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Hi

I’m looking to start a 3d printing company, a good example would be imaker in England. that really the end goal. Right now i need help starting up here on 3dhubs, i have my own 3d printer and i have a good bit of experience do this for myself. The questions im looking to get answered are: what is the best software to use for a printrbot simple, how to i price my prints and how do i insure i am giving my customers the best quality prints.

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Hi there!

By software, do you mean software for making models or software for slicing models and generating Gcode? If it’s the latter of the two, Simplify3D is a fantastic program and well worth it’s price. There are good free slicing programs out there, but none come close to Simplify in my opinion, primarily because of how much control of almost every part of the process the program gives you.

Pricing is a bit tricky to come up with, due to the fact that it will depend a lot on your specific overhead costs. A general rule of thumb is to take all of the costs of operation (materials, energy costs to run the machines, rent, etc.) and multiply that be 3 or 4 to get a good baseline. Then compare it to the price of competitors in the area and adjust accordingly. I’m close to New York City, so my energy and space costs are significantly higher than the costs of someone in rural New York, therefore my prices are also higher.

Ensuring print quality starts with a good printer that has been meticulously tuned and calibrated, and using high quality filament that you are competent printing with. Skimping out and getting a cheap, no name filament doesn’t help you at all as you end up with dimensional inaccuracies and overall poor print quality. You can be the best printer operator in the world, but it doesn’t matter if your materials are awful. I only buy from reputable, well-known brands with tight dimensional accuracy, and yes, the filament costs double as much, but everything behaves as expected and prints rarely fail. Producing good prints also has a lot to do with you, and how experienced of an operator you are. Model orientation (with respect to looks and printed part strength) and slicing, if a model will print successfully, the ability to select better materials for a job, and an intimate knowledge of what your printer excels at all take time to learn and distinguish a good operator from an average operator.

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thanks for the info, so i am specifically looking for slicer software i can hook up to the printer and run it with. im also using hatch box pla filament online reviews say that its great but im still not sure. i have been working with matter control but i will look into simplify3d. thank you again for your help.

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Do you want to run it remotely? Like from a PC located elsewhere?

Hatchbox is pretty decent, every now and then a spool isn’t so good, but overall I’ve had a positive experience with them!

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i run it directly off my computer, do you have opinion for matter control as a slicing software.

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I prefer Simplify3D over MatterControl; I have one fiddled with Matter Control every now and then, but I really like the level of control Simplify gives me and have yet to find another program that can stand toe to toe with Simplify.

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Simplify3D is a best program and worth.

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so you would say its worth the price tag?