prusaslicer versus simplify3d

[curious aardvark]

As a die hard long term user of simplify3d I thought I'd download the latest version of prusaslicer and see what the differences were and where each program was better or worse than the other.

So I've set up prusaslicer (hereafter called PS) for Saffy (sapphire pro) and I'll do a few of the test prints that I originally did but with s3d (simplify3d).

before prints a few initial observations.

Setting print speeds.
s3d: you set a main print speed and all other's are set as a percentage of that. So to change overall print soeed I just change one setting.

PS: every single little bloody thing has to have the speed set individually. WHY did they do this ?????????????? Talk about a long winded and unnecessarily complicated process.

Basic program layout.

These are fairly similiar and if I weren't so used to s3d's horizontal tabs, I reckon I'd have no problems at all with PS vertical tabs.
It's pretty easy to find all the settings in both programs.

I did find one setting in PS that I really like. They call it 'elephant foot adjustment'. Which threw me initially (fortumately all settings have comprehensive explanations/tips in both programs).
It's basically a way to adjust for the lip you get on the first layer if you smoosh it to make it stick better to the bed. So you can still smoosh - but the PS slicer makes the first layer that bit smaller to compensate for the lip.
Ingenious !
And something s3d does not - to my knowlege - do.

Basic model layout and viewing.
Pretty even on both.
Scaling and viewing are easy and obvious on each.

Although PS does have a cut function - which is something I've always missed in s3d and tend to load things into flashprint to cut them up.

Something i did find odd.
On PS when you set the printer up it asks you for the x&y sizes but NOT for z-height.
So potentially you could load a print that was too tall for your printer to handle.
I've had a good look around and I cannot find a z-axis setting anywhere.
Really weird.

Sliced preview - PS is fairly basic and lets you step through whole layers only.

S3D is much much better. you can run through by layers or - what I usually do - by watching the actual head movements. You can even run a simulated print.
Also as S3D has built in printer control and communication you can actually run a simulated print synched to a print running over usb.
Something I've often used to check a prints progress if I can't actually see it without moving.

PS comes bundled with pronterface - which is a printer control program.
It's installed as a completely seperate program - so nowhere near as useful as it could be, if they'd integrated it into the slicer itself.

MY first comparison print is going to be a failure - cos it's a 2mm thick phone stand with print in place hinges and I set the layer height at 0.3 when it needs to be 0.2
I'm running it throiugh to the end anyway, just out of curiosity.

right time to walk dogs before it starts raining again.
back later...