RUG/Pennsylvania/State College/Linux

Overview

This guide will instruct you on installing 3D printing software in Linux. It is written based on the necessary steps to install ReplicatorG, Slic3r, and Pronterface in a clean install of Debian 7. Other recommended software is also included. These instructions should be fairly universal for Debian based distros and rpm users will also have no problem adapting the instructions for their use.

Slic3r

Notes

There are precompiled versions of Slic3r for Linux available here. These builds might work, and might not depending on your system. It is worth giving a recent build a try. If you are getting unsatisfiable dependency errors or want the latest version of Slic3r on your computer, follow the below instructions.

Prepare your build environment

You will need a place to put the source code. It is recommended you create a folder in your home directory called "Programs". The choice in name and location does not matter. When you are ready, open a terminal in that directory. In most DEs, you can right click in the file browser and select "open location in terminal".

Ensure all dependencies are resolved:

 # apt-get update && apt-get install git perl-base build-essential libgtk2.0-dev libwxgtk2.8-dev libwx-perl libmodule-build-perl 

Download the Slic3r source:

 $ git clone git://github.com/alexrj/Slic3r

And enter the directory:

 $ cd Slic3r

You are now ready to build Slic3r!

Build the program

Build the program.

 # perl Build.PL
 # perl Build.PL --gui

You *must* run both of those commands to be able to use Slic3r.

ReplicatorG

 sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jdk python python-tk python-psyco
 sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu natty partner"
 sudo apt-get update
 sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre

If java does load run:

 sudo update-alternatives --config java

and pick "/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/java" it should be the last one in the list.