Software

The software listed below should be free of charge for the Boise State University community. You can ask anyone in the MakerLab for help with this software.

This is not a comprehensive list of every makerspace software you could use, but this is what we generally recommend for use for our equipment.

3D Design

• Autodesk for Students and Educators is free to the Boise State community – just be sure to sign-up using your Boise State e-mail address!
  • Inventor Professional a 3D CAD software with easy-to-use tools from Autodesk.
  • Fusion 360 a powerful 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool from Autodesk.
  • Netfabb an Autodesk tool you can use to check your 3D design for manifold, apply basic repairs, and alterations. Learn how to use netfabb to cut your model into parts.
• Thingiverse an open, community-sourced, repository for 3D objects.
• TinkerCad a free, browser-based, 3D modeling program known for its simplicity and ease of use. A great starting place to begin learning 3D design! Check out our TinkerCAD tutorials to get started!
• FreeCAD is a general purpose feature-based, parametric 3D modeler for CAD, MCAD, CAx, CAE and PLM, aimed directly at mechanical engineering and product design
• OpenSCAD is software for creating solid 3D CAD models, with a focus on the CAD part, so is good to use if you are planning to create 3D models of machine parts.
• Blender is a powerful, free, and open source 3D animation suite you can use for 3D models.

3D Printing

• Cura for LulzBot is the free open source software we use to slice and run the LulzBots 3D printers. You can download this software to estimate how long your print will take to complete. Check out our Cura tutorials to get started!
• If you are using the Prusa, you will need PrusaSlicer. Both programs are available on our lab computers, so you do not have to download them before coming in.

Die Cutting

• Silhouette Studio is used to operate and create designs for our Silhouette Cameo die cutting machine.

Laser Cutter

• Inkscape a free and open-source vector graphics editor with an available extension for creating laser cutter files.
• CorelDRAW is a paid vector graphics editor available in the MakerLab. Is available for in-house use when using the laser cutter.

CNC

• Carbide Create a 2D sketching and machining program used with our CNC machine.
• Carbide Motion a controller software used to manually operate our CNC machine.

Data Visualization

• Tableau Public a data visualization software used to help interpret, understand, and visually communicate your research findings.