PreForm 0.8.4: Mac OS X & Mesh Repair

The day has arrived! We’ve had many requests for a Macintosh-compatible version of our PreForm software, and here it is. Head over to our software page to check out our new OS X-compatible version of PreForm 0.8.4.

PreForm on Mac OS X is a first-class citizen and we’re releasing it with complete feature parity with the Windows version. Heading forward, we’ll release OS X and Windows-compatible versions of PreForm simultaneously.

This is our first Apple release and we’re still making it better. Help us by reporting any issues, requests, or bugs to [email protected].

Announcing Automatic Mesh Repair

We’re about sophisticated software as much as awesome hardware, and we’re working hard to make PreForm the best software for desktop 3D printing out there. That means making printing easier and more reliable.

Our PreForm 0.8.4 release for Windows and Mac contains a powerful new feature, automatic mesh repair. PreForm’s mesh repair tool integrates software from Netfabb to examine the triangle meshes that make up your digital design. It will automatically clean up artifacts, close triangles, and join vertices, so that your models will print reliably on the Form 1.

Check out the before and after shots below. Matt, one of our engineers, punched a bunch of holes in a model he grabbed from the web. At left, the carnage; at right, after the repair.

![Mercedes C9 inspired car shell model in PreForm][media-2330]

The difference is even clearer when you take a look at the model viewed through our slicer, below. The model at left will print very poorly. You can see where the laser will skip all over the place, trying to fill broken and malformed triangles. The model on the right, however, after automatic repair, will print beautifully!

![Mercedes C9 inspired car shell model in PreForm slicer][media-2331]

We’re looking forward to rolling out many more improvements in the weeks to come! Stay tuned.

[media-2330]: https://archive-media.formlabs.com/upload/car-shell.png#autosize=2330 “A modified mesh, at left, and post automatic repair, at right. Model courtesy of barney.
[media-2331]: https://archive-media.formlabs.com/upload/car-slice.png#autosize=2331 "The damaged mesh (left), and repaired mesh (right), viewed through PreForm's built-in slicer. Model courtesy of barney.