Linux Help

My main desktop computer uses Ubuntu Linux as the the operating system. For that reason I am including her some information which I have found useful in supporting 3D printing in a Linux environment.

Prusa Slicer

Update [September 2022] : I am now using Ubuntu 22.04, and PrusaSlicer can now be installed via the Ubuntu Software application. However, the installation is a Snap install, and I do not know how often it is updated, so I plan to continue to install manually.

I am currently using Ubuntu 18.04 as my desktop OS. Prusa support for Linux was one of the reasons I chose to purchase a Prusa printer. Unfortunately, there is no PPA for automatically installing and upgrading the Prusa Slicer in Linux, so some self help is required.

The Prusa slicer can be downloaded from the Prusa website here : https://www.prusa3d.com/prusaslicer/

or go directly here : https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/releases

You can use this image as the icon file, or get the icon image from the github link.

Depending upon the version level at the time of download, the file name will look something like this : PrusaSlicer-2.1.1+linux64-201912101511.AppImage

I chose to copy the file to ~/PrusaSlicer (where "~" is shorthand for your home directory)

You can run the program by simply double-clicking on the file name. You must make the file executable first: Right-click on the file name, select Properties -- Permissions and click on "allow executing file as program". However, it is convenient to create a Unity launcher for regular use.

Unity Launcher

For convenience you can create a launcher and file association for the slicer.

Creating a Unity launcher for Prusa Slicer :

Short version of above links :

Find the StartupWMClass of your application by running the command “xprop WM_CLASS” in your terminal and clicking on the main window of your running application. GNOME uses this to associate windows with the owning application.

Step 1:

Copy the Prusa Slicer AppImage file and icon file to ~/PrusaSlicer/
Following the instructions in the link above, create this text file and save it as ~/.local/share/applications/PrusaSlicer.desktop :

[Desktop Entry]

Encoding=UTF-8

Version=2.1.1

Type=Application

Name=PrusaSlicer

Icon=/home/myName/PrusaSlicer/PrusaSlicer.png

Path=/home/myName/PrusaSlicer/

Exec=/home/myName/PrusaSlicer/PrusaSlicer-2.1.1+linux64-201912101511.AppImage %F

StartupNotify=false

StartupWMClass="PrusaSlicer", "PrusaSlicer"

OnlyShowIn=Unity;GNOME;

X-UnityGenerated=true

MimeType=application/PrusaSlicer;

Note that for the above file :

for myName substitute your logon name
I created a folder in my home directory called "PrusaSlicer" and saved the AppImage file to that folder
Change the AppImage name to match the name of the file you downloaded
The icon image file can be downloaded from here : https://github.com/prusa3d/PrusaSlicer/tree/master/resources/icons
- Save the PrusaSlicer.png image file to the "PrusaSlicer" folder you created in your home directory

Step 2:

Open in the Text Editor : ~/.config/mimeapps.list

append under the section [Added Associations] :

application/PrusaSlicer=PrusaSlicer.desktop;

model/x.stl-binary=PrusaSlicer.desktop;

model/x.3mf-binary=PrusaSlicer.desktop;

======================================================

Upgrading PrusaSlicer on Linux

To upgrade PrusaSlicer :

Download the new AppImage file to ~/PrusaSlicer
Change the permissions on the downloaded file to executable
Move the old AppImage file to Trash
Edit ~/.local/share/applications/PrusaSlicer.desktop and change the "Exec =" entry to the new AppImage name; save the file

Done!

======================================================

Cura (Ultimaker) Slicer

[Feb. 2020]

Although the PrusaSlicer is very capable,and rapidly gaining in functionality, at this time the Cura Slicer has more options. For most common 3D printing needs, I think PrusaSlicer is the better choice for use with Prusa printers. But for those times when you need something extra, here is how to install Cura on Linux:

Download AppImage file from Ultimaker site : https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura
Make AppImage file executable
Double-click on file name to run
Optional: Add to Unity Launcher

You can find the Cura icons here : https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/tree/master/icons

or just use the image to the left (cura-128.ico).

Step 1:

Copy the Cura AppImage file and icon file to ~/Cura/
Save a copy of the Cura icon file to the same directory.
Following the instructions in the link above, create this text file and save it as ~/.local/share/applications/Cura.desktop :

[Desktop Entry]

Encoding=UTF-8

Version=4.4.1

Type=Application

Name=Cura

Icon=/home/myName/Cura/cura-128.png

Path=/home/myName/Cura/

Exec=/home/myName/Cura/Ultimaker_Cura-4.4.1.AppImage %F

StartupNotify=false

StartupWMClass="cura", "cura"

OnlyShowIn=Unity;GNOME;

X-UnityGenerated=true

MimeType=application/Cura;

Note that for the above file :

for myName substitute your logon name
I created a folder in my home directory called "Cura" and saved the AppImage file to that folder
Change the AppImage name to match the name of the file you downloaded
The icon image file can be downloaded from here : https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/tree/master/icons
- Save the cura-128.ico image file to the "Cura" folder you created in your home directory

Step 2:

Open in the Text Editor : ~/.config/mimeapps.list

append under the section [Added Associations] :

application/Cura=Curar.desktop;

model/x.stl-binary=Cura.desktop;

model/x.3mf-binary=Cura.desktop;

FreeCAD

[Jan. 11, 2021]

FreeCAD is a free open source software for 3D CAD. The information below is believed to be accurate as of the above date, but could change with future releases of FreeCAD.

Installing in Linux (Ubuntu 20.04)

FreeCAD can be installed from the Ubuntu software repository; however the version in the repository is somewhat out of date and it is advised to install the development version 0.19, which is available here :

https://wiki.freecadweb.org/AppImage

For information on installing AppImages see here :

https://askubuntu.com/questions/774490/what-is-an-appimage-how-do-i-install-it

This is the procedure I followed to install on my system :

Create a directory called FreeCAD in my home directory
Download the development AppImage to the FreeCAD directory created in Step 1
In the FreeCAD directory, right-click on the AppImage filename and select Properties > Permissions and check "allow executing file as program"

You should now be able to simple double-click on the AppImage filename to launch the program. Once the program is launched, you can right-click on the FreeCAD icon on the launcher to add it permanently. After that you can click on the launcher icon to start the program.

Unity Launcher

Step 1:

Copy the FreeCAD AppImage file and icon file to ~/FreeCAD/
- You can find the icon file here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FreeCAD-logo.svg
Create the text file below and save it as ~/.local/share/applications/FreeCAD.desktop
Note that for the file below :
- for myName substitute your logon name
- I created a folder in my home directory called "FreeCAD" and saved the AppImage file to that folder
- Change the AppImage name to match the name of the file you downloaded
- The icon image file can be downloaded from here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FreeCAD-logo.svg
- Save the FreeCAD-logo.svg image file to the "FreeCAD" folder you created in your home directory

[Desktop Entry]

Encoding=UTF-8

Version=0.19pre

Type=Application

Name=FreeCAD

Icon=/home/myName/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-logo.svg

Path=/home/myName/FreeCAD/

Exec=/home/myName/FreeCAD/FreeCAD_0.19-23578-Linux-Conda_glibc2.12-x86_64.AppImage %F

StartupNotify=false

StartupWMClass="freecad", "FreeCAD"

OnlyShowIn=Unity;GNOME;

X-UnityGenerated=true

MimeType=application/FreeCAD;

Step 2:

Open in the Text Editor : ~/.config/mimeapps.list

append under the section [Added Associations] :

application/FreeCAD=FreeCAD.desktop;

Additional notes:

If you previously installed FreeCAD from the software repository, remove it before installing the AppImage file as it may cause conflicting updates.
There is a PPA for the daily updates, but this only installs updates to FreeCAD 0.18 at this time. (Jan 2021).
Eventually it is expected that FreeCAD 0.19 development version will become the release version. At that time it may be advisable to switch to the official release version and continue updates via PPA.