Printr’s Free Katana Software Makes 3D Slicing Easy

If you’re a practitioner of martial arts, or at all familiar with them, then you’re almost certainly acquainted with the katana. The long, curved sword has a long history, first appearing in the hands of samurai back in medieval Japan. The blade has some serious slicing capabilities, so Printr’s new slicing software is aptly named. Katana is free, user-friendly, and available for immediate download from Printr’s website.

The new software is the latest release from Printr, which recently received a whopping $820,000 in seed funding to expand their Formide platform and begin shipping their new Element streaming device. The Dutch startup was formed with one main goal: to make 3D printing accessible to everyone. For those who are new to 3D printing, a lot of it can seem complicated and baffling, and the slicing process is no exception. Katana was designed to make slicing easy, straightforward and less tedious for newbies and experienced users alike.

“As fellow 3D printing enthusiasts, we know that the best possible print is determined by a well calibrated printer and how well 80+ parameters are adjusted within a slicing program,” said Printr CEO Douwe Bart Mulder. “But we couldn’t think of a good reason as to why it has to look so complicated. Katana is a demonstration that the technical process of 3D printing can indeed be a lot cleaner than what we are experiencing today, without any compromise on print quality.”

If you’re intimidated by slicing, Katana will do all the work for you. Once your 3D model is finished, the software takes over, determining the best tool path based on nozzle diameter, printing and movement speeds, layer height and other parameters. It then creates a GCode file that can be sent to your printer with a USB or SD card. For users who prefer to have more control, Katana allows manual adjustments, and your own pre-designed slice profiles can be easily imported into the software.

Features include:

• 80+ parameters in advanced settings
• Fast reliable slicing
• Import slice profile from Cura
• Print via USB or SD card
• Quick print option
• 106+ preconfigured printer profiles
• 50+ preconfigured material profiles

All preconfigured profiles can be reconfigured, adjusted and customized if you so desire. The list of printer profiles will be expanded in the future; if you’d like your printer added, contact Printr and they’ll look into adding it to the list. More updates will be forthcoming as well. Currently the software is compatible with Mac OSX and Linux, with a Windows option coming soon. In 2016, Katana will be combined with FORMIDE and the Element to further simplify things in what Printr describes as an “ultimate 3D printing ecosystem.”

“During the beta testing for The Element and FORMIDE with over 250 users, the moment of discovery presented itself,” said Mulder. “We were encouraged to share our take on how preparing a 3D model should feel, in the shape of a free downloadable application. The goal from the very beginning was to provide 3D printing users with a fresh take on achieving impressive prints, consistently, and in significantly shorter period of time.”

Discuss this latest software in the Katana forum thread on 3DPB.com.