Modo,Rhino or 3D Studio max hard surface sculpting

[bri]

Which of these programs would you suggest for just 3D printing and purposes and nothing else?

I'm looking to get another program to use in conjunction with Zbrush ,
any info and help would be appreciated.


B

[SinEater]

not sure about what you need to print,my father used Solidworks if i remember corretly

[FluxAmbassador]

Couple of points to put out there:

1) ZBrush has 3D Print exporting capabilities. You should be covered on the export front.

2) Rhino3D is a NURBS modeler, first & foremost. While stuff eventually gets converted to polys, it is not a polygon modeler. Everything is spline-based.

3) If you need a pure polygon modeler and JUST a modeler then 3dsmax may be overkill. It's a great program to be sure, but, because it does a whole lot more than just poly modeling, it costs a whole lot more. $3k+ for just polygon modeling is overkill.

3dsmax can do character animation, rendering, visual effects, etc. If you don't need any of that stuff, no need to spend the extra cash. You could just as easily spend far less on a dedicated poly modeler such as Modo ($995) or Silo ($159). If all you needed is poly modeling, to make hard edged objects or base meshes, then even Blender3D, which is 100% free, will suffice as well.

4) Your concern, in terms of printing, should also focus on how the pieces are going to fit together once they're printed. There are a lot of technical details involved in 3D printing, especially with more complex models. You have to be concerned with which pieces need to be printed separately, which won't print because of printer limitations, and which details will ultimately be preserved or lost in the process. More than that, you also have to print with final painting, as that can "steal" detail from you too.

If you need questions regarding the printing specifics, I'd probably head over to the ZBrush forums. There are people there who print their stuff semi-regularly, especially those guys who produce for Bowen or Dynamic Forces.