# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > FlashForge Forum >  simplify3d

## Ghosty

is simplify 3d worth the £100 cost, i mean what can it do that other free software cant. 

im asking because i have been looking at buying this software, but at present cant justify the cost.

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## jfkansas

It is much better at presenting the setting and the range of those settings. It has a vast library of printers with basic profiles pre configured. It has the ability to save out profiles or Factory files. A factory file saves the STL and all settings so if you need to print it again and don't have the STL it will still have everything it needs. There are many more features to list, is it better than other free ones? Hmm, not sure, they all "work" to some degree.

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## GammaRays

It's faster, easier to use, has more features, and allows you to print better quality items. I was hesitant, too, but had heard so many good things about it that I decided to give it a try. I've had it for about 6 months now and would hate to have to another program.

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## jimc

me too. i have been using it 3 years now. i would never use anything else.

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## bonzo

I'm am going to have to chime in and say yes, it's worth it for all the reasons above. I went back to try Slic3r after S3D and it was a nightmare to use. Cura seemed to be lacking a lot of features as well.

Believe, me I hated shelling out $150, but considering what I have been able to do with it, so easily...it's worth it. It just makes the whole 3D printing process so much more enjoyable, especially pulling off the bed what was on the screen  :Wink:

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## LambdaFF

A few examples.

How much time do you lose to re-slice an item in your current slicer because 1 parameter was incorrect ? S3D does it in less than 5 seconds, everytime, whatever the model. 

How much time do you lose to re-orient models in another software (Meshmixer or whatever) ? S3D does it with 1 command : put this surface on the bed.

How much time do you lose removing support ? The Support in S3D is really well made and easily removed.

How much of a hassle is dual colour printing ? Have a look at the tutos on the website.

It probably does not do much more than other softs, but it does it really well. For me, just the time saving is sufficient to justify it.

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## curious aardvark

it's the only software I've_ bought i_n the last 20 years. 
And yes it is worth it. was only £70 something when I bought it. 

Been using just over a year. I held out till I could see it in action. Did that at tct 2014 - poppy from the 3dp unlimited guys gave me a comprehensive run through. Bought it the next day. 

Winged continuously about the crapy infill for about 9 months. They fixed that with version 3.0 
And My only current complaint is how shite the dual extrusion still is. 
It's supposed to print a wiped barrier round the print. But only seems to start that on the second layer. Now on  a 3 layer print. because the unused head isn't being wiped the first layer gets printed with a semi-mirror image by the second head. 

So I'm going to have to go back to makerware. 

Pretty sure it'll get fixed in a future release. 
But even with that - it's definitely worth the money. :-)

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## Sebastian Finke

The wipe thing is a biggie since I do a ton of dual extrusion printing. I like the quick slicing although that isn't an issue yet as I do my program way in advance.

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## Bassna

I purchased S3D last Christmas, and I have not touched another slicer since then. It has saved me so much time and money the past year, it was well worth the price tag.

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## djprinter

It's worth it... I especially love the ability to print a single or multiple parts with totally different settings.

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## Sebastian Finke

Lots if people have mentioned that S3D has poor infill. What exactly is wrong with it?

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## djprinter

> Lots if people have mentioned that S3D has poor infill. What exactly is wrong with it?


I think this critique only applies to older versions which only had one infill type (rectilinear).

The newest version has a wide selection of infill types.

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## curious aardvark

yeah basically versions up to 2 - only put infill down on alternate layers. So you never got a solid internal matrix. 
Version 3 fixed this so you can have infill every layer and added several different patterns. 
This means that you can use less infill but have stronger, lighter parts. 

So if you're using the pirated version that's doing the rounds - you're stuck with version 2 and really weak parts :-)

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## EagleSeven

Where can I  'pirate' the latest and greatest version ???  :Wink: 

I'm Not Really Bad, I just Act that Way ! LOL  :Wink:

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## anthony27

Hi Guys, 
so I am now using S3d and wow this is brilliant!! the finish is amazing
the only problem I am having is that the support is dislodging and going haywire, using ABS any tips?

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## curious aardvark

use pla ;-)

You can adjust the support. Never used support - but I have seen the 'adjust support' section.

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## djprinter

> Hi Guys, 
> so I am now using S3d and wow this is brilliant!! the finish is amazing
> the only problem I am having is that the support is dislodging and going haywire, using ABS any tips?


Support dislodging is my main complaint with Simplify3d.  Set the support gaps to 0 and the first layer height to 75%.

Even then you might want to consider manually placing thin discs under the supports to keep them stuck to the build plate.

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## anthony27

> use pla ;-)
> 
> You can adjust the support. Never used support - but I have seen the 'adjust support' section.


forgive me, I have not used PLA much as of yet, so how do you get away without supports on overhands greater than 45 degrees?

the reason i am using ABS in particular, is that the parts need to be able to withstand a very hot environment in this particular test I am conducting  :Smile:

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## anthony27

> Support dislodging is my main complaint with Simplify3d.  Set the support gaps to 0 and the first layer height to 75%.
> 
> Even then you might want to consider manually placing thin discs under the supports to keep them stuck to the build plate.


Ok I will try that tonight!
So are you saying that I should create my own supports in CAD for each project,
 do you have any examples of some good support designs I could see?
I wonder if filament quality is an issue? I am using the 2 month old ABS that came with the printer,

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## Bassna

> Ok I will try that tonight!
> So are you saying that I should create my own supports in CAD for each project,
>  do you have any examples of some good support designs I could see?
> I wonder if filament quality is an issue? I am using the 2 month old ABS that came with the printer,


Hey I added you and am on Skype if you want to hop on

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## anthony27

> Hey I added you and am on Skype if you want to hop on


Hi Bassna , thanks for that, I cannot at the moment as I am at work, how about later this evening?

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## ChrysPot

Has anyone worked with ReplicatorG? Can i have a comparison with S3D?

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## jfkansas

RepG is outdated free software that hasn't been actively developed for almost 4 years. S3d is actively developed/supported commercial software. Really hard to compare.

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## curious aardvark

rep g takes about 4 hours to slice the lefabb articulated elephant (can't give you an exact time after 3 hours I gave up and never used rep g again). 
Simplify3d takes about 30 seconds.

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## tsteever

Can s3d do mesh mixes like Slic3r does? I want to explore some of the options printing with different fill densities on a single part can offer. I know you can use different settings on separate parts on the prints, but what about separate sections of the same part?

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## curious aardvark

yes - I think, not sure what you mean. 

You can have any number of processes on a single print, seperated by vertical height. 

You could simply have the print in different bits - apply a seperate process to each part and then move them together om the printbed. 
Essentially ending up with one single object with a variety of different settings.

It won't cut a print into different bits though - that would be useful.

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## tsteever

This is what I mean...

http://slic3r.org/blog/modifier-meshes

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## curious aardvark

in that case - yes. 
All he's done is create two models. Applied different settings to each and then stuck them together.

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## tsteever

Kinda. The second model just provides an area that modifies the initial part. It doesn't simply create two parts. When you load the second part as a modifier it won't slice that part. It only tells the slicer anything in this area gets different setting applied.

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## djprinter

> Ok I will try that tonight!
> So are you saying that I should create my own supports in CAD for each project,
>  do you have any examples of some good support designs I could see?
> I wonder if filament quality is an issue? I am using the 2 month old ABS that came with the printer,


No you don't need to create your own supports, but if you're having problems with supports not adhering to the build plate, a thin model placed under the support will help. 

If you have problems with parts curling off the supports, then you may need to adjust your model--adding a few fused support that anchor it to the build plate.

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## curious aardvark

> Kinda. The second model just provides an area that modifies the initial part. It doesn't simply create two parts. When you load the second part as a modifier it won't slice that part. It only tells the slicer anything in this area gets different setting applied.


simplify 3d won't do that. But it's pretty simple work round.

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## ChrysPot

Where can i find the manual of Simplify? I mean there are a lot of parameters to adjust, where can i find out what, each one of them, does?

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## LambdaFF

> Where can i find the manual of Simplify? I mean there are a lot of parameters to adjust, where can i find out what, each one of them, does?


1/ If you let your cursor hover over a parameter it gives basic explanations.

2/ They have a Support Page with more detailed scenarios/tutorials

3/ On their support page they have a troubleshooting guide that explains what parameter to work on based on what your print looks like.

4/ They have nice support by email. They answer fairly quickly and are quite OK.

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## djprinter

> Where can i find the manual of Simplify? I mean there are a lot of parameters to adjust, where can i find out what, each one of them, does?


There's a great new website called google, type in what you're trying to find it there.

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## ChrysPot

Great answer dude, thanks a lot! I usually go for the official manual first and if that isn't good enough to cover what i need then i google it.

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## curious aardvark

try this: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/
I'm not sure there is an actual manual. 

I haven't seen one - but then if you go through the stuff on the support page - you shouldn't need one. And every setting has it's own info bubble. 

And google is a pretty lousy search engine, yahoo is better. dogpile gives you a selection from more than one.

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## aptc

Hi, I wonder if simplify3d is compatible with the Flashforge Dreamer?

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## jfkansas

Yes it is, but have to export gcode from Simplify3D and bring into FlashPrint.

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## Ghosty

> A few examples.
> 
> How much time do you lose to re-slice an item in your current slicer because 1 parameter was incorrect ? S3D does it in less than 5 seconds, everytime, whatever the model. 
> 
> How much time do you lose to re-orient models in another software (Meshmixer or whatever) ? S3D does it with 1 command : put this surface on the bed.
> 
> How much time do you lose removing support ? The Support in S3D is really well made and easily removed.
> 
> How much of a hassle is dual colour printing ? Have a look at the tutos on the website.
> ...


i loose very little time, i have a top of the range desktop, with 32gb ram, a 8gb graphics card, a 120gb ssd boot drive, a 240gb ssd for 3d files/software and a 3tb drive for all the other programs. but yes i have noticed it is faster than other slicers.

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## Ghosty

> try this: https://www.simplify3d.com/support/
> I'm not sure there is an actual manual. 
> 
> I haven't seen one - but then if you go through the stuff on the support page - you shouldn't need one. And every setting has it's own info bubble. 
> 
> And google is a pretty lousy search engine, yahoo is better. dogpile gives you a selection from more than one.


so i put up the cash this last week, got laid off form my job of 21 months due to ill health (yep right before my 2yr, more rights thing kicked in) either way i got a nice payout (cant specify, confidentially clause), but anyway im finding this software well worth the money, no problems with sticking to the bed (i have a flexi build plate), dense supports are great easy to remove. i still get some sagging on the dense layer, im printing at 205 for pla, think i mite back it off to 200 see if that helps. 

one called "wave tealight holder" (cant seem to find a link for it now) prints fine, but as the upper surfaces are not seen as solid, they print very thin, similar to the 2 perimeters of the rest of the print, also the inner layers are not meeting the perimeter layers, as in in getting some gaps, my bed is adjusted correctly. 

any help

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