Automatically Recover Progress and View Realistic Part Renders With PreForm 3.60.0

The print process starts in PreForm, Formlabs’ free print preparation software, and our software engineers are working to make the process of going from file to print seamless while giving you the tools you need to bring your ideas to life. 

The updates in PreForm 3.60.0 add tools to give you more control, all while making your pre-print process easier than ever. The new update includes: 

• Auto-Recovery to crash-proof work in progress 

• Realistic Renders to preview a printed part

• Separate Parts for importing one file containing multiple models 

To start using these tools, download or update PreForm.

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While having an application crash can be annoying, losing progress on a file is even more frustrating. Now, with Auto-Recovery, even when PreForm goes down, you can return to where you left off. 

Auto-Recovery is a silent feature that works in the background, continuously writing a local temporary save file as you work. On startup, PreForm detects and offers to recover the most recent TMP file, so you never lose your work. 

Previously, knowing how a part would look once printed involved trial and error. Now, Realistic Rendering shows how a part will look once printed, making it easier to choose the best orientation, anticipate visible layer lines, or evaluate cosmetic surfaces. 

Realistic Renders includes: 

• A curvature map that color-codes surface curvature to surface high-detail areas

• Layer line preview showing how layer lines will appear on the final part

• Realistic rendering simulating material properties like color and transparency

Realistic Renders is currently available for Rigid 10K Resin V1.1, Nylon 12 Powder, and Grey Resin V5, with more materials being added. Approve a build with confidence on the first try with Realistic Renders. 

Separate Bodies enables importing a single file with multiple parts into PreForm — without needing CAD adjustments first. For example, a model composed of three combined parts can be imported into PreForm and then separated into the three parts so that they can all be printed individually. Previously, these three parts would need to be separated in CAD software and then saved and imported as separate files. This new tool saves time and steps, making the pre-print process smoother than ever. With Separate Bodies, you can: 

• Split a part with multiple bodies into distinct parts to orient and prepare them separately

• Automatically group split bodies

To use Separate Bodies, select this option in the right-click menu for models with multiple closed meshes.