An enormous effort is still being put to enhance the 3D printers. However, it is not yet easy for the end user to configure the printers. One of the most important points is the different software for different purposes and the drivers of the machines.
Software is responsible for performing different tasks in terms of 3D printing. It starts from designing the 3D model, goes into the slicing operation. There exist a large number of different free or commercial software for 3D printing that we have analyzed before.
In terms of the driver, new opportunities are being advertised by different companies. For example, observed as a major step to spread 3D printing, Microsoft has announced that in Windows 8.1 they developed a standard driver for printers plus an API to allow the developers add dialog boxes to their applications. In other words, Microsoft takes steps into the 3D printing industry; advertised by Microsoft’s official announcement.
For the day, on the other hand, most of the printers have their drivers. As a general rule, again, assembled and trademarked printers use their own software for drivers. The other, generally open community, printers have generally open-source drivers. Again, there is –unfortunately- not an easy way for driver configuration and the user needs to follow the guides provided. However, it should not be much more difficult than it was once to configure an operating system to your PC.
Finally, the user needs to follow the steps implied by the company that he purchased the printer from.