3D Sprint vs ideaMaker

3D Sprint prepares CAD and polygon data for additive manufacturing and manages print jobs on 3D Systems plastic 3D printers. It imports native CAD files from industry-leading CAD systems, analyzes part geometry, corrects some CAD and STL translation errors, and offers manual polygon editing and hole filling. Preparation tools include automatic support generation, build placement, 3D nesting, printability checks, slicing, and estimates for build time and material. The software supports color-jet, digital light processing, multi-jet, stereolithography, and selective laser sintering printers, as well as resin slicing and multi-material printing. Users can submit jobs, manage queues and priorities, and view directly connected, networked, or shared printers. The Windows product accepts formats including STL, OBJ, PLY, STEP, IGES, and 3DS. Basic is a complimentary license included with purchases of specific 3D Systems plastic printers. A 30-day trial is available; paid pricing is on request. Pro upgrades an existing Basic license, and add-ons require an existing 3D Sprint license.

ideaMaker is a free 3D printing slicer that prepares models for printing by generating printer code. Its workflows cover FFF and DLP printing, and its current feature set also includes SLS functions. Raise3D says it is compatible with most FFF printers and Raise3D DLP printers. Inputs include STEP, IGES, 3MF, OBJ, STL and OLTP files; outputs include GCODE and DLPCODE. The software includes material-specific profiles for Raise3D filaments and resins, and users can browse and import third-party material templates from ideaMaker Library. Its preview simulates toolpaths and displays details such as speed, layer height, extruder and structure type. Parameters can be adjusted by group, layer or volume, while texture generation uses imported grayscale images to produce surface finishes. A workflow with RaiseCloud supports one-click print-file upload and printer connection. The listed minimum systems are 64-bit Windows 10, macOS 10.15 or later, and 64-bit Ubuntu 18.04 or later. The download page lists version 5.5.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux 64-bit.