Resin / MSLA Slicers

Resin slicing is a different beast from FDM: support generation, hollowing/drain holes, anti-aliasing, and per-layer exposure tuning matter most. The market is split between two closed-source incumbents (Lychee, ChiTuBox) and Prusa's open-source SL1 branch.

Mainstream resin slicers

• ★ Lychee Slicer — closed source; free tier (with ads / wait timer), paid Pro removes limits and unlocks advanced supports / island detection. The most-used resin slicer for miniatures in 2026.
• ★ ChiTuBox Basic / Pro — closed source; Basic is free, Pro is paid. Ships with most Chinese MSLA printers; Pro adds hollowing, drain-hole tools, and dynamic layer thickness.
• PrusaSlicer (SL1 mode) — open source (AGPL); Prusa's resin path. First-class on Prusa SL1S; usable on other printers via UVtools post-processing.
• Voxeldance Tango — closed source; younger, gaining traction; very fast slicing. Free tier with some ads.
• HALOT BOX (Creality) — vendor slicer for Creality resin printers; usually outdated, prefer ChiTuBox.

Post-processing / file format tools

• ★ UVtools — open source (GPL); the swiss-army knife. Repair sliced files, run pixel-dimming anti-aliasing, generate calibration grids, fix elephant's foot, blur edges, batch-process. Works on virtually every MSLA file format (.ctb, .pwmx, .pwms, .photon, .sl1, .goo).
• PrusaSlicer + UVtools workflow — open-source pipeline: slice in PrusaSlicer SL1, convert to your printer's format with UVtools.
• NanoDLP — printer-side slicing/streaming for self-built MSLA printers; open source.

Calibration & exposure tests

• Cones of Calibration (Validation Matrix / Tableflip) — standard exposure-time test; free STLs widely available.
• Resin XP2 — community exposure test bundled in many slicers.
• Ameralabs Town — small-feature & overhang resin test.
• UVtools' built-in exposure-time finder — generates per-pixel exposure grids in one click.

Support generation specifically

• Lychee — best automatic miniature supports in the closed-source world.
• ChiTuBox Pro — strong manual support placement.
• MeshMixer (legacy) + manual export — old-school workflow, still used by hobby miniaturists.

Pick this if…

• Default miniatures workflow, willing to pay: Lychee Pro.
• Came with your printer, free is fine: ChiTuBox Basic.
• Fully open source: PrusaSlicer SL1 + UVtools.
• Need to fix or repackage someone else's sliced file: UVtools.
• Custom / DIY MSLA printer: NanoDLP.