So i have a 3D printer, and i have linux on a laptop but im struggling to find good 3D print-related software to use on linux or maybe i havent looked hard enough? Im pretty much a beginner to both linux And 3d printing, also using Ubuntu Mate if that matters on a old thinkpad.
So i need a 3d print slicer/way to print to my printer, i also need a simple 3d modeling software (ive tried blender but found it too hard and heavy for me and my laptop). It would help if all suggested software were open source or something like that.
it’s been a while, but ill try to contextualize some of the great suggestions here. i use cura to slice, then octoprint through usb to actually control and interface with the printer. there are many good slicers, octoprint is the standard for most printers unless you have something odd or too proprietary.
blender has a CAD mode or some plugin that makes it much easier to use for certain 3d printing applications, a bunch like autodesk, just not quite as refined. that’s what i sometimes use when i need it. openscad and a couple other foss options that run on linux work but aren’t very intuitive or easy to use, trust me.
as a last resort running other established windows software could work on wine with a bit of banging around, but may or may not be that simple to setup. those tend to be much heavier than foss apps though, so if your computer is already struggling you will have a worse time.
my suggestion is to first and foremost confirm if 3d acceleration and stuff is enabled and working in blender and nothing overheats or anything, it shouldn’t be that hard to run on a regular laptop made in the last decade for simple beginner stuff. it’s worth trying to get it to work just because it’s the best option on linux imho, and not that hard once you grasp the basics.
and yeah software discoverability is not that great on linux, but we got you.