When creating files to laser cut, 3D print, or carve on our Carvey, here are the following software you might find helpful (all of which you can use on the Design Center's computers):
Laser Cutter
- Our laser cutter requires a .dxf file format. Your design should consist of two-dimensional, connected lines of some sort (unlike three-dimensional model files). The following software are popular options for designing in and exporting .dxf files:
3D Printing
- Our Ultimaker 2+ Extended 3D printers require the use of Cura, which is companion software that prepares your model file for printing. (Cura is free to download, too!)
- Your 3D model files should be uploaded to Cura in .stl format.
- While there's a ton of software you can use to create your .stl file, here are some of our favorites:
- Autodesk Tinkercad (free, easy to use, web-based)
- Autodesk Fusion 360 (useful for simulations for testing structural integrity of a prototype)
- Blender (free, but used for 3D modeling and animation, so its interface is complicated to navigate)
Carvey:
- Our Inventables Carvey machine uses free, web-based software called Easel. You can create an account and design a file (or upload a file you designed elsewhere) into it before coming in, and also set your cut settings/drill bit/etc.
- Easel can also take .svg, .dxf, g-code, or trace a .png/.jpg image. Lots of software work with these file types, including:
- Adobe Illustrator (.svg, .dxf)
- Adobe Photoshop (all image file types)
- Blender (g-code)
