Questions and answers
What Encrust is, which printers it works with, how to install it and what it does with your files. Can’t find your question? Ask it in Discussions.
The basics
What is Encrust?
Encrust is a free, open-source slicer for resin printers, MSLA and SLA. It covers the whole job in one app: import the model, repair it, orient and hollow it, add supports, slice, check the layers for problems and send the file to your printer. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux.
Is Encrust free?
Yes, completely. Encrust is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence, with no paid tier, no account and no licence key. If someone distributes a modified version, or runs one as a service, they have to publish its source too.
Is Encrust ready for real prints?
It’s in alpha. Every step works and it has printed real parts, and around 1,500 tests run on Windows, macOS and Linux with every change. But it’s young, so keep the slicer you trust installed, and start with a calibration print rather than the model you care about.
Does Encrust upload my models?
No. Encrust has no account, no cloud and no telemetry; your models, profiles and projects are files on your own disk. It only goes online to send a file to your printer when you press Send, to look for printers on your local network when you ask, and to check GitHub for updates, which stay off until you turn them on.
Printers and files
Which resin printers does Encrust support?
Encrust ships with profiles for 100 printers from 14 makers, including Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen, Creality, Prusa, EPAX and FlashForge. So far 1 of them has printed a file from Encrust: the ELEGOO Saturn 4 Ultra. The others are built from the makers’ published specs, and every file is checked by reading it back, so they should be close, but nobody has confirmed them with a print yet.
Which file formats can Encrust write?
Encrust writes .goo, .ctb (versions 4 and 5), .cbddlp, .photon, .pwmx and sixteen more Anycubic formats, .sl1 and .sl1s, the .zip of greyscale PNGs, .cxdlp (versions 3 and 4), .svgx and .cws. It reads every file back after writing it. Encrypted .ctb, which some newer Chitu boards need, isn’t supported yet.
Can Encrust send a file to my printer over the network?
Yes, if your printer speaks SDCP (versions 3 and 1, used by Elegoo and other Chitu-based boards) or PrusaLink. The file goes straight to the printer on your local network, with no cloud service in between. For other printers, use a USB stick.
My printer isn’t listed. What can I do?
Open an issue on GitHub with the printer model and, if you can, a file its own slicer made. A single test print, with a note on whether Encrust’s file worked, is the most useful thing you can give the project. That’s how a profile gets confirmed.
What it does
Which model files can Encrust open?
STL, OBJ and 3MF. From OBJ and 3MF it also reads UV coordinates and one texture per material, which Encrust can press into the surface as relief.
Does Encrust generate supports automatically?
Yes, or you can place them by hand. Supports can branch into shared trunks and stand on a raft with cross bracing. You can paint the areas that need support, edit single supports, and tune the contact size and every other setting. Encrust also warns you about supports that have nowhere to stand.
Can Encrust hollow a model and add drain holes?
Yes. Pick a wall thickness, add infill if you want it, and place drain holes. Encrust finds trapped resin, meaning hollows with no way for the resin to drain, and shows how much resin hollowing saves.
What does the layer check look for?
After slicing, Encrust reads back the file it wrote and checks, layer by layer, what will actually cure. It marks islands (parts that start in mid-air), suction cups (closed hollows that tug on the film with every lift) and thin sections likely to tear, each with the measurement behind the warning.
Is there a command-line version?
Yes. The encrust command slices a model without opening a window, for scripts and batch jobs, using the same printer and resin profiles as the app. You build it from source with a Rust toolchain.
Installing and updating
Which systems does Encrust run on?
macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon or Intel, Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), and Linux on x86-64 as an AppImage or a .deb package. You need a graphics card with Vulkan, Metal or DirectX 12, which any card from the last few years has.
macOS says Encrust is damaged and can’t be opened. What do I do?
The builds aren’t code-signed yet, so macOS quarantines the download. Drag Encrust into Applications, then run this once in Terminal: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Encrust.app. From then on it opens normally.
Windows SmartScreen blocks the installer. Is that normal?
Yes, because the installer isn’t code-signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway. You only need to do this once.
How does Encrust update?
Turn on updates in Settings and Encrust keeps itself current; they’re off by default. Once on, it checks GitHub once a day or when you press Check now, and only installs an update that carries the project’s own signature.
Is there a version that runs in the browser?
It’s in development: the same Rust core, compiled to WebAssembly and drawn with WebGPU. Your model will open and slice on your own machine and never be uploaded.