OctoPrint

Wireless/network connectivity to print, control and monitor prints!
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Amedee
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OctoPrint

Post by Amedee »

OK, this is not really firmware, but I could not find a better section ;)

What is OctoPrint?
From the OctoPrint web site:
Print anything from anywhere.
OctoPrint allows you to send your GCode from any web browser to your printer.
You can fully control and monitor your printer from the web interface. When you install a webcam you can also take time-lapses.
OctoPrint
OctoPrint
OctoPrint is very flexible, you can customize it to your needs, install or develop additional plugins.

You can install OctoPrint on almost any computer/operating system, but it makes a lot of sense to dedicate a Raspberry Pi to that task.

What do I need?
A Raspberry Pi!
Some hardware
Some hardware
Although any Pi will do, don't use an old 'B' model. These are too slow and source of frustration.
A B+ or any newer model will do.

You need a power supply, it is important that it can deliver a steady 2 Amps. A weak / unstable power supply is a source of troubles. Many issues with SD-Cards are actually caused by bad power supplies.

You also need an SD-Card. 4GB is enough, if it is bigger you can upload more GCode files, no need to buy a huge one though, but get a fast one.

If you want to go wireless, go for the new Raspberry Pi 3, as it has wireless on-board (For the other ones you need a wireless dongle).
Raspberry Pi 2
Raspberry Pi 2
I had a B+ for quite some time, but I recycled it for another project and replaced it by a Raspberry Pi 2.
The B+, Pi 2 and 3 share the same form factor, so cases are interchangeable.

Although not mandatory, you should get a webcam as well. The Raspberry Pi Camera Module is giving good results:
Camera
Camera
Camera
Camera
Almost any USB webcam will also work, but you can check the Webcams known to work article.

Note that the lens of the Raspberry Pi Camera Module is setup for subjects at a 'normal distance', so anything closer than 30-40 cm will be out-of-focus. To avoid any accidental changes the Raspberry Pi guys have decided to glue the lens :roll: . It is not a big issue, but you will need to spend some time to remove the glue to free the lens and be able to focus properly on the build plate. (That's why you can see some scratches around the lens on the above picture, the red marks helped me in focusing)

That's it!
The whole thing!
The whole thing!
How to install?
There are plenty of tutorials available, I won't make an additional one, but there are basically 2 paths:
  1. You are new to Linux: use OctoPi, a pre-installed image for Raspberry Pi
  2. You are comfortable with Linux, follow the Setup on a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian article
Is OctoPrint for you?
OctoPrint is a great solution if you want to manage and control your printer remotely (I often start a print before going to work and monitor from the office ;) )
It is in active development and there is good support from it.

There is however a caveat if you are an Ultimaker 2 user: USB printing is not officially supported. You can't use 'Ulti-GCode' and so you will loose the ability to use 'Profiles'. If you don't care about profiles, then there should be no problem.

Rasberry Pi 3 notes
  • Use at least a 2.5 Amps power supply
  • If you use the WiFi, disable the power management it is causing spurious disconnect (see this thread)
Last edited by Amedee on March 8th, 2016, 2:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Xeno
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Xeno »

Thanks great posting :), I print a lot of large parts, and really like to see and control my UM from work.
I now use Splashtop streamer from my iPad /iPhone, but costs a monthly fee, to see and control outside my own network, and doesn't always make a connection.

can you tell me what resolution and frame rate the PI can handle, I would love to see real time movement, so I can adjust speed if necessary,
and the quality of the printed material, if it is not under extruding.
also how fast is the reaction between pushing a button and the UM reaction ?, is it instant.
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Amedee
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Amedee »

You can get any decent framerate from the Pi, obviously you need to have enough internet bandwidth in uplink.
I keep the framerate low on purpose, so I can monitor from anywhere, even when the connectivity is not very good.

You can also easily script the activation of the streamer from OctoPrint, with e.g. low frame rate by default, and restart in faster rate when needed...

Interaction with the printer is immediate.
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Amedee
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Amedee »

First post updated (notes about the camera and also a heads up re the Raspberry Pi 3)
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martin-bienz
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by martin-bienz »

Thank you Amedee, the power management hint is a good one, also usefull for other (streaming) applications...
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Amedee
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Amedee »

Some news re. Octoprint:
  • Octoprint 1.2.10 has been released, see the release notes for details.
  • There are still issues with the Raspberry Pi 3 and the embedded Wifi chip. If you rely on Wifi, stay away from the RPI3 for the time being. See this last report from Gina
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LePaul
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by LePaul »

I found this helpful for a newbie like me who hasn't read much about it

reibuehl
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by reibuehl »

Is it possible to mount the Raspberry Pi under the UM2 and maybe even power it from the UM2 power supply? With a add-on board like this, it could switch on when the printer is switched on and the USV function could shut it down gracefully once the printer is switched of. Is there a place under the UM2 where I could get 7-24V with enough current to drive a Raspberry Pi with camera and USB-Wifi dongle?
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Neotko »

UM2 has a 19-24V 2 pin direct power. It's very close to the power plug. I use it to power a 30x30x10 24v with a external pwm box.
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LePaul
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by LePaul »

I've read this thread a few times...I really like the idea of remotely checking prints...but wondering how difficult it is to make work with my printer.
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by reibuehl »

I started using the somewhat more lightweight solution from @martin-bienz last week and it was super-easy to setup and allows me to monitor prints and do time lapse videos while not messing with the printer as much as OctoPrint does. I now just need to find a good looking solution for storing the Raspberry Pi and a camera mount that does not interfer with the acrylic door on my UM2.
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Amedee
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Amedee »

@reibuehl, i don't know the details for the UM2 -- but it will draw up to 2.5Amps, so you need to have some 'spare' on the UM PSU.

@LePaul, for the UMO it is plug & play ;)
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by reibuehl »

Since the UM2 was originally designed to be upgraded to dual extrusion, the 220W power supply that comes with it has quite some head room for such extensions AFAIK. I however remember reading on the old UM forum once that it might be a problem to get that amount of power out of the mainboard without soldering directly to the power connector.
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by Neotko »

The problem I think I always did read was that the UM2/UMO+ usb connection wasn't reliable. And the octoprint sends the gcode by usb no? Or it uploads it to the sd into the ultimaker and then commands the um2 to print that file? I suppose the problem still it's that if the usb connection it's lost for a second the print will stop?
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Re: OctoPrint

Post by reibuehl »

Neotko wrote:I suppose the problem still it's that if the usb connection it's lost for a second the print will stop?
With OctoPrint and if you want to drive prints from it, then yes. But Martin's solution by default just monitors the status messages that are created during the print and could even just do camera monitoring. The actual printing is still driven by the front panel - at least the way I use it.
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