3D Print Server how-to
Print Server Outline
Many inexpensive 3D printers forego the addition of expensive network connectivity and functionality. In other words, the only way to print is to generate a g-code file, transfer it to a memory card, then physically unmount this card and move it to the printer and from there, use the printer interface to chose the appropriate file, then select it for printing.
There is a better way.
For modest sums of money, inexpensive SBC's or "Single Board Computers" are available to run various FOSS or Free and Open Source Software to manage a network connection via a wire (ethernet) or via WiFi and connect directly to the printer via its USB connection. This enables being able to directly transfer files and control your printer from remote laptops and desktop computers elsewhere than in your shop or workspace.
Software
Most Popular SW in this case is a thing called Octo Print... This software package is HUGELY POPULAR and allows for an extensible format, ie; it supports "plugins" to expand basic functionality. It is UNIX based and runs on a number of base Linux and BSD derivatives and there are a large number of pre-built binary images that make installation a snap..
Octoprint Features
- organize g-code files in directory structure to your liking
- direct from slicer to printer using an API Key (see below)
- web cam support
- Plug ins!!
- -Time Lapses of your project being built
- -Summary page of printer status during print
- -Live view of your printer from remote locations
Hardware
Octoprint runs on nearly anything that will run Linux and there are a number of pre-built images available. With the advent of "The Chip Shortage", the availability of Raspberry Pi SBC's has been severely limited. But other vendors have stepped into the void.. A possible list of hardware might be:
- https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/
- http://www.orangepi.org/html/hardWare/computerAndMicrocontrollers/index.html
- https://rockpi.org/rockpi4
Amazon Hardware Ideas
You might consider this little bit of hardware:
- -boot/memory disk (required!!): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XYHN68L
- Burn a boot image from the OctoPi print download page: Orange Pi download and setup
- Recommended cheap web cam for remote viewing: Amazon Web Camera Link
Bingo - ~$75 web interface with all kinds of features that would elevate at a minimum going from your slicer (and often directly from the slicer to the printer using an API key)..
What's an API Key?
An API Key is a way to allow two programs to speak to each other in a secure fashion. On the print server web management interface, you ask it to generate a key, then in your Slicer Program, you install this key. This allows you to effectively send a print job directly from the slicer to the printer without any "SD Card Shuffle" baloney..
Installation
Installation is quite easy, especially if you have hardware with a prebuilt SD image available. Download the image, use Balena Etcher or ApplePie Baker to flash the image onto the (micro) SD card, Use the instructions in the next paragraph to configure network settings and such, then plug it into the SBC and power it up..
Follow the detailed instructions that you can find here: https://octoprint.org/download/#octoprint-for-orange-pi
You don't even need to attach a head or keyboard - you can configure all the settings on the card BEFORE you even install it in your SBC..
One hint I might give would be to poke at your router and find the dynamic DHCP entry for your hardware, then change it to fixed.. I can't detail that here as every router essentially does this in their own way.. If your router supports static DNS entries, giving the IP Address a host name can also be useful.. Mostly, just using "http://octopi.local/login/" will get you to your new print server and you can start configuring right away.. And there's really NOT a lot of configuration to do before putting it to use..
Just plug the printer in via a USB connection and OctoPi will do almost all the rest.
--Eric Timberlake (talk)