Useful free software for 3D Printing - Part 5 - Sculptris

There are a number of excellent software tools for 3D Printing but for the occasional user, smaller business or school they can often be too expensive.

In my previous posts, I covered a File Management/Workflow software called GrabCAD Workbench, Medical Image preparation software called Invesalius, CAD modelling for schools with Tinkercad, file fixing with Meshlab, and now Sculptris.

I boldly talk about 3D Printing enabling any student in any subject at any school to be exposed to STEM, and to make this happen you need tools.

Sculptris is an excellent tool for Students who are interested in animation, sculpting and the arts to be able to digitally create a model that can be exported as an obj and therefore 3D Printed, if your software cannot use obj's you can use Meshlab mentioned in a previous post to convert it to an stl.

"Sculptris is a virtual sculpting software program, with a primary focus on the concept of modeling clay. It entered active development in early December 2009, and the most recent release was in 2011.

Users can pull, push, pinch, and twist virtual clay. It is geared toward character sculpting and "organic" models.

3D meshes (.obj) can be imported into the program for further detailing, generating normal and displacement maps." - Wikipedia

One of the goals of the Australian National STEM Strategy is "Ensure that students are inspired to take on more challenging STEM subjects", and by using something as simple yet powerful as Sculptris and then 3D Printing the model, it excites and engages students thereby encouraging them to tackle other 3D Projects.

Sculptris is easy to learn and a great free tool to add to your 3D Toolbox.