto?

[@3dPrintCreator]

I really don't see any added value in Simplify3d anymore if you compare the software with other freely available software. That they don't offer a free trail is indeed crazy, especially because they have something to prove because why would you pay 200 dollars? I was no longer planning to invest money in Simplify3D, but what is completely unacceptable is that you can only install the software on 1 computer, and no longer on 2 computers. This means that if you were already using the software, and you decide to upgrade to V5, you can only use the discount once for the first computer, and then pay the full amount for a second computer. I strongly suspect that the programmer's piggy bank was empty, and that money had to be drawn from somewhere again, and I'm not going to participate in that.

[@ziggystardog]

Simplicity3D V5? I have a feeling this will go over about as well as Homestuck 2.

[@RoterFruchtZwerg]

Repetier Host is not a slicer 🙄 Repetier Host is an interface for a slicer, gcode preview and machine control. Repetier Host uses Slic3r or Cura for slicing by default and you can change it to SuperSlicer etc.

[@ModBotArmy]

Good to know. I have always referred to it as a slicer. I think most did back when I was using it. If I recall I was using the cura engine with it.

[@EgorKaskader]

To be quite honest, it doesn't seem like anything worth buying into even with their discount to prior users. It simply lacks the interface convenience of Cura with all their settings overlaid on the preview window ready to access, it doesn't seem as good as the Arachne engine, its support generation isn't as good as Paint-on supports, and it lacks the sheer amount of control the SuperSlicer gives you, while also lacking the sheer amount of ready-made profiles all of them come with. It's not as good as free alternatives, and yet it's asking for AAA money just for the upgrade, or a cost of an entire 3D printer to buy into from the ground up. All that, for the company that's failed to properly maintain their product and seems particularly not trust worthy as of this point.

[@UbberMapper]

yep...i used repetier host at the beginning of my journey in 2013

[@kkazakov]

I bought an upgrade against v4. However, I lost the ability to run it on both my Linux and windows (dual boot). Had to purchase a diffraction of license. Printed several things, but could not find anything improved versus v4, z seam was the same ugly, quality was okay, same as v4. So when I lost one of the installations, I contacted them and reversed the purchase. Went back to v4. Which on my Linux works sometimes. So I finally switched to Prusa Slicer and been happy with it so far.

[@xnitropunkx]

Huge oversight on Simplify3d to not capitalize more on the massive influx of new users to 3d printing. If all you offer is what you had before and a 200$ pricetag you will get barely any new users. As others have pointed out in the comments if there is not a clear cut feature that makes the price tag totally worth it then all they have sadly done is wasted everyone's time including their own. This will be abandoned within a year they will have no growth at all and it will be forgotten about in 3 months by the majority of the community

[@jclosed2516]

I agree - If they had lowered the price in stead of increasing it ($200, and even $242 including VAT in Europe, is insane), they had a far bigger chance of a increasing user base. If they priced it, let's say, around $20 AND had a time-limited functional demo, they probably could increase the user base more than enough to compensate for that lower price point. However, at this price point only insane people would buy it. Especially because the software does give very little extra stuff above what the free slicers have to offer. It's certainly not enough stuff to justify that $200 ($242 Europe) price.

[@Tomas-ir8xl]

For existing customers it's 59 USD for limited time, after that it will be 69 USD. Anyway, does anyone know if you can upload directly to klipper or octoprint from Simplify3d v5? PS: happy Prusa Slicer user. Most likely won't be upgrading.

[@Amarand]

As a v4 to v5 customer, it was not made clear to me that I would be going from a two-seat license (something I loved, having one active install on my laptop by the printer in the basement, and my PC upstairs), to a hardcode single-seat license. I was paying 50% of the original cost to upgrade, which is outrageous to begin with, and then to be cut down to a single system...not optimal. I haven't really seen any benefits going from v4 to v5, but I wanted to believe, so I paid for the outlandishly overpriced upgrade fee. Buyer's remorse? A little. Especially when I could likely do most of my slicing work in Cura, if I wanted to take the time to learn it. The v5 upgrade has left me with both a lighter wallet around the holidays, and a general underwhelming feeling. Oh well. Maybe our upgrade fees will mean they can continue their breakneck release schedule?

[@peterclegg2609]

I bought it purely because I liked the supports and hated the supports in cura, already does everything I need.

[@baljazz]

So they are basically prusa?

[@kingpin1982]

I brought Simplify3d v4 a while back and now I to get v5 I have to get the paid update, $69 to update.

[@stephenvenning3132]

I'm just glad s3d now supports the Makerbot Method X, a great printer that was always held back by the awful makerbot slicer

[@skyrim4713]

I can remember my password,is there a way to recover that.

[@TonyMorel]

I got on the S3D bandwagon early, paying for the upgrades as they came along, but lately I have felt customers are an inconvenience to them. Just picked up an almost free Elagoo Mars 2 pro and a Creality Ender 2 pro and that has been the incentive to embrace free slicers in 2023 so I won't be moving up to V5

[@Juiceboxmakes]

Hoping the maker community isn't so quick to leave prusa behind. Yeah prusa isn't exactly cheap but we have two class a slicers because of prusa. Both prusa slicer and super slicer. Almost like the cost of the pinter is worth it because it looks like without them we have had trash slicers for all these years

[@aam50]

I tried Simplify3d - went through the whole purchase/refund thing when it was obvious that it didn’t offer anything over and above what you can readily get for free, without compromising UI, features or stability. It has all the hallmarks of company leadership that is stuck in the 90’s. They don’t understand social selling and that software is not a capital purchase any more for most consumers. This will always relegate them to be niche players at best.

[@RaoulEvilD]

Is there still no way to automate slicing through some sort of API or at least very basic control command via command prompt argument ? 200$ and still no capability of that sort would be unacceptable for any serious professional at this point in time.

[@doc1time75]

Switched from S3D to Prusa slicer about a year ago. The only way I would entertain S3D, is if it were a free upgrade.

[@Sovol]

I remember when we released the SV04 IDEX in 2021, many customers ask us to provide profiles for S3D. Many engineers use Cura most so it takes time for us to ask them to test S3D. I thought it was really good so that so many people want it and it left a deep impression on me. at the end of 2021, I am sorry to hear some friends complaining that S3D doesn't update. Anyway, glad to see updates! It should provide a good option for some friends.

[@dbkgravity]

The Darmkmode should be worth the money ;) the V5 is less compatible to repetier servers than the V4. I have not needed the fileupload to run there. the print image of the V5 to the V4 with repetier firmware is significantly worse. if you address this in their forum you are not taken seriously. I have sold my license because of this.

[@timmturner]

The only advantage Simplify3D has over other slicers is performance, it's a rocket ship compared to Cura and to a lesser extent Prusaslicer. What printer is that?

[@jclosed2516]

So - S3D is a few seconds faster than other slicers. Sadly that does not make a hell of a dent when your printing time is a hour or even a few hours. And is a few seconds faster worth the $200 ($242 in Europe including VAT) you pay for it? Just asking...

[@timmturner]

@@jclosed2516 Not at all, I wouldn't recommend it.

[@MrButuz]

200 bucks for software that does nothing any better than the top 3 free ones and only gets updates once every 3 years if your lucky? No thanks.

[@Tarbard]

I bought S3D back in the day only because it had good support for a new printer I bought (Cura only supported it via a clunky plugin at the time) and good support for multiple colours (again, this was poorly supported by Cura back then). It also had better supports that were easier to remove. Now though, I really wouldn't buy S3D.

[@caramelzappa]

Simplify would have to solve problems no other slicer is solving in order to be worth buying at all. The improvements in V5 bring it pretty close to m odern free slicers, but that's not nearly good enough. I don't think paying for a slicer is out of the question, but you really have to have something special to make it even worth considering.

[@funjon]

The utter frustration is that they promised v4 paid users a free upgrade to v5... then backtracked on that. It was great back when I bought it in 2017, but open source slicers have brought a TON of improvement while S3D was in hibernation. Not worth the upgrade price anymore imo.

[@GlasAuFruix]

Is the slicer good with features never seen before among other slicers? Probably. Is it a 3 years old slicer whose company ceased all communication since 2019, upped the price by 30% and expects you to pay for a marginal update with no original features? Then heck no.

[@FrancoisMathieu]

For that price, they have to bring something more to the table. Right now I’m using Prusaslicer and superslicer, won’t be coughing up 200$, no thanks.

[@yonutz333]

You said it well, they need to earn back the trust they lost with the existing customers since i'm on the fence on making the upgrade. I loved it but took a break from both 3d printing and simplify3d and switched, so.... Also based on the rumors on how they manage their team and the overall disastrous management overall... this leads me mostly to a big NO

[@cmtravis13]

Great video, for me I have been a S3D user since 2018 and have purchased the upgrade with no regrets. I love this slicer. It performs well for me and although I do use Ideamaker and Prusaslicer, each has their strengths and weakness. For me, it just works and it works well on all my printers. I do agree with everyone, it should have had more of a wow factor due to time between versions. So I hope they have learned something from this and improve their customer support.

[@JarredSutherland]

"We will be more active" .. why? And why should anyone spend money on a product for a promise that they have not fulfilled in the past? I think they are a relic of the past at this point.

[@Matthew-jv1ee]

Bad Management killed s3d..I won't be updating and haven't used it for yrs now...

[@thelightspeed3d712]

Great video. Simplify was awesome. But I just can’t. It’s too little too late