Design of Experiments for Slicers

Introduction

I have posted previously, that I recently completed my PhD dissertation. As part of my research, I found this article, “Comparing the accuracy of 3D slicer software in printed end- use parts”.

In the 2019 article, the authors test the accuracy, print time, and material usage of various slicers including:

• Simplify3D
• Cura
• Slic3r

The research found that Simplify3D was the best overall slicing tool.

There have been many updates in slicers since 2019. Unfortunately, Simplify3D has seen no updates. Additionally, at ~$150 Simplify3D is a tough sell when compared to the numeous excellent free slicers.

In looking at the study, I would like to try to replicate it and keep it updated as slicers are updated and released. The technology surrounding 3D printing is evolving rapidly and I believe a site with a quantitative analysis of slicers would be valuable. Additionally, I would like to do my printing and testing with readily available calibration models.

My plan is to be transparent and post my methods and results. I also hope to post an associated video with each post.

My hope is that the community will find it useful.

Methods

I plan on using the following equipment and procedures:

• Ender 3 v2 - the Ender 3 is one of the most popular 3D printers around. As such, most slicers have a default profile available.
• Filament - I am going to used Overture PLA. As of this writing, it is the top selling spool filament on Amazon.
• Settings - using the default slicer profile and using the original article as a reference, I will select and document the print parameters.
• Print results - I will document the cost, time, material usage, and quality of each print.
• Cost - cost will include material and power usage. The material cost will be captured via Octoprint.
• Time will be captured via Octoprint.
• Quality - in a subsequent post, I will document the quality procedure.
• Prints - I will print 3 of each test print and average scores.

I will make a document page to share settings and scores. My hope is that anyone would be able to repeat the experiments.

Link used are Amazon affiliate program links