SouthSideofdaSky wrote:the exact process
Sheesh...
Forgive me for ranting, but this has gotten absurd.
Pronterface and Linux Just Work™, with zero drama, if what you want to do involves sending G-Code to a 3D printer.
I run the model through Slic3r on the upstairs PC (the one with The Comfy Chair), toddle downstairs, fire up the M2, load the G-Code file from the file server into Pronterface, hit Print, and away it goes. An hour or two or three later, it's done. That's as exciting as it gets,
ever.
Over the last five years, I've used half a dozen combinations of PCs and Linux flavors with two 3D printers, with exactly
none of the aggravations you folks keep working around. Right now, there's old Dell laptop and Linux Mint connected to the M2 and various Arduino projects; everything stays plugged in all the time, because that's the way USB is
supposed to work.
I get PCs from Dell's off-lease refurbished outlet, where the most recent desktop box set me back $200 delivered: Intel Core i3, 4 GB RAM, 250 GB drive, and a legit copy of Win 7 Pro that never sees the light of day. Laptops run about that much, maybe a bit more for a fancy screen.
Linux Mint / Slic3r / Pronsole are all Free Software: install 'em on as many PCs as you need, network them as you want, use them as you like. Software updates are free, bug fixes are nearly instantaneous, you can actually make a difference by reporting problems directly to the developers.
Yes, you'd have to (re)learn a few things to install & use Linux, but after that It Just Works... and you could get on with printing stuff, rather than putzing around with magic rituals.
OK, rant off...