Printing from SD card

[Explorer71]

I'm new to 3D printing and love my M2. I usually print from an SD card. The advertisement says the M2 can be used alone without being connected to a PC, but it seems you have to be connected to Simplify3D to start printing from an SD card. So my question is: once the print is started, can I turn off the PC/disconnect from the printer, or just go about doing something else for hours while it prints?

[Dale Reed]

Most folks have no issues with taking the PC and doing something else. I have found that in order to disconnect the PC from the M2 while an SDCard print is running, without interrupting it, I have to unplug the USB cable. If I disconnect "nicely" --- if I remove the RAMBo using the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray, or if I do a clean shutdown of the PC, or if I click "Disconnect" in the S3D machine control panel, the USB protocol does a "disconnect" with the Rambo, which in my case RESETS it (as if I had cycled the AC power off and on), which powers down all the motors, drops the bed, loses "home" position reference, turns off heat, etc., etc.

So I would try this: start the SD Card print, and once it's going along, unplug the USB cable from the M2. Should keep right on printing, and you can go do whatever you want with your PC.

Feel free to try one of the "clean" disconnects and let us know if your SDCard print keeps on humming or if it stops/resets. May have been fixed in later firmware... but at least there's the "unplug the cable" method.
Dale

[Josh]

Yes, you can disconnect your computer after starting the print. Depending on a couple different factors, you may need to Disconnect in S3D first, then unplug USB; OR, unplug the USB cable from computer or printer, then Disconnect/Close S3D. I'd suggest trying it on a simple quick print (the bracelet, as always, is a great candidate) to see which your setup requires. The issue can be that sometimes the printer will reset when you Disconnect in S3D, but it could be a computer/OS/S3D issue.

Edit: Dale beat me to it, it seems...that's what I get for opening up a reply tab and then going to lunch real quick X)

[SouthSideofdaSky]

For me (using Windows 7) it works in both Simplify3D and the open source Pronterface if I "x" the program out, then pull the USB plug after starting the print. But like Dale said, actually pressing the "disconnect" button seems to reset everything and stop the print.

[benavery]

If you want a reasonably priced alternative to printing without a PC, I am a huge fan of Octoprint on a RaspberryPI (known as Octopi). Raspberry PIs are <40 on amazon. There are clear instructions online for setting it all up, then the printer is run completely from the raspberry pi, and you control/upload gcode via a web interface from your computer.
One big advantage over SD, is that uploads to Octoprint are super-fast, vs the terrible transfer rates trying to copy to the SD via the printer. (And nobody wants to be constantly moving the SD between printer<->PC)

[markb]

If you want a reasonably priced alternative to printing without a PC, I am a huge fan of Octoprint on a RaspberryPI (known as Octopi). Raspberry PIs are <40 on amazon. There are clear instructions online for setting it all up, then the printer is run completely from the raspberry pi, and you control/upload gcode via a web interface from your computer.
One big advantage over SD, is that uploads to Octoprint are super-fast, vs the terrible transfer rates trying to copy to the SD via the printer. (And nobody wants to be constantly moving the SD between printer<->PC)

This is simply a best way of printing. Once you start using Octoprint you will never go back to the old way.

[jdacal]

If you want a reasonably priced alternative to printing without a PC, I am a huge fan of Octoprint on a RaspberryPI (known as Octopi). Raspberry PIs are <40 on amazon. There are clear instructions online for setting it all up, then the printer is run completely from the raspberry pi, and you control/upload gcode via a web interface from your computer.
One big advantage over SD, is that uploads to Octoprint are super-fast, vs the terrible transfer rates trying to copy to the SD via the printer. (And nobody wants to be constantly moving the SD between printer<->PC)

Hi benavery,

Which model Raspberry Pi do you recommend off Amazon? I need this, had to move my printer pretty far from PC due to my wife's allergies. I'm assuming I load firmware into Pi add a wireless adapter and then the Octoprint software on my PC?

Thanks!

[benavery]

There is only really one model of pi being sold nowdays I think, this model B one (there was a model A, but its older): http://www.amazon.com/RASPBERRY-MODEL-7 ... B009SQQF9C
Be sure to get one of the wifi adapters recommended for raspberry pi's, as I heard they are a bit picky about which adapters work.
You need an SD card to put the OS on too. If you have some spares, its worth giving it a shot, but if not make sure to buy one you know will work (http://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards). I use this: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Class-Memory ... B00B588HY2

There is a ready-made image for OctoPi you can flash onto the SD card: http://octoprint.org/download/ (download is there, and instructions on how to flash it too).
You don't need to install anything on your computer. Once OctoPi is running (which is basically combination of the OS + Octoprint software/webserver/web interface), all you need on your computer is a web browser.

The trickest bit for me was getting the wifi to work. There are various guides online for different command-line tools you could use to set it all up. Its entirely possible that if you plug the HDMI/keyboard/mouse in the raspberry pi, and use a monitor, there might be a nice UI you can use to set it all up, before rebooting it to be monitorless/keyboardless. I was just being stubborn, and wanted to get it going with never having to plug any kind of input/output into it other than a temporary ethernet cable.

[jdacal]

Thanks, that will be my project for this month. Thanks for the detailed reply!

EDIT: One more question. Does Simplify 3D still fit into the picture in all this or do I have to use a different slicer?

[jsc]

Octoprint only deals in gcode. It doesn't care how you generate those, you can continue to use Simplify3D.