Common FDM slicer programs

As we discussed in the previous section, G-code is the language used to control 3D printers. G-code controls both the movement of the print head and the extrusion of plastic from the nozzle, which allows us to create physical objects with our 3D printer.

But how do we create the G-code needed to print an object? Writing the G-code ourselves is obviously an exceedingly difficult thing to do. This is where slicers come in.

Before we explore a few slicer programs available for our FDM 3D printer, let's look at what a slicer does.

Slicing an object into G-code

A slicer is software that takes 3D object files and converts them into G-code that our 3D printer understands.

In Figure 2.4, we can see the process documented graphically:

Figure 2.4 – Converting a 3D object file into G-code

A 3D design – in this case, a riser for a computer monitor – designed in Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software is...