As it's been some days since my last one,

3D Printing
,
1

As it’s been some days since my last one, I thought I’d give an update on the printer web interface I’m working on as I’ve been pretty busy with it. Originally based on Cura, I’ve stripped most of that away and therefore moved to a new repo instead of the old forked one: https://github.com/foosel/PrinterWebUI

I of course also added a couple more features, most importantly webcam support, so it’s now possible to not only take a live look at what temperature the printer is add and how far it is with its print job, but given a webcam and a stream from it (e.g. via MJPG-Streamer) you can also monitor it via video.

Current features are the following:

  • uploading .gcode files to the server and managing them via the UI
  • selecting a file for printing, getting the usual stats regarding filament length etc
  • starting, pausing and canceling a print job
  • while connected to the printer, gaining information regarding the current temperature of both head and bed (if available) in a nice shiny javascript-y temperature graph
  • while printing, gaining information regarding the current progress of the print job (height, percentage etc)
  • reading the communication log and send arbitrary codes to be executed by the printer
  • moving the X, Y and Z axis (jog controls, although very ugly ones right now)
  • changing the speed modifiers for inner & outer wall, fill and support
  • optional: visual monitoring of the printer via webcam stream integrated into the UI (using e.g. MJPG-Streamer)
  • optional: creation of timelapse recordings of the printjob via webcam stream (using e.g. MJPG-Streamer) – currently two timelaspe methods are implemented, triggering a shot on z-layer change or every “n” seconds

I’ve set it up on a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian and with a connected Edimax USB WiFi dongle and a Microsoft Livecam Cinema (using a powered USB hub from Belkin for that) additionally to my Ultimaker, and I’ve used that setup exclusively for printing the last couple of days with success :slight_smile:

Special thanks espcially to @Jason_Gullickson and @Thomas_Sanladerer for the constructive feedback and bug reports!

To be continued :wink:

8c9ca5d5731ca28c387ab6b03854d3d3.jpg
8c9ca5d5731ca28c387ab6b03854d3d3.jpg980×954 263 KB

2

May I suggest a safety feature? The ability to cut power to the printer in case something crazy happens, such as loss of usb connectivity to the printer so you can’t power it down?

Maybe make it ‘pluggable’ via script so some people can use an x-10 module, and others a Belkin, etc.

3

@Mike_Creuzer I like that idea! I’m currently only a couple of rooms over when using the printer (so if I don’t get feedback I’m able to rush over), but for real remote printing that certainly is a must have. I’ll look into that.

4

Sometimes you just GOTTA GO 6 hours into a 8 hour print. I have to SSH into the box to kill my printer, but at least I can. I’ve not seen a story about a printer that started on fire - yet. But I’ve seen one come close.

I’ve had mine do stupid things when I am in the next room. I stick my head in every half an hour or so, but that’s not often enough.

5

I would love a feature that compares the rendered STL with the actual picture to see if they are matching.

6

STL? Don’t you mean GCODE? And I actually thought about a GCODE previewer in there (there are some JS renderers out there), but so far hasn’t made the top of my prio list

7

This looks awesome! I am trying to integrate a Makerbot Replicator into my university’s Art department, and have had lots of issues with getting students using it efficiently and whatnot. This looks like a great way for a person (like me) to manage the chaos remotely :slight_smile: Good work!

8

ah yes, gcode renderer - http://gcode.joewalnes.com/

9

impressive list of features for such a “new” project ! keep up the good work !:slight_smile:
About the security feature: I can only second this: but for max safety I think it would need a level of “redundancy” Ie a secondary arduino/ avr, that could power the machine down, in case the main board running the machine is stalled /too busy etc

10

Amazing work. Need to test this out soon!

11

well done in making Flask your framework choice.