Recommended Slicers and Design Tools

3d Slicer Tools For 3d Printing (DLP Resin and FDM Filament)

ChiTuBox Slicer
This is a great slicer for DLP resin printers. It has many of the printers as presets, and if your printer isn’t in the list, you can add it by just adding the layer heights and the build volume. It provides excellent DLP-style supports, exactly what you need to print great models. Free to download and use.
https://www.chitubox.com/download.htmlOpens in a new tab.
Cura Slicer
This is a great slicer for FDM filament printers. Like ChiTuBox, it has many of the printers as presets. It generates supports as needed, and even allows you to save directly to removable media for transfer to the printer. It’s the go-to standard for filament printers. Free to download and use.
https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-curaOpens in a new tab.

3d Design and Modification Tools

TinkerCad
This is an excellent browser-based CAD software. You can create models with it, and you can import existing STL files for modification. It’s free to use online, but you cannot use it without a browser and internet connection.
https://www.tinkercad.comOpens in a new tab.
Fusion 360
This is a quite powerful CAD tool that can generate just about anything you can think up. It has a free trial (30 days for commercial use, 1 year for non-commercial use and 3 years for students). After that, it’s a subscription, at just under $400.00USD per year.
https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/free-trialOpens in a new tab.