So, I’m trying to print some older models from thingiverse and I have discovered that basically all the files I want to print have glaring flaws in them.

Internal free floating structures, connector pieces and holes that are the exact same size… So on and so forth…

Do I need to learn a software like CAD or Blender to fix these? I seem to be able to do some basic stuff in Orca Slicer but it honestly seems like as much of a pain to modify the parts there as it would be to use a real software.

Is there one that’s easier? I think I messed around with SketchUp once upon a time.

I am worried this feels like opening a can of worms just so that I can make a thing that already exists in a dozen forms better.

  • KrauerkingOPEnglish
    3·
    12 days ago

    I agree that we should know how to tinker or slightly modify files as well but I’d say pulling out a separate software with a huge learning curve is a step that’s hard to get people to swallow.

    I think I really wanted to put emphasis on have to learn it, cause for things that feel simple to suddenly find it will take 30 hours of study and then several additional hours of fixing suddenly feels like a jump up in ask for making sure you can actually print a part successfully that’s been posted in a 3D printer file site.

    I had experience with simple tools but they don’t seem to exist much anymore and the tools in the slicer software seem to exist to say they do which brings me back to the question of if I was missing something or had to learn a separate software.

    But some of us aren’t professional software engineers. And modifying something turns into a bigger project.

    TinkerCAD seems to be a popular answer and I hope simple enough cause I’d love to see stuff I helped design reality but not making money on it too means time needs to be spent keeping myself alive first and thus extended hobby space much further down.