The 8 Best Slicers for Resin 3D Printers (SLA, LCD, DLP)

Slicers are, more often than not, associated with FDM 3D printers, but in order to be able to print 3D resin models you will also need a slicer that is capable of handling those types of prints.

However, there is much less information out there regarding SLA, DLP and LCD printers and the software used to print with resin is far more scarce.

So, in this post I will be listing the 8 best slicers for resin 3D printing, but if you don’t want to scroll through the entire post, here’s a quick list of the 5 best ones:

Best Slicers for Resin 3D Printers

Let’s get straight into it!

1. Chitubox Free (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Chitubox Free is a full-featured 3D printing slicer designed to edit and slice your models with ease while still providing a lot of functionality.

Now, the reason I put Chitubox on the first spot of this list is because, for being a free software, it comes with a lot of features that you usually only get with paid software.

It has all the basic functionality you would expect from a slicing software, such as being able to rotate, scale, mirror, repair, hollow and clone your models as well as having an easy way of adding supports, arranging and organizing the models to be printed, and more.

As far as the supported formats go, Chitubox Free supports stl, obj, photons, zip, slc, wow, fhd, cwS, ctb, phz, svgx, lgs, chitubox and cfg.

Chitubox Free is compatible with most resin printers, it’s a very fast slicer and like I mentioned, its built-in support-generating system is excellent and you can generate supports with a single click, although it does come with additional settings for in-depth tweaking.

Lastly, the interface is laid out in such a way that it makes working on Chitubox extremely easy, even for beginners.

2. Z-Suite (Windows, Mac)

Z-Suite by Zortrax is a Free Slicing software for resin printers that is also capable of being used with multiple Zortrax printers as part of a 3D printing Farm, which would let you print multiple parts at once.

Similar to Chitubox, Z-Suite can also rotate, scale, mirror, repair, hollow and clone your models as well as add supports with just one click, arranging and organizing the models to be printed, and more.

It features some very powerful tools as well, such as Overhang Highlighting, being able to detect thin walls that would compromise the quality of the print,  antialiasing for smoothing the edges on the model, and triangle mesh repair.

In addition to this, Z-Suite lets you split models along a chosen plane to separate them into parts or to remove some components.

In terms of the file formats, it supports stl, .obj, .dxf, and .3mf.

3. PreForm (Windows, Mac)

PreForm by Formlabs is another Free slicer for resin printers with it’s main selling point being the “One Click” printing setup which allows you to set up your print’s layout, orientation, and supports automatically with just one click, so that you can print successfully without any specialized training.

However, it does offer in-depth manual controls where you can adjust supports and all their settings, such as density and size, as well as other settings to fine tune the end-result, such as adjusting the layer thickness differently throughout the whole printing process; If you want some layers to be thicker than other, this slicer lets you do that.

Again, just like the previous two slicers on this list, PreForm also has the ability to rotate, scale, mirror, repair, hollow and clone your models as well as adding supports with ease.

It’s also designed to be used for printing farms where you’re using FormLabs printers since you can easily send prints to each SLA printer via WiFi, and all of this can be controlled remotely from the FormLabs online Dashboard.

Lastly, it supports .stl, and .obj formats.

4. PrusaSlicer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

PrusaSlicer, formerly known as Slic3r Prusa Edition or Slic3r PE, is Prusa’s own “in-house” developed slicer software that is open-source and that also works on Windows, Mac, and even Linux.

In Slic3r, some features and settings were not as easy to find as one would’ve hoped, but with PrusaSlicer they decided to revamp the entire interface to provide you with an easier- and more intuitive workflow in order to save time and avoid unnecessary headaches.

PlusaSlicer also has the ability to rotate, scale, mirror, repair, hollow and clone your models as well as adding supports with ease in a custom way.

Additionally, the PrusaSlicer isn’t only designed to work with resin printers, like the Prusa SL1, but it also works with all of their other printers, and it even features profiles for other 3rd party printers as well!

5. Formware 3D (Windows Only)

Up until now, every single Slicer I mentioned was free, but this is sadly not the case with Formware 3D since it costs $154.95 for a single license for personal use and $359.95 for two licenses for commercial use, however, it does provide you with a free trial where you can see if it fits your needs or not.

Formware 3D has all the functionality you would expect from a slicing software, such as being able to rotate, scale, mirror, repair, hollow and clone your models as well as having an easy way of adding supports, dragging supports around and editing them with ease, arranging and organizing the models to be printed, and more.

You can also hollow your mesh to save printing material as well as create drainage holes for the resin to easily flow out, and more.

Formware is arguably the best slicer out there for making jewelry, which is why most people who make 3D printed jewelry use it.

Lastly, it supports .stl, .slc, .obj, .ply, .amf, .photon, .photons, .cbddlp, .cws, .gcode formats and in only available on Windows.

6. Lychee (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Available in both Free and Pro versions, Lychee by Mango 3D might be a good choice for anyone who wants to start out for free but who doesn’t want to learn a whole new software once upgrading becomes necessary.

With the free version you get automatic support generation as well as support editing, and all the basic support settings you can find on other free slicers as well.

You can also rotate, scale, mirror, repair, hollow and clone your models with ease.

When upgrading to the Pro version of the software you will get access to the advanced support settings, variable layer height, decreased curing time for Burn-in layers, different hollowing infill settings, and more.

Lychee helps you prepare your model with ease and precision, slice your models with accuracy and give you a lot of cool features like real-time hollowing, island detector, advanced support edition, and more.

Lastly, it features the “Magic Menu”, which allows you to automate the preparation of your model, save time by automating the orientation, supports addition, optimizing, and adding a raft to ensure printability.

Oh, it you can try the Pro version for free for 30 days!

7. B9Creator Software (Windows, Mac, Linux)

The B9 Creator Slicing software is the oldest slicer currently available and its overall functionality isn’t as fully featured as some of the other slicers I mentioned.

However, it’s quite simple to use which may be a good alternative for beginners, and it can be used for editing parts, generating supports, and a couple other minor things.

Lastly, the interface looks dated but it’s still very functional.

8. Monkeyprint (Linux Only)

Monkeyprint is a pre-processing and print control software for 3d DLP printers that aims to be an easy to use and complete solution for your own DIY 3d DLP printer build.

It is only available for Linux Systems and it allows you to position and orient the model, generate supports automatically, hollow and fill structures, and more.

In all honesty, I would recommend either Lychee or Chitubox if you’re a Linux user simply because of all the features they have to offer over Monkeyprint.

Top Recommendations

If I had to choose just one Slicer, it would have to be Chitubox mainly because of all the built-in functionality and features, plus it’s free! But Lychee, PreForm and Z-Suite are also worth checking out since they are free as well, but if you’re looking for a more “premium” experience, then Formware 3D might be a good way to go!

Conclusion

Even though slicers for resin printers aren’t all that common or as easy to come by as FDM slicers, there still are plenty left that can definitely help you get professional results with them.

I’d recommend starting with Chitubox, but every slicer on this list has something different to offer, so make sure to get the one that suits your needs.

Check out our recommended products section

We created a recommended products section that will allow you to remove the guesswork and reduce the time spent researching what printer, filament, or upgrades to get, since we know that this can be a very daunting task and which generally leads to a lot of confusion.

We have selected just a handful of 3D printers that we consider to be good for beginners as well as intermediates, and even experts, making the decision easier, and the filaments, as well as the upgrades listed, were all tested by us and carefully selected, so you know that whichever one you choose will work as intended.

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