The most notable feature regarding this topic is Stoll's strategy of separating the "Viewer/Converter" tools from the "Editor."
Here is the breakdown of why this is interesting and what you need to know:
Stoll has a dedicated education department. If you are enrolled in a textile engineering school (e.g., Hochschule Niederrhein, FIT, or any institution with a Stoll partnership), you can request an Educational License. Stoll M1 Plus Software Free Download
If you are looking into downloading M1 Plus to experiment with its capabilities, the specific "interesting feature" that defines this software is the "Green Button" functionality.
If you absolutely cannot get a legal copy of M1 Plus and refuse to pirate, consider these alternatives for knit design: The most notable feature regarding this topic is
| Software | Cost | Capability | M1 Plus Compatibility | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | KnitBird | Paid (€200+/year) | Excellent for hand-flat and home knitting | Exports .DAT files for some Stoll machines | | ArahWeave | Paid (€1000) | Professional jacquard design | Limited; requires manual translation | | SDS-ONE APEX | Paid (Very expensive) | Full fashion design | Exports via .DXF only | | Inkscape with Ink/Stitch | Free (Open Source) | Embroidery & basic knit mapping | Not compatible; for embroidery only |
Important: No free open-source software can fully replace M1 Plus’s ability to generate Sintral machine code. If you own a Stoll machine, you need M1 Plus. Cost: Free (included in tuition)
You can install the Stoll M1 Plus installation media (obtained legally from a machine purchase) and run it in "Viewer Mode" without a hardware dongle.
Before we discuss downloading, we need to understand the tool. M1 Plus is not a simple graphic design app like Illustrator or Photoshop. It is a Machine-Specific CAD/CAM solution.