So now that we have an idea of what our 3D printer is made up of, and generally how it all works together, let's talk about taking 3D models and printing them. The basic workflow that you'll be using is design, prepare, and then print. The design phase involves using CAD software to create 3D models, and these files usually get put out as a STEP or IGES file. The preparation phase of this whole process involves turning a STEP model into an STL file, which is a stereolithography file. Essentially, you can use that to prepare it for your printer. You import your STL into your printer software, and your printer software or slicer will cut your 3D model and your space data up into 2D slices. It will insert some extra information such as the temperature we're printing at and all that sort of thing.

The printer software that I'm going to be using, obviously there's a bunch, is LulzBot's version of Cura. Cura was initially started by a company called Ultimaker, and it's still maintained by them for the most part. However, we do see some companies taking their own version of Cura out. If you head over to lulzbot.com forward slash Cura, you'll see the free download for Cura and all the related operating systems, which will be good for you to use if you are looking for a free slicing software that's decent enough to get you some good prints. Slicers take your STL file and turn it into G-code. G-code is a numerically controlled programming language that computer-assisted manufacturing machines use to produce things.

Now let's take a step back and have a look at some CAD software. Fusion 360 is a CAD program from Autodesk that I learned to 3D model on. It's a great starting point. There's a bit of a learning curve, but once you get around that, you start learning to do some pretty cool things. You can also create STL files from just bodies that you create in the software, so it's perfect for what you want to do. As for slicing software, as I said, there's Cura, there's Cura's open source Ultimaker edition, and there's Cura's LulzBot open edition. There's also Slicer, which is another 3D model slicer, and it's very widely recognized as one of the best. Finally, if you want the ducks guts, have a look at Simplify3D. It's easily the best option when it comes to slicing software, but it does come with a price tag, so be mindful of that. Go ahead, grab a version of Cura so we can go through a tour of Cura before we start our first 3D print.