What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

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AndyB
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What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by AndyB » Thu Jun 30, 2016 1:08 am

Does the MicroSD card store any information needed by the MakerGear M Series 3D Printer?

I currently print using Simplify3d and a USB connection. Is it possible to print using the MicroSD card without using the USB?

Thank you.

Raddiver
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by Raddiver » Thu Jun 30, 2016 1:26 am

It is indeed.
You would save the Gcode to the SD card, drop the sd card back in the M2, and tell whatever you are using to control the printer (s3d, octoprint, etc) to print the gcode from the sd card attached to the M2.

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AndyB
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by AndyB » Thu Jun 30, 2016 1:52 am

Hi Raddiver,

Thank you for confirming. Seams like there's no real point in printing from the MicroSD if you have to connect to the printer via USB anyway to tell it to print from the MicroSD.

Raddiver
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by Raddiver » Thu Jun 30, 2016 1:57 am

Some will tell you differently.
If you have to print the same thing over and over again i can definitely see the benefits. I've also seen people lose jobs mid print because something happened with the PC/MAC or the cable. Brown-outs on a desktop will also cause issues. If your M2 is on a UPS, and printing from SD, it will probably survive a brown-out without issue.

Food for thought.

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jimc
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by jimc » Thu Jun 30, 2016 1:59 am

there have been many failed prints due to running the printer from usb. odd communication issues. the computer can just all of a sudden do a background task and the print just stops. as a matter of fact it wasnt until last month that anyone was able to print on s3d via usb using windows 10. windows 10 bug. you can start the print via usb then within the first minute or so you can pull the usb cable and the printer will just just off the sd card

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Jules
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by Jules » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:05 am

Double ditto to all the guys said above. If you are going to run a print that will take over a few hours, you stand a better chance of having it finish if you save it to the SD card and print from that. It's a more stable printing mechanism.

After you start the print from the SD card (in the Control Panel in S3D), you can disconnect the USB cable from the machine and do whatever else you need on your computer.

You can also do some tricks with the file before printing, like coding in a pause for a color change wherever you want. (Makes for some nice 2-color (or 3-color) effects with your prints.)

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AndyB
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by AndyB » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:07 am

Thank you Raddiver, jimc and Jules. I now understand the benefits. :)

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insta
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by insta » Thu Jun 30, 2016 4:52 pm

AndyB wrote:Thank you Raddiver, jimc and Jules. I now understand the benefits. :)
The biggest unnoticed benefit is that the SD card has a higher throughput than the USB cable. Complex shapes (like sweeping arcs) that're rendered in too-high resolution will stutter while printing via USB but still print fine while printing via SD card. This may not matter if you make your own files, but I print customer's parts, and ... they're not always consistent.
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org

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AndyB
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by AndyB » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:01 pm

What are the steps to print from the MicroSD card?

I assume I use the Simplify3D program to write the gcode to the MicroSD card.
pic001.jpg
pic001.jpg (5.85 KiB) Viewed 12298 times
1) Turn off MakerGear M2
2) Remove MicroSD card
3) Place MicroSD card into my iMac
4) Use the Simplify3D to copy the gcode to the MicroSD card

What are we suppose to do at this point?

Thank you.

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Jules
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Re: What is the pupose of the MicroSD card?

Post by Jules » Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:25 pm

In S3D, in the Preview pane: Save the file as a ".g" format file to the SD card. (Example: "FILENAME.g") [Eight letters, no spaces, in the file name]
Eject the SD card from the computer.
Insert the SD card into the card reader on the M2.

Open the Machine Control Panel in S3D. Click Print from SD Card. Choose the file you want and start the print.

Once the file starts printing, you can disconnect the USB cable from the M2 and go use your computer for other things. The print will continue to follow the instructions on the SD card.

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