NETBOOK

[Tikki]

Hey guys, I'm in the process of building my M2, and wondering if I need to upgrade my computer.  Since I am keeping this in my garage due to abs fumes, I don't want to relocate my desktop.  I have a Netbook (that really has really limited computing power) and was wondering if you guys think is should be able to run the softeware to run the M2.  My desktop should be plenty powerful enough autocad/openSCAD/Solidworks etc, but I just don't want to move it into the garage....What do you guys think?

[Tikki]

BTW what software are you guys using and what are your thoughts on your choices?

[Ross Mosshart]

Easily, you can save the gcode files to an SD card and just use the netbook to start the print.

[Joshua Wills]

As Ross said, yes, a netbook should be more than enough to run an M2, if running prints from the SD card.  When running from SD card, all you do is connect, heat up your nozzle and bed, and click print.  From there, your computer has nothing to do with it - if you change a jumper, as explained at http://makergear.wikidot.com/m2-electronics , you can even unplug your computer.

As for software - the recommended setup is slic3r and Pronterface.  There are other options (repetier-host has been mentioned a few times for the interface), but slic3r and pronterface are a known-good, stable combination.

[Tikki]

Sweet thank Woofpickle, 

btw what softward are you using right now?

[screamcheese]

On Sep 6, 11:47 am, Tikki <agent.ti...@gmail.com> wrote:
> BTW what software are you guys using and what are your thoughts on your
> choices?
>

I'm not sure which software you mean - using Sketchup for quickies,
and Solidworks for most stuff to create objects. Using Pronterface
(latest version from github) and Slic3r 0.92 to create the gcode and
print.

I'm using an old notebook to control stuffs, so I'm in the same
situation. I do everything at my desktop, and then point Pronterface/
Slic3r at the gcode via a network share. Works just fine.

[Ross Mosshart]

I use pronterface to run the machine, slic3r 9.0 to handle all the slicing work, and Garmin SketchUp to make parts.

Sketchup has some massive shortcomings, but once you know how everything works, it is light and has a really nice workflow.

[Pete Prodoehl]

I use an original Eee PC 701 running Ubuntu to drive the RAMPS board on my MakerGear Prusa... it works great!

I just pop in a thumb drive or connect via SFTP on my local network and drop G-code files on it. (I do all my slicing on another machine.) I also run VNC on it so I can remotely see Pronterface if needed.

Pete

[Sonny Mounicou]

Just for reference, I'm using a raspberry pi to run pronterface and stream the gcode to the printer.  You don't need much power to do it, though the pronterface graphics cause a bit of a strain.

[NCBob]

Yes, I was wondering about that. When I ran it through pronterface it always kept pausing so I simply switched to controlling it and printing from the SD card.

There is a write up on using the web interface of pronterface, but I haven't set that up yet. I just upgraded my router so I'm going to mount my old one on the printer and access the raspberry Pi that way.

Kliment did say he was going to make a version without the visualization, but I haven't heard yet how that is coming along. I may dig into the code and try to disable it myself if I get some free time :P

[Joshua Wills]

Pronsole already exists - pronsole.py should work in linux, and pronsole.exe is bundled with the precompiled Windows Printrun binary.

https://github.com/kliment/Printrun/

[Sonny Mounicou]

Joshua,

Small files don't seem to have a problem.  Yesterday I printed a 4 mb file and when changing layers it would max out the CPU, presumably because of the repaint.  I used pronsole for about 10 hours yesterday and the rpi never got above 40% cpu use.  My ultimate goal is to run my two prusa printers via a single rpi.  Here is a picture of my setup ... http://mounicou.com/rpi/lcd.jpg

 

NCBob,

I have the web interface running as well.  I haven't used it because of the aforementioned issue, but I will tell you that screen and pronsole work well together.

[Nolan Poe]

Do you attach a screen to it or run it headless and use vnc/ssh? I'm tempted to try that because I've had problems with prints because of using the computer running the host software.

[Ethan Dicks]

On Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 4:36 PM, Sonny Mounicou <smo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Joshua,
> Small files don't seem to have a problem. Yesterday I printed a 4 mb file
> and when changing layers it would max out the CPU, presumably because of the
> repaint. I used pronsole for about 10 hours yesterday and the rpi never got
> above 40% cpu use. My ultimate goal is to run my two prusa printers via a
> single rpi. Here is a picture of my setup ...
> http://mounicou.com/rpi/lcd.jpg

Very cool. I just got a Pi a week ago. Good to know how far I can push it.

Thanks!

-ethan

[NCBob]

I'm running mine headless using VNC/SSH.

 

I didn't notice a performance difference running with a monitor or remotely.