6 ms·

3D printing on OpenBSD? Yes, that’s a thing

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
iLoveOncall 3y ago
A bit disingenuous to say that you can run the whole process when you actually cannot run what the author calls the "download" on OpenBSD. Can you print stuff if you only have OpenBSD? Yes. But can you print stuff while running the full stack on OpenBSD? No. And there's nothing special about the first one, you could do that since a long time since there are online CAD software and online slicers.
- Mashimo 3y ago
  > cannot run what the author calls the "download" on OpenBSD. What do you mean? It seems like he can do that just fine. Either via USB/sd or the webbrowser.
  - iLoveOncall 3y ago
    Right but there are firmwares or tools that push the GCode to the printer (OctoPrint) that exist and are widely used, and those aren't available there.
    - Mashimo 3y ago
      Does klipper not work on OpenBSD?
    - transportheap 3y ago
      given also they port a really old version of prusa im not surprise. i bet 100% octoprint not make it, or new version, because they are scared to update deps for reasons. openbsd port people also no share patches upstream and probably "too hard" to port in current form with many patches.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
KeplerBoy 3y ago
Pretty sure one could even get the 3D printer firmware running on OpenBSD. A popular choice these days is Klipper (https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper) , which would most likely compile just fine.
btreecat 3y ago
I don't see the point, all this software is meant to run on *nix. Also OpenSCAD sucks. I tried it, made a few things, it's objectively a worse way to do parametric modeling and lacks some really basic features like fillets. FreeCAD has been p great OTOH, and has baked in support for OpenSCAD scripts, if you really need that. If you are not allergic to the cloud or proprietary solutions, Onshape is a very good tool with it's own set of annoying things.
- serf 3y ago
  openSCAD doesn't suck, it's just an entirely different paradigm than something like FreeCAD or onshape. as for your complaint about fillets, there are plenty of openSCAD libraries to assist in the task. using libraries within openscad is pretty routine. if you're designing stuff like gears/propellers/bolts/nuts/threads/pins, a purely parametric solution is fantastic. That said, I would never tell someone to go try to design their paper-towel holder or dish-rack with it or prototype a robot with it. As with much of design, picking the right tool for the job is a large portion of the battle.
  - juliangmp 3y ago
    I have to agree that openscad kinda sucks, in some regards. Sorry but fillets and chamfers aren't features that should be complicated, they are basics. And if using libraries is pretty routine, why does library management boil down to "just download some scripts and throw them into some directory". Even python does this better. Openscad is a text/programming based cad, but it doesn't fully leverage the advantages that come with that. A proper package manager, good linting, etc. are all absent. It feels unfinished and outdated in many regards. I want to like openscad and I have made a bunch of models with it. But all in all I can't bring myself to do so.
- regularfry 3y ago
  > I don't see the point, all this software is meant to run on nix. I do, "meant to" and "actually does" can be miles* apart. > Also OpenSCAD sucks Counterpoint: no it doesn't.
- 3y ago
jmclnx 3y ago
I have no reason to print 3d, but nice to see it working. With things like this and what I believe is all the "crazy" things going on in Linux, I think OpenBSD is a very good alternative to Linux. For me, the next release will have something like valgrind added to OpenBSD base. IIRC you would use ktrace(1) to look for issues. valgrind is one of the very few reasons I keep Linux around.
- teksimian 3y ago
  what crazy things are going on in Linux?
  - jmclnx 3y ago
    DRM in the kernel, X slowly being replaced by Wayland. Wayland will probably prevent Linux from running on Old Systems. Corporations now own the Linux Foundation, many windows type processes slowly bleeding into Linux. Not to mention the RHEL/CentOS thing and now RHEL is restricting source distribution.
    - I_am_uncreative 3y ago
      Nothing about systemD, really?
- dbolgheroni 3y ago
  Why it needs to be in base? valgrind is in ports, it's just a pkg_add away for installing it.
  - jmclnx 3y ago
    valgrind is not fully supported on OpenBSD. The notes indicate it still has issues. But why not have OpenBSD doing its own checks ? Having that is in line with checks already there (ie W^X).
1MachineElf 3y ago
If they ever do a follow-up on this topic, it should include a 3D-printed yellow pufferfish.
- superlario 3y ago
  And the guns!
trollythetroll 3y ago
[flagged]
KennyBlanken 3y ago
It's patently bizarre that the author claims the complete stack is possible under openbsd and then says "for downloading, just sneakernet the file to the printer or use linux running on a pi" and points to a very small collection of horrendously user-unfriendly, extremely manual tools like openscad. Would we tolerate an article that claimed OpenBSD had a complete "stack" for desktop publishing if one of the steps was "save the file on a USB stick and plug it into a windows computer connected to the laser printer" or "just connect a raspberry pi running linux to the printer"? Would we tolerate an article that claimed OpenBSD had a complete "stack" for desktop publishing if the only option for "word processing" was emacs and latex? Saying "Blender has been in ports for ages" is hand-wavey nonsense. Does Blender actually work in openbsd?
- regularfry 3y ago
  "Sneakernet the file to the printer" is pretty standard, to be honest. There's nothing inherently wrong with it.
- terribleperson 3y ago
  To be fair, I move files to my printer using an SD card every time I use it and I'm on Windows most of the time.
hospitalJail 3y ago
Has anyone completed a serious engineering project in OpenSCAD? I just can't imagine how that would work. I suppose the actual design work wouldn't be that much different, but I can't imagine a way to collaborate with it. You'd need a mechanical engineer, who is also a programmer, who is also willing to learn OpenSCAD. That is expensive. With FreeCAD, even if you never used it before, a CAD person could figure it out. Its mostly learning which icons do what. (IB4, someone mentions the topological naming problem, that its completely avoidable with a 10 minute youtube video on the subject, or you can download the RealThunder fork of FreeCAD if that 10 minute youtube video is too time consuming) I guess my point is: Yes its technically possible to do a lot of things on any OS, but it isnt practical.
- avmich 3y ago
  > You'd need a mechanical engineer, who is also a programmer, who is also willing to learn OpenSCAD. That is expensive. I disagree. I'd expect any engineer these days to have at least modest skills in programming. And OpenSCAD is a rather modest programming, the script itself always finishes, so it's not even Turing complete. So having mechanical engineer to be comfortable with OpenSCAD looks like a quite reasonable thing. With FreeCAD you have a lot of useful and convenient things, but you immediately lose the parametrization. Can't convert back to OpenSCAD if you'd like. So it's hard to move to FreeCAD from OpenSCAD if you got used to OpenSCAD capabilities.
  - regularfry 3y ago
    Parameterisation is actually one of the things you can do with freecad. Most of my projects have a spreadsheet with the parameters in them. You can run into annoying problems with the sketch constraint solver when changing those parameters though. Depends which parameters and what you've used them for.
    - jstanley 3y ago
      If changing the parameters upsets the constraint solver, you can sometimes work around it by changing them in smaller increments (e.g. so that a "length" doesn't flip to the other side of a line).
dehrmann 3y ago
Thing written for posix-like OS runs on posix-like OS.
- ninjin 3y ago
  Dear lord, it really is not that simple. Having ported software and served as a package maintainer on both the Linux and BSD side you get anything from pathetically easy to nearly impossible (Julia on NixOS was one hell of a journey). Just yesterday we had a great article posted about some of the effort that goes into getting a big piece of software like Firefox to run properly on OpenBSD [1]. [1]: https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20230912094727 https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20230912094727

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

A bit disingenuous to say that you can run the whole process when you actually cannot run what the author calls the "download" on OpenBSD. Can you print stuff if you only have OpenBSD? Yes. But can you print stuff while running the full stack on OpenBSD? No. And there's nothing special about the first one, you could do that since a long time since there are online CAD software and online slicers.

Mashimo 3y ago
> cannot run what the author calls the "download" on OpenBSD. What do you mean? It seems like he can do that just fine. Either via USB/sd or the webbrowser.
- iLoveOncall 3y ago
  Right but there are firmwares or tools that push the GCode to the printer (OctoPrint) that exist and are widely used, and those aren't available there.
  - Mashimo 3y ago
    Does klipper not work on OpenBSD?
  - transportheap 3y ago
    given also they port a really old version of prusa im not surprise. i bet 100% octoprint not make it, or new version, because they are scared to update deps for reasons. openbsd port people also no share patches upstream and probably "too hard" to port in current form with many patches.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

KeplerBoy 3y ago

Pretty sure one could even get the 3D printer firmware running on OpenBSD. A popular choice these days is Klipper (https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper https://github.com/Klipper3d/klipper) , which would most likely compile just fine.

btreecat 3y ago

I don't see the point, all this software is meant to run on *nix. Also OpenSCAD sucks. I tried it, made a few things, it's objectively a worse way to do parametric modeling and lacks some really basic features like fillets. FreeCAD has been p great OTOH, and has baked in support for OpenSCAD scripts, if you really need that. If you are not allergic to the cloud or proprietary solutions, Onshape is a very good tool with it's own set of annoying things.

serf 3y ago
openSCAD doesn't suck, it's just an entirely different paradigm than something like FreeCAD or onshape. as for your complaint about fillets, there are plenty of openSCAD libraries to assist in the task. using libraries within openscad is pretty routine. if you're designing stuff like gears/propellers/bolts/nuts/threads/pins, a purely parametric solution is fantastic. That said, I would never tell someone to go try to design their paper-towel holder or dish-rack with it or prototype a robot with it. As with much of design, picking the right tool for the job is a large portion of the battle.
- juliangmp 3y ago
  I have to agree that openscad kinda sucks, in some regards. Sorry but fillets and chamfers aren't features that should be complicated, they are basics. And if using libraries is pretty routine, why does library management boil down to "just download some scripts and throw them into some directory". Even python does this better. Openscad is a text/programming based cad, but it doesn't fully leverage the advantages that come with that. A proper package manager, good linting, etc. are all absent. It feels unfinished and outdated in many regards. I want to like openscad and I have made a bunch of models with it. But all in all I can't bring myself to do so.
regularfry 3y ago
> I don't see the point, all this software is meant to run on nix. I do, "meant to" and "actually does" can be miles* apart. > Also OpenSCAD sucks Counterpoint: no it doesn't.
3y ago

jmclnx 3y ago

I have no reason to print 3d, but nice to see it working. With things like this and what I believe is all the "crazy" things going on in Linux, I think OpenBSD is a very good alternative to Linux. For me, the next release will have something like valgrind added to OpenBSD base. IIRC you would use ktrace(1) to look for issues. valgrind is one of the very few reasons I keep Linux around.

teksimian 3y ago
what crazy things are going on in Linux?
- jmclnx 3y ago
  DRM in the kernel, X slowly being replaced by Wayland. Wayland will probably prevent Linux from running on Old Systems. Corporations now own the Linux Foundation, many windows type processes slowly bleeding into Linux. Not to mention the RHEL/CentOS thing and now RHEL is restricting source distribution.
  - I_am_uncreative 3y ago
    Nothing about systemD, really?
dbolgheroni 3y ago
Why it needs to be in base? valgrind is in ports, it's just a pkg_add away for installing it.
- jmclnx 3y ago
  valgrind is not fully supported on OpenBSD. The notes indicate it still has issues. But why not have OpenBSD doing its own checks ? Having that is in line with checks already there (ie W^X).

1MachineElf 3y ago

If they ever do a follow-up on this topic, it should include a 3D-printed yellow pufferfish.

superlario 3y ago
And the guns!

trollythetroll 3y ago

[flagged]

KennyBlanken 3y ago

It's patently bizarre that the author claims the complete stack is possible under openbsd and then says "for downloading, just sneakernet the file to the printer or use linux running on a pi" and points to a very small collection of horrendously user-unfriendly, extremely manual tools like openscad. Would we tolerate an article that claimed OpenBSD had a complete "stack" for desktop publishing if one of the steps was "save the file on a USB stick and plug it into a windows computer connected to the laser printer" or "just connect a raspberry pi running linux to the printer"? Would we tolerate an article that claimed OpenBSD had a complete "stack" for desktop publishing if the only option for "word processing" was emacs and latex? Saying "Blender has been in ports for ages" is hand-wavey nonsense. Does Blender actually work in openbsd?

regularfry 3y ago
"Sneakernet the file to the printer" is pretty standard, to be honest. There's nothing inherently wrong with it.
terribleperson 3y ago
To be fair, I move files to my printer using an SD card every time I use it and I'm on Windows most of the time.

hospitalJail 3y ago

Has anyone completed a serious engineering project in OpenSCAD? I just can't imagine how that would work. I suppose the actual design work wouldn't be that much different, but I can't imagine a way to collaborate with it. You'd need a mechanical engineer, who is also a programmer, who is also willing to learn OpenSCAD. That is expensive. With FreeCAD, even if you never used it before, a CAD person could figure it out. Its mostly learning which icons do what. (IB4, someone mentions the topological naming problem, that its completely avoidable with a 10 minute youtube video on the subject, or you can download the RealThunder fork of FreeCAD if that 10 minute youtube video is too time consuming) I guess my point is: Yes its technically possible to do a lot of things on any OS, but it isnt practical.

avmich 3y ago
> You'd need a mechanical engineer, who is also a programmer, who is also willing to learn OpenSCAD. That is expensive. I disagree. I'd expect any engineer these days to have at least modest skills in programming. And OpenSCAD is a rather modest programming, the script itself always finishes, so it's not even Turing complete. So having mechanical engineer to be comfortable with OpenSCAD looks like a quite reasonable thing. With FreeCAD you have a lot of useful and convenient things, but you immediately lose the parametrization. Can't convert back to OpenSCAD if you'd like. So it's hard to move to FreeCAD from OpenSCAD if you got used to OpenSCAD capabilities.
- regularfry 3y ago
  Parameterisation is actually one of the things you can do with freecad. Most of my projects have a spreadsheet with the parameters in them. You can run into annoying problems with the sketch constraint solver when changing those parameters though. Depends which parameters and what you've used them for.
  - jstanley 3y ago
    If changing the parameters upsets the constraint solver, you can sometimes work around it by changing them in smaller increments (e.g. so that a "length" doesn't flip to the other side of a line).

dehrmann 3y ago

Thing written for posix-like OS runs on posix-like OS.

ninjin 3y ago
Dear lord, it really is not that simple. Having ported software and served as a package maintainer on both the Linux and BSD side you get anything from pathetically easy to nearly impossible (Julia on NixOS was one hell of a journey). Just yesterday we had a great article posted about some of the effort that goes into getting a big piece of software like Firefox to run properly on OpenBSD [1]. [1]: https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20230912094727 https://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20230912094727