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I have a 3D printer, and I don't get it at all. I have yet to need to print something remotely, and can't think of a scenario in which I would want to. I guess

by _jal 6y ago

I have a 3D printer, and I don't get it at all. I have yet to need to print something remotely, and can't think of a scenario in which I would want to. I guess if you have reason to want process pictures?

AdamTReineke 6y ago
I like being untethered from my PC or SD card. Drag and drop the gcode into the web UI and click print. My printer sits in the room adjacent to my office so then I can monitor it remotely using phone apps (OctoPrint provides a mjpeg stream). Edit: plus visualization for auto-bed leveling is amazing trying to fine tune the printer bed.
angryasian 6y ago
It does much more than this, though. Printing directly from cura, gcode viewer, bed levelling visualizer, notification when done and emergency stop. These are the plugins I love so far. I guess it depends on which printer you have but these are all amazing for my uses.
serf 6y ago
two reasons for me; these apply to any remote administration suite for printing and not just octoprint. 1) It isn't pleasant to be near many industrial machines. Chemical vapor/off-gassing can be a real problem, so on top of the usually loud metal-component motion systems/gantries you have loud evacuation/exhaust fans. One place to deal with webcams/remote features on many machines at once is convenient. 2) Real time notifications create less machine downtime. A thermistor failed so a machine stopped mid-print? This time can be salvaged by a notification to browser or mobile for quick repair rather than discovering the issue by returning to the machine at the supposed end-time and being greeted with a non-finished print.
xuki 6y ago
Inserting and removing the micro SD card gets old real quick.
foxylad 6y ago
My first printer was an Anet A8, which lived in the garage due to the noise. I used Octoprint with a webcam to keep an eye on progress, both to abort bad prints and to know when it was done. I now have a Prusa Mini, which is quiet and small enough to live in a cupboard in my office. It's far more reliable and the print time estimate is so accurate that I don't need Octoprint any more. It also has a USB port instead of SD card, so walking across my office with a USB stick is a viable alternative to sending jobs directly from my desktop browser. So I guess it depends on your printer - if it's noisy, large, unreliable or you have lots of them, Octoprint is a godsend.
pwillia7 6y ago
My workflow of slicing and printing is totally separated. I do my slicing on my main computer and save the stl to a network drive with organized folders for filament types and dates. Then I can print whenever I want from anywhere through octoprint. That's almost always just on my phone or laptop or main computer, but it's nice being able to access it remotely and I don't need to bother with anything but an rpi in the room with the printer. I think octoprint could be so much better but for how easy it is to setup and configure I'd choose it again today
OJFord 6y ago
I don't use OctoPrint or similar yet, but it's been on my to-do list since before I got my printer. (Prusa mini.) It depends what you envisage by 'remotely', I don't imagine ever starting a print while not at home, but I do want to sit at my computer, slice, and send straight to the printer; without faffing about with a USB stick.

by _jal 6y ago

AdamTReineke 6y ago

I like being untethered from my PC or SD card. Drag and drop the gcode into the web UI and click print. My printer sits in the room adjacent to my office so then I can monitor it remotely using phone apps (OctoPrint provides a mjpeg stream). Edit: plus visualization for auto-bed leveling is amazing trying to fine tune the printer bed.

angryasian 6y ago

It does much more than this, though. Printing directly from cura, gcode viewer, bed levelling visualizer, notification when done and emergency stop. These are the plugins I love so far. I guess it depends on which printer you have but these are all amazing for my uses.

serf 6y ago

two reasons for me; these apply to any remote administration suite for printing and not just octoprint. 1) It isn't pleasant to be near many industrial machines. Chemical vapor/off-gassing can be a real problem, so on top of the usually loud metal-component motion systems/gantries you have loud evacuation/exhaust fans. One place to deal with webcams/remote features on many machines at once is convenient. 2) Real time notifications create less machine downtime. A thermistor failed so a machine stopped mid-print? This time can be salvaged by a notification to browser or mobile for quick repair rather than discovering the issue by returning to the machine at the supposed end-time and being greeted with a non-finished print.

xuki 6y ago

Inserting and removing the micro SD card gets old real quick.

foxylad 6y ago

My first printer was an Anet A8, which lived in the garage due to the noise. I used Octoprint with a webcam to keep an eye on progress, both to abort bad prints and to know when it was done. I now have a Prusa Mini, which is quiet and small enough to live in a cupboard in my office. It's far more reliable and the print time estimate is so accurate that I don't need Octoprint any more. It also has a USB port instead of SD card, so walking across my office with a USB stick is a viable alternative to sending jobs directly from my desktop browser. So I guess it depends on your printer - if it's noisy, large, unreliable or you have lots of them, Octoprint is a godsend.

pwillia7 6y ago

My workflow of slicing and printing is totally separated. I do my slicing on my main computer and save the stl to a network drive with organized folders for filament types and dates. Then I can print whenever I want from anywhere through octoprint. That's almost always just on my phone or laptop or main computer, but it's nice being able to access it remotely and I don't need to bother with anything but an rpi in the room with the printer. I think octoprint could be so much better but for how easy it is to setup and configure I'd choose it again today

OJFord 6y ago

I don't use OctoPrint or similar yet, but it's been on my to-do list since before I got my printer. (Prusa mini.) It depends what you envisage by 'remotely', I don't imagine ever starting a print while not at home, but I do want to sit at my computer, slice, and send straight to the printer; without faffing about with a USB stick.