When starting your 3D printing journey, many people stick to the slicer that comes with their 3D printer. Whether you're a new user just getting started or an experienced maker weighing your options, the choice of slicer impacts your 3D printing experience and print quality.

Two popular options are Orca Slicer and Cura, both offer a unique solution to slicing and print management. In this blog you'll quickly learn which one to select for your needs.

Slicers can make or break your 3D print - quite literally. Over time, there have been many slicers, but two have remained favorites for the 3D printing community—Orca and Prusa. 

What happens when you have to choose between these two slicers? Let’s dive straight into it the right way!

What Is a Slicer?​

3D printing works layer by layer. Each layer is printed on top of another, and a 3D printing slicer converts your 3D part into 2D layers for the printer to follow and print.

A slicer also sends numerical code which positions the extruder, adjusts layer height, printing parameters, and supports. This makes the choice of slicer important, and switching to a new slicer is often a worthwhile upgrade.

Why Is Orca Slicer So Popular?​

Orca slicer is based on Bambu Studio (slicer for Bambu lab printers) and gives the best of both worlds. It’s an enhanced version of Bambu studio based on Prusa slicer with a more user-friendly interface, wide support for printers and regular updates.

Stringing can be a very frustrating print problem to troubleshoot. It can depend a lot on the geometry of your print; some models may have problems with stringing while others may not even if you slice using the same settings. In this article, we'll go over the causes of strining, and what you can do about it.

If you've ever done any metal machining, you already know that rigidly attaching your stock material to the machine is one of the most important steps in the process. In 3D printing, this is also true. Rigidly attaching the base of your part to the print bed, also known as bed adhesion, is one of the most critical parts of the printing process.

When this fails, it can be difficult and frustrating to debug. The reasons why bed adhesion fails are sometimes not obvious and can be finnicky to reproduce and rectify.

Getting started with 3D printing, you’d expect to simply connect your 3D printer and send your 3D models for printing. Much like plug and play–except you’d need to slice your 3D model first.

3D printing works by printing layers, the slicer among many things, converts the 3D model into layers for the printer. The choice of printing slicer not only determines the quality but also the success rate of prints.

This guide will help you decide the best 3D printing slicer, whether just unpacking your 3D printer or looking to streamline your workflow.

What Is a 3D Printing Slicer?​

A slicer gives a preview of your print, adjusting position and checking any errors on the build plate. It also gives you control over 3D printing parameters like print resolution, infill density, structures for overhangs, temperature controls, and any brims for adhesion. 

A 3D printing slicer works by detecting your 3D printer and using information like extruder, print material, and any inputs like nozzle diameter, creating an appropriate G-code from the print-ready STL file.

What Makes A Beginner-Friendly Slicer?​

Several slicer features are essential for beginners to get started with printing projects. These criteria will help you identify the must-have features.

Ease of Use​

A beginner friendly slicer should have a decluttered interface that makes it easy to navigate essential options and at the same time, offer the flexibility to switch between beginner and advanced modes.

Some slicers color code their printing settings and options to green, yellow, and red, (🟢🟡🔴) guiding users to toggle or change parameter settings.

Novice 3D enthusiasts can tinker with the green settings and advanced users modify the yellow and red parameters.

Season Two of the popular Netflix show Squid Game recently introduced international audiences to the Korean game of Gonggi: a fun, simple game similar to the classic American schoolyard game Jacks. The game involves throwing stones in the air, but the stones are often substituted for colorful plastic pieces - plastic pieces that could be made using a 3D printer! In this post, we'll walk you through the basic rules of the game, as well as how to 3D print your own set of Gonggi stones.

How to play​

At it's core, the game consists of throwing one stone into the air and picking up varying amounts of other stones off a surface. At level one, the player repeatedly throws a stone into the air, picking up a single stone off the surface before catching the thrown stone. At level two, the player does this with two stones per throw. This continues until level four, at which point the maximum number of stones is reached. At level five, the player throws the stones into the air and catches them on the back of their hand, often performing tricks like clapping their hands before catching the thrown stones. Early versions of this game used actual stones, but modern players use plastic sets instead.

For more variations on this game, see here.

Popular Model Sets​

Gonggi by PIETROMULLER on Cults3D​

Since this game was featured in Squid Game, many users have created model sets that match the aesthetic of the pieces shown in the show. This design is great because, since the symbols on top are raised, users without multi-material support can swap their colored filament for white to get the desired symbol contrast.

In 2025, there are more off the shelf 3D printer offerings than ever before. Thanks to constant improvements in the tools we use to slice models and control our printers, it's also never been a better time to be a beginner looking to get into 3D printing. In this article, we'll discuss what features to look for if you're in the market for your first 3D printer.

Criteria​

What does it mean for a 3D printer to be "beginner friendly"? We'll be looking at printers that satisfy several criteria:

Auto-Calibration​

Calibration used to be the most frustrating part of operating a 3D printer. To generate consistent, high-quality prints, users had to tune things like the flow rate, printhead acceleration, and even bed level by hand. Modern 3D printers automatically take care of a lot of these, which can make it easier for beginners to get printing with fewer frustrations.

Software Support​

While it's certainly possible to use any slicer for any 3D printer, this is usually an advanced topic that involves manually setting up your printer's physical specifications in a slicer. For people who are just getting into 3D printing, having a piece of software provided by the manufacturer of the printer massively simplifies the printing process.

Low Cost​

There are plenty of 3D printers that are well worth the money, but it can be a lot to ask of a hobbyist to spend upwards of a thousand dollars on a new tool. Many of us have taken the route of starting out with an inexpensive printer, then upgrading to a more expensive printer as our needs change. Low cost printers allow beginners to test the waters of 3D printing without breaking the bank.

If you've been using 3D printers for a while, you'll know there's a way to remotely control prints, check on progress, and perhaps even optimize your printer's movement for smoother running.

But how exactly can you do that?

It's impossible without getting slightly technical, but it's all worth the faster print times and advanced motion control. The quickest answer is–Klipper firmware.

Klipper is an open-source firmware based on Python developed to handle the advanced changes in 3D printing hardware. Normally, 3D printers come with a standard firmware hardcoded onto the on-board memory and any configuration change requires firmware installation, like solving a labyrinth. Instead, Klipper firmware can be edited, and modified and a simple device restart applies the changes.

It's compatible with many 3D printers and you can check the complete list here. Klipper pairs with these common printers:

• Creality

• Sovol

• Pursa

• Anycubic

  You have set up Klipper and the Moonraker API correctly, and it is connected to your printer. An interface such as Mainsail/Fluidd is highly recommended.

What Is Remote Access Using Klipper?​

Remote access or remote controlling your 3D printer allows you to monitor (in real-time), control, manage print files, and receive updates about your print from a distance. Remote access using Klipper works through a web-based interface requiring your phone or computer and a 3D printer connected to the internet.

That's slightly unsecure, but there are other ways like port forwarding and bots and then there's Obico.

Obico offers everything that comes with remote access plus, smart monitoring, AI error detection, print optimization, file management, and cloud-based storage. It's entirely open-source and you can even set up your own local server and have hybrid access or a fall-back option.

SOVOL SV06 ACE Klipper Integration​

Previous Sovol printers like the SV06 are based on a Marlin control board which runs entirely on the printer's micro-controller. Marlin is the old architecture for 3D printers and faces performance issues because Marlin firmware does not meet the advanced hardware capabilities of printers.

There are ways to upgrade to a Klipper firmware which involves using a Raspberry Pi controller, or a tablet. However, now you can also use Klipper touchscreens such as the one provided by Sovol which simplifies the upgrade.

Sovol SV06 ACE comes with pre-installed Klipper integration, so you don't have to go through the Raspberry Pi guides found on the internet for your Sovol printer.

What is Bambu Studio?​

If you’re into 3D printing, or just dipping your toes into it, you’ve probably come across Bambu Studio.

But what is it, exactly?

In simple terms, Bambu Studio is a 3D printing slicer software that acts as the bridge between your creative ideas and your printer.

It’s designed to be user-friendly, so you don’t need anything like a PhD in 3D printing to get started. Yet, it’s packed with advanced features (like multi-material support) that will help you handle complex projects very easily. And its slicing engine? It’s not just fast, it’s also smart and is designed to ensure your prints come out just the way you envisioned them.

It’s also compatible with a variety of 3D printers, such as Bambu Lab’s X1 series and P1P, along with other popular models from brands like Creality and Prusa.

Let’s dive into how to get it up and running!

Bambu Studio, released back in 2022 alongside the Bambu Labs X1 3D printer, is an open sourced slicer software based on PrusaSlicer (which in turn, was based on Slic3r).

It is naturally, the weapon of choice for Bambu Labs 3D printers all around the world, due to its seamless integration with the entire range of Bambu Labs machines.

Back when it was released, it was exclusively available for computers running mac OS and Windows operating systems. If you wanted to run it on Linux, you were pretty much stuck with trying to get it to run on a compatibility layer (such as WINE), or on a virtual machine (think VMWare or VirtualBox).

The good news for certain Linux users is that since March 2023, Bambu Studio has been available explicitly for Ubuntu and Fedora. So if you are indeed a Fedora or Ubuntu user, looking to get Bambu Studio installed on your Linux-based system, then read on for information on where to obtain it from, and how to install it.

There are two ways you can install Bambu Studio on Linux:

• Installing Bambu Studio with Flatpak
• Installing Bambu Studio on Ubuntu / Fedora from an AppImage