netfabb Studio Basic for Ultimaker

netfabb Studio Basic for Ultimaker has been conceived as simple alternative to working with STL files. This type of data is used for rapid prototyping and computer aided manufacturing; it is also a standard for handling triangulated meshes as they include 3D corner point coordinates and flat triangles.

Simple installation, clean interface

After an uneventful installation process the program shows an appealing interface, with neatly laid out options and menus. The application window is clear-cut and intuitive.
The work area takes the most of the interface and in the right hand part there is the context area that allows adding different parts and slices. The properties of the elements are displayed in the lower part of the application screen and they can be altered to fit your needs.
A set of default primitives and parts permit tinkering with the product in order to check its capabilities. However, these can also be suitable if you do not want to start your work from scratch.

Rich configuration panel

Since the application is not aimed at the regular user but the more technical one, setting it up could prove to be a challenge if you are not familiar with this type of software, mostly because of the terminology.
Otherwise, netfabb Studio Basic for Ultimaker is quite easy to configure and makes available options for the measurement units, for changing the colors so that they are significant to specific cuts, operations or parts.

Conclusion

The product is not the most feature-rich in its class but it does offer a glimpse of the capabilities an upgrade would bring to the table.
It is quite easy to work with if you know what you’re doing and the online documentation accessible from the interface should be enough to answer some of the questions.