Probably the most popular software combination for parametric design is using Rhino with a plugin called Grasshopper. Grasshopper adds parametric modelling capabilities to Rhino, which brings enormous versatility to the design process. Both run on Windows and Mac.

Unfortunately, Rhino is not free, although the software can be evaluated (and used fully) for 90 days. Grasshopper is included with more recent versions of Rhino. Neither programme is open source.

In January of 2019, Vertico 3D concrete printing organised a Hackathon to figure out a best practice for slicing CAD using Rhino + Grasshopper. Luckily, many people wanted to get involved and we created a basic slicing software in Rhino + Grasshopper together. We want to share the results with you.

• Download Rhino here: https://www.rhino3d.com/download
• Download Grasshopper for free here: https://www.grasshopper3d.com/page/download-1 (not needed with newer versions of Rhino)
• Download Slicer: vertico_hackathon_slicer_1.0.gh
• Download Slicer manual: 201902_slicer_hackathon_cadtogcode_manual_v1.0.pdf
• Watch the video tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5cuGZjSpCA&t=1s

Rhino is a 3D-modelling programme that offers a wealth of options. It used by many architects, industrial designers, product designers, etc. Tutorials on how to use the programme can be found online, for example at https://www.rhino3d.com/tutorials or on YouTube.

Grasshopper is a visual scripting language add-on for Rhino that uses nodes to visually represent scripts. It is accessible to those who have no knowledge of scripting, but who would like to add powerful parametric design to their creations. Grasshopper has a slightly steeper learning curve than Rhino, but an abundance of reference material can be found online, for example at https://www.grasshopper3d.com/page/tutorials-1.

Following from the Hackathon initiative and other open source code provided, we learned that it is not always easy to understand the in's and out's of code generation. This is why we created an online version of the basic software that will allow you to generate X,Y,Z coordinates that you can than insert into your robot code.

It is free to use: www.SlicerXL.com

It can be used for both Gantry and Robot printers.