Pathio engine for PrusaSlicer?
It's just a mind game, but wouldn't it make sense for future PrusaSlicer versions to replace the Slic3r engine with the Pathio engine?
Prusa and E3D have already worked together several times in the past and both companies would benefit from the cooperation here as well.
Prusa would get a superior slicing engine and E3D would get the great UI/UX of PrusaSlicer.
I am looking forward to your opinion.
RE: Pathio engine for PrusaSlicer?
IIRC E3D plans on releasing a commercial product based on their slicing engine, so it's not open source nor are they offering to give it away. While the two companies have worked together, I suspect it's always been on a for-profit basis, and each has their own commercial interests.
I might be wrong about E3D's intent. It's been a while since I kept up with Pathio. It does seem to be making progress.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Pathio engine for PrusaSlicer?
Update: Pathio is not open source and will eventually be released on at least a partial for-pay license after the beta. I'm not saying this is a bad thing. Hell, I was happy to pay $150 for Simplify 3D when it was the hotness and promised to keep up. It's just a very different development reality than Prusa's commitment to open source hardware and software.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Pathio engine for PrusaSlicer?
I still don't think it's impossible. The FAB365 beetle on Prusa Printers is also a commercial model but we get it for free because of a collaboration with Prusa.
Maybe Pathio will go the same way as Fusion 360: Free for all but business users.
We are talking about an engine. This is an independent and modular piece of software. It can be handled as an optional Add-In in addition to the free and opensource Slic3r engine and doesn't need to be opensource itself. Using a small shim layer to equalize the differences it could work as a "choose your engine" solution.
Maybe a general Add-On system for PrusaSlicer is a good idea too. This would open the way for a lot of possibilities.
RE: Pathio engine for PrusaSlicer?
Snipped from the Pathio web page:
Be Ambitious
Being an independent slicer developer means we’re not tied or biased to a single platform and means that we can
aggressively pursue advanced, ambitious, and experimental features to actively support the broadest range of
machines possible.
The flip side is that we don’t have a separate revenue stream to support us.
This means we’re going to have to charge at least some of our users at some time in the future in order to continue
development. We’re not entirely sure what this will look like at this time and currently we’re just focused on
creating the best product we can but we feel it is right to give you fair warning of our future intentions. We will
be soliciting community feedback on how to best implement this and welcome your input on what this may look
like
Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.
RE: Pathio engine for PrusaSlicer?
[...]
We are talking about an engine.
[...]
And as the algorithm that actually performs the work, it is clearly patentable IP. User interface fluff, not so much (not that companies haven't tried, see what Apple did when MS tried to put a recoverable "Trash Can" into Windows, ended up calling "Recycle Bin" instead).
See my (limited) designs on:
Printables - https://www.printables.com/@Sembazuru
Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/Sembazuru/designs