The Story of Kiri:Moto

I’ve been a life-long maker and also started programming at a very young age.  A few years ago, I started using 3D printing in earnest to prototype modular construction concepts.  I was printing hundreds of parts in which I needed a high strength-to-weight ratio as well as high precision.  The slicers I was using (commercial and open source) were not consistently yielding results that I was happy with.  As a result, I spent a lot of my design time altering parts in an attempt to get the slicers to produce usable output.  After about 18 months, frustrated and wasting a lot of time, I decided to take a shot at making my own slicer.  From inception, I wanted to take a slightly different approach.  I wanted the core engine to one-day handle CNC and other output types (like laser & SLA).  I also wanted to use Javascript as the native language so that I could run all in-browser as well as host the same code in the cloud.  One of the great benefits of this approach is the simplification of the toolchain from design to output, especially when using design tools like Onshape.  There is no software to install, it starts instantly, and you’re always on the latest version.  The goal is a free tool that handles most maker needs simply and elegantly.  I have a long todo list which I’m chipping away at slowly.  CNC work is at the top of my queue for the next few months, so expect to see a lot of progress there.

Stewart