Officially, MakerGear will say never leave your printer unattended. I don't think it's UL listed, so if it ends up catching fire and burning your house down, you just became your insurance agent's wet dream. This is not anything unique to MG.helifrek wrote:I didn't know they used UPS. I almost always ship via priority mail. The flashforge cost me $50 to ship! I am sure UPS would have cost a lot more than that. Not much I can really do now until I get the printer except twiddle my thumbs....
I am in the process of selling one of my rc helicopters to fund the LCD screen and S3D. Having the LCD probably isn't going to be a huge deal because I plan to leave the printer on my computer desk but it would be a nice touch.
As for the power supply, I think attaching it to the bottom of my desk might hide it nicely. For an on and off switch, do you guys think a surge protector would be ok?
Do you guys have any links to remote monitoring/control of the printer. Just in case I had to leave while doing a print job.
With the Flashforge, I was constantly worried about catching my house on fire! I would like to have some sort of safety!
hoping to join the makergear community soon!
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
Point taken 
That being said, how often do you guys leave your printers running alone? I would start a print and check on it every 20 minutes or so while I had the printer in my back room. That made me nervous so I moved it into the living room where it was easier to watch.
I know one thing.... I am buying another smoke detector to put close to the printer and a fire extinguisher! can never be too safe!

That being said, how often do you guys leave your printers running alone? I would start a print and check on it every 20 minutes or so while I had the printer in my back room. That made me nervous so I moved it into the living room where it was easier to watch.
I know one thing.... I am buying another smoke detector to put close to the printer and a fire extinguisher! can never be too safe!
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
i think printers should have an overtemp sensor in a couple key areas to kill power as a failsafe. something separate from the main controller board. there is really no safety backup on any of these things. if for some reason the cartridge heater gets stuck on it can completely melt down the aluminum, catch plastic on fire, etc. the good thing though is the m2 is almost all metal. not saying that nothing can happen with it but its certainly better than a wood box. keep it sitting on a non flammable base with nothing around it so if something did happen it would just be the printer that would go up in smoke. all that said i leave my printer running every day. the past month it has run everyday for prob 20hrs a day. i cant babysit that
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
I use the newer version of Marlin that includes the "heater power is doing nothing" overtemp stuff. I have it enabled for all my printers, and do leave them unattended. I also have a smoke detector and fire extinguisher nearby.
Custom 3D printing for you or your business -- quote [at] pingring.org
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
Has it been 3 weeks yet?
No news here, just waiting around. Have been doing research on remotely operating the M2 and having a cam monitoring it. Octoprint seems pretty cool. Now I am not sure if I should have that or the lcd screen. Or both?
Still saving up for S3D. Pretty sure I want to use that.
No news here, just waiting around. Have been doing research on remotely operating the M2 and having a cam monitoring it. Octoprint seems pretty cool. Now I am not sure if I should have that or the lcd screen. Or both?
Still saving up for S3D. Pretty sure I want to use that.
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
I recommended the Octoprint, not the Viki though. I have it but never use it. Not even for extruding filament when I change a roll as some setting is off on it and it just kind of clicks and goes nowhere after extruding x amount of filament. I just bring my iPad and log on to my desktop and do whatever I need through Octoprint. I should clarify, I recommend the Octoprint, if like in my case, the printer must be far from the desktop. Otherwise you are better off with S3D and a USB cable.helifrek wrote:Has it been 3 weeks yet?
No news here, just waiting around. Have been doing research on remotely operating the M2 and having a cam monitoring it. Octoprint seems pretty cool. Now I am not sure if I should have that or the lcd screen. Or both?
Still saving up for S3D. Pretty sure I want to use that.
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
what do you print top secret now? lol
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
If you're referring to mine, I have a plastic garbage bag over it. Didn't want to get airbrush paint on it.jimc wrote:what do you print top secret now? lol

Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
ahhh i see. makes sense.
Re: hoping to join the makergear community soon!
Thanks for the info! The octoprint option will also be a little bit cheaper than the LCD. I plan to have the printer on my computer desk, which I have to secure to the wall! Cheap Wal-Mart desk shakes a lot but it is the only one I could find with a nice table top on the right side that fits where I need in my living room. I will have to post a picture of it.
Anyways,
I still have to do some digging around on the Octoprint. I am a little familiar with Arduino, my flight controllers on my multirotors are arduino as well as my brushless gimbal. The Raspberry Pi will be a whole new beast for me but I love a little bit of a challenge.
I had an idea I thought would be cool. What if you had the Raspberry Pi hooked up to the printer, but then had small tablet docked to the printer connected to the Raspberry Pi in an always on state (while docked). It would give you an LCD touch screen to be able to control the printer but if you had to get up and leave you could just grab the little tablet!
I suppose the only issue might be keeping your connection, which would be easier if it was just a smartphone. Unless you get a tablet that has a data connection..... and have it use wifi in the house. The dock mounted on the printer would just be a charging station then....
You guys are smarter than me
brainstorm and get back to me!
Anyways,
I still have to do some digging around on the Octoprint. I am a little familiar with Arduino, my flight controllers on my multirotors are arduino as well as my brushless gimbal. The Raspberry Pi will be a whole new beast for me but I love a little bit of a challenge.
I had an idea I thought would be cool. What if you had the Raspberry Pi hooked up to the printer, but then had small tablet docked to the printer connected to the Raspberry Pi in an always on state (while docked). It would give you an LCD touch screen to be able to control the printer but if you had to get up and leave you could just grab the little tablet!
I suppose the only issue might be keeping your connection, which would be easier if it was just a smartphone. Unless you get a tablet that has a data connection..... and have it use wifi in the house. The dock mounted on the printer would just be a charging station then....
You guys are smarter than me
