This Slicer Update is a Game Changer

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[@hoagytech]

Great stuff, as usual! You packed a ton of tips into this video! One clarification - Printables has always supported STEP file uploads. What's new is that you can load them directly into Prusa Slicer to slice and print them. There's no longer a need to load them into Fusion or another app first to save them as a mesh for slicing. My hope is that more designers will choose to upload STEP files because as you have shown, it makes our editing/remixing lives so much easier.

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks for the clarification Ed! You're right, STEP files has always been supported by Printables. That part is not new. I misspoke there. PrusaSlicer's support for STEP files definitely paves the way for it to be a dominant file sharing format.

[@atvheads]

@@DesktopMakes As a Cadcam user, cnc. I prefer Parasolid format. What is the benefit with step for 3d printing, can .xt files be reverse engineered the same?

[@Joshkashley1]

Find features!? What is this sorcery????? 🤣 You never fail to show me something incredibly useful that I didn't know about. Great content as per usual!

[@DesktopMakes]

Haha! 😂 Yes, it does seem like sorcery! Thanks JKA!

[@jooilpark9304]

To summarize , use find feature function right after you import STEP files and remove features found that make thing complicated.

[@miszcz310]

It's even more like, take something you like, make bastardized, simplified version. Be surprised how well it worked and how much of a game changer it is.

[@cameraforchristmas]

Great content as always, Vladimir! I'll add my endorsement for the weekly class. We learn tons from Vladimir and each other. I actually can't join each week any longer due to a schedule conflict, but I catch the uploaded broadcast and I'm still glad I'm a member!

[@blindpilot9403]

The Fusion 360 part is a cluster bomb of CAD knowledge. The slicer tip is a BTW point. Thank you for sharing this.

[@TGMisKillingTheMiddleClass]

There's always one mind-blowing thing you do when I watch your videos. This time it was 'find features'. So glad I found this channel

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Alan! 👍

[@TinkeringJohn]

I've never worked with step files and didn't know what they were. I have used Fusion some, but only the basics. This video opened my eyes to a new way of doing things. Great job. You have a new subscriber.

[@alejandroperez5368]

If you didn't know what .STEP files were, you're a complete newbie...

[@TinkeringJohn]

@@alejandroperez5368 Yes I am, because I never needed to use step files. I have specialized programs for my CNC mill and lathe and for my CNC router that I designed and built myself. I also have a designing program for my 3D printers, but it does not have the flexibility that Fusion has.

[@shelbyseelbach9568]

@@alejandroperez5368 And? There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with getting a complete newbie, everybody starts as one. No need to try to be a dick for literally no reason. You act like to know more than he does, yet you choose to try to be insulting rather than pass on that knowledge and simply answer his question. I have nothing but contempt for arrogant pricks, like you.

[@swamihuman9395]

ALTERNATE APPROACHES... - First, thx for your continued efforts to enrich the 3D/F360 community. - As we all know, there are multiple ways to achieve design intent. Allow me to share some thoughts as regards the chain link model... - Feature recognition, and deletion can be done non-destructively! With Timeline on, 'MODIFY>Simplify'. - Model is symmetrical, so use 'Split Body', then 'Remove' one half. - Clearance can be done using 'Offset Faces'. And, all clearances can be done in a single feature, and the value need be entered only once.

[@DesktopMakes]

Awesome!

[@noahkatz9616]

Thanks for the tip about Find Features! Also, rather than delete the fillets and thin to create clearances, I often have success with moving faces, either with the Move command or Press Pull. Finally, if it was me, before doing all of the mods I would have cut away half of the part, made the changes, and then mirror and join.

[@wavedrowningpreventionsystems]

Find Features was gold. Thank you!

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks!

[@spikekent]

Another great tutorial Vlad. I had completely forgotten about the find features tool, so a great reminder too.

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Spike! That's what I'm here for 🙂

[@LewisWalsh]

Nice! Some great tips, but this is more about STEP import in F360 being important rather than STEP import directly to Prusa Slicer

[@rickyneeter69]

1:27 I just open the stl in solidworks as a solid body so it creates triangles immediately and just cut a hole. 1 step

[@kellycoe1787]

Thank you for turning on the lightbulb with the “XYZ” measurement check box… and then the “find features”… WHAT?!! … awesome info.. I hadnt gotten there yet in my practice sessions of fusion.. that helps so much

[@kayvonpejooh661]

Great video packed with some many useful tips that I did not know about. Thank you.

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Kayvon!

[@marsgizmo]

great tips! 👏😉

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks marsgizmo! I love your channel btw!

[@4funrc11]

👍 Thank-You! Good to know! 🎯

[@DesktopMakes]

You bet!

[@ZaxMan3D]

Windows 3d Builder is amazing to do some quick n dirty edits of STL files. the example you mention at 1:20 would be a 30 sec fix in the 3D builder, its you just need to edit a hole size. hell that should be able to be done in the slicer with a print block :D

[@DesktopMakes]

True, new Slicer features do make my simple example much easier to do nowadays. I haven't played much with Windows 3d Builder. I may give it a shot.

[@BriSouth]

Awww shit,, only half way thru and you already changed my life broh with find feature 😅 I love you man

[@DesktopMakes]

Awesome! 🍻

[@SplitPhotography]

Wow. Never knew about finding futures within .step . Thats awesome. Thanks

[@IainMace]

X Y Delata... how am i such a noob at this. wow. so many nuggets. Thanks for another great video

[@DesktopMakes]

You're welcome Iain. Glad you found it helpful!

[@zydawn]

that was excellent. i learnt so much in those few minutes. thanks

[@FraMurgia]

No more struggle modifying step files from the internet, thank you so much! You just saved hours of my future time.

[@CaptainC597]

wow, thank you fpr the "find features" tip!

[@WPGinfo]

Interesting techniques and features ! I've learned something new! Thank you!

[@JAYTEEAU]

Absolutely brilliant. I learned so much in such a short time. Cheers, JAYTEE

[@austindale3129]

That was Awesome! Thank you very much!

[@dworkin7110]

I used Fusion 360 to make a fairly complex pen holder which I really should get around to uploading one day... anyway... judging by this video.. well I think there is a chance I could have cut the time it took me down by ... 99%.. or more 😂😂 Your skillz are greater than mine 🙃

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Dworkin! Yeah, it's a learning process. I can now design models in 3 steps compared to 20 steps from when I first started. Stick with it. It's worth it!

[@tinkerman1790]

Great work! I learnt something new online again and thx for sharing!

[@alejandroperez5368]

Learned two thing: -Select feature when importing step files -Selecting a feature from the model itself instead of the timeline when performing a mirror operation.

[@garrykraemer8993]

Awesome video! I learned lots of Fusion 360 tips! Thanks!

[@jcjensenllc]

Enjoyed the tip. The slicer that needs updating is S3D.

[@darrennew8211]

If you're editing an STL, you're way better off using a mesh editor like Blender. If you want to make a hole bigger in Blender, you select the hole and scale it up. :-)

[@some_random_wallaby]

This. Also, there's a plugin you can use that'll let you measure things so you can be precise. That said, STEP support is really good. Not quite good enough for me to download and configure prusa, but it's tempting.

[@sjoerdb1505]

What are you doing step file?

[@hola_chelo]

I don't even use Prusa slicer but I do use Printables and Fusion, this is a game changer!!! I had literally no idea what STEP files were but I always thought that if Fusion, FreeCAD and any CAD software supports rounded edges, and GCODE can also be used to specify movements in arches and circles, why do I always need to convert my designs to meshes and lose quality, this is literally a game changer. I also have a laser cutter and I always say vectors are laser cutting designs with infinite quality, this is now 3d printing designs with infinite quality!

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Jose!

[@aytunch]

Great strategy. what about keeping the original fillets from the step file? can we bring them back at the end?

[@garagemonkeysan]

Great video. Very useful tips. Mahalo for sharing! : )

[@DesktopMakes]

You bet garagemonkeysan!

[@ronsites2694]

Great video Vlad!!

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Ron!

[@rakibulsaad6568]

Oh no! What are you doing step files?

[@tmuka]

Wow, thanks for the incredible tips!

[@markomatic1967]

Great content, earned a new subscribe!

[@SeerWS]

Holy crap. Find features left me speechless

[@beauslim]

Thanks so much for the tips.

[@RafLow91]

Hey, thanks for tip! Btw, how do you move your camera so smooth?

[@Afro3dprinter]

Excellent 😊

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Afro3dprinter!

[@thebrakshow7415]

🤯 amazing!

[@mianzel]

Great tips, thanks!

[@DesktopMakes]

Thanks Miguel!

[@macombiam]

Super neat!

[@jiaj1985]

Another excellent vid from the Fusion 360 god! Vlad, have you used Shapr3D for iPad? If so, what are your thoughts on it?

[@SoCalRobots]

Cool! thank you

[@RandomAccountHolder]

My only criticism is you're not using parameters. That way you can change the offsets after the fact for different printers.

[@rizalardiansyah4486]

I've never really used Prusa Slicer nor fusion so I don't know if these features are implemented yet, but does that mean now we got G2 and G3 curve commands in the final g-code? That would make stuff smoother (hopefully)

[@alejandroperez5368]

No.

[@willmeyers9602]

thanks man cool tips!

[@CornishCarper]

Any mesh I can manipulate east with Netfabb the importation of STEP is not going to change the STL world. Many other slicers have been able to import 3mf and amf for years and we'll still we use STL

[@heavyweather]

Wouldn't it be faster to just draw a new chain link?

[@trashpanda9433]

Prusaslicer just takes the STEP file and converts it to an STL in the system, so this is basically just saying give people a step file not an STL

[@DesktopMakes]

Yes, and STEP files will be much easier to work with in Fusion 360 when you need to make edits.

[@Jronesfpv]

i edit stl's with tinkercad can make a hole bigger in 1 minute

[@maltes.1007]

where is the slicer update?? Printables isn't a slicer and Fusion 360 isn't a slicer too. LoL - very smart channel, I will learn much of it

[@DesktopMakes]

The Slicer update is PrusaSlicer now being able to import STEP files. Here is how it connects: PrusaSlicer can import STEP files - This encourages more designers to upload STEP files to Printables instead of STL files - STEP files are a lot easier to work with in Fusion 360.

[@maltes.1007]

@@DesktopMakes clever, not to show Prusaslice 1 second in the video. :D and I just skipped trough the video, so I dont saw the text at the beginning

[@russnbish]

Tinkercad. You can upload stl files and work on them. Sometimes it’s amazing what these KZbin people will tell you.

[@etzmannschnappuleck1181]

Well, it comes in handy, but isn't really a game changer, because people could have easily uploaded step files anyways! And it's not a big deal to convert them into stl files.

[@tesg9551]

Great tips. Thnx

[@swamihuman9395]

STEP IN PRUSASLICER... - As for STEP import in PrusaSlicer, I'm not sure of the advantage/s - not that there might not be any; I'm open to hearing them. - BTW, one limitation in the current implementation: triangulation settings are not editable - so, "One size fits all." That said, I assume this will change. - So, first, of course, a STEP file must be available, but oft times it's not. And, if such is available, and there is a need to edit it, then it has to be done in a 3D CAD app (e.g. F360) - and then saving out as STEP, or STL makes no difference, because as mentioned, PrusaSlicer doesn't support triangulation settings. So, in fact, there's more control over triangulation in F360 (at least at this time). - Now, if a STEP is available (and even perhaps no mesh, e.g. model from grabcad), and no editing is needed, and if/when PrusaSlicer implements triangulation settings, then I can see an advantage, albeit not a "game changer" - at least not IMHO. - Anyhow, food for thought. I'm interested to hear other users views...

[@swamihuman9395]

- BTW, I have tested/compared triangulation of F360 (w/ default 'Refinement':'High' vs. in PrusaSlice: they are very nearly the same in face count - though I'm not sure if there are any geometry differences (due to possible different triangulation algorithms, +/or settings for such). - Hm?...

[@DesktopMakes]

Hi Swami, the advantage as I was trying to show with this design is that editing a STEP file is much easier than editing an STL file. Especially if you take advantage of the 'Find Features' tool.

[@swamihuman9395]

@@DesktopMakes - Understood/agreed. But I don't see how this has anything to do w/ PrusaSlicer and its STEP import. - And, in addition to the other considerations I mentioned, the only advantage (or perhaps one) I see in PS/STEP is if/when triangulation settings are exposed to the user. - Hm?...

[@DesktopMakes]

@@swamihuman9395 The hope is that since PrusaSlicer can directly import STEP files, more people will start uploading STEP files instead or in addition to STL file to Printables.

[@swamihuman9395]

​@@DesktopMakes - Perhaps (hopefully). Time will tell, I guess... - Would be interesting to know what % of model posters create in a mesh app vs. 3D CAD app. Also to know the %, and why a poster might only share a mesh even if they could also share a STEP (or even the native 3D CAD file). - Hm?... - And again, I still see this as an advantage for editing in a 3D CAD app, not necessarily anything to do w/ PS/STEP import (at least directly). Perhaps we just see things differently; no big deal:)

[@StephenBoyd21]

step file imports. I would call this a minor feature. All prusaslicer does is impoirt them and convert to a STL internally with no control from the creator.

[@DesktopMakes]

I guess the larger point here is that this will encourage more users to upload STEP files. For those of us using Fusion 360, this will make our lives so much easier when we need to make edits to the model.

[@ptman3]

Very nice video.

[@PinkyTaDa]

Yesssss!!!!

[@BradCozine]

This is my step file... I never met my real file.

[@DesktopMakes]

😆 Exactly!

[@osmanpasha_diy]

I see nothing game changing in this. We've had an ability to edit step files for years, and there were no problems with uploading them to e.g thingiverse before. It's just nobody bothered, and that has not changed with the update.

[@ChrisRomp]

Are you a wizard?

[@rctrix9063]

Fusion 360 is a an excellent program that is ridiculously expensive. So who needs to know. 🤔

[@moen3249]

It is free for personal use.. with some advanced features removed.

[@mslindqu]

I mean.. cool but people can just upload fusion project files currently.. they just don't.

[@Kenneth91619]

How able this idea....learn how to do your own modeling. WOOOW then you wont have to mess with any of these steps.