3d Printer Host Software Mac
Abele Beardsley
I see that you are having issues while connecting the Envy printer to the new router/modem. The host name is nothing but the name of the printer on your network. As the printer is not yet connected to the network, the value would be null at the moment.
We have six of the S5 printers deployed around our building, and our INTENT was for them to all be individually accessible via Cura for our engineers. Unfortunately, we have been running into issues where printers are getting (inadvertently) grouped together, and this makes them inaccessible via Cura (a message pops up in Cura saying that the printer can't be connected to because it is not the group host). It appears that this grouping can be un-done, but it requires a confirmation button press on the printer in question (or maybe the host printer). This wouldn't be a huge deal, other than needed to trek across the building to push said button. With remote work now, this would now require a drive from our work-at-home office to the actual office to accomplish this.
- How are these printers getting grouped in the first place? I suspect that the users who aren't as familiar with the system as I am (and others in the team that helped to deploy them are), and they are blindly clicking a prompt that is suggesting a group, but I can't be sure because I haven't seen the prompt myself.
- Is this grouping method even useful when the printers all have different materials loaded? Some may have Ultimaker filament loaded, others are using generic PLA, etc. My understanding of this grouping process is that you send a print to the host, and it relays it to another printer in the group if it is busy. Is this correct? How are materials managed then? Normally, I would connect to a printer with Cura, use the dropdown to determine which material is loaded in it, and then I print with that material in mind...
We have released Firmware 6.x for the S3 and S5, which allows you to enable a firewall which blocks all local network access to the printer (and by doing so blocking the ability to group printers). You'll have to use the cloud-based Digital Factory or USB to print if the firewall is enabled.
Grouping is mostly useful if you want to treat all of your printers a just a single production unit, not caring about which print job ends up at which printer. If you use different materials in each printer, it might be easier to have them all separate indeed and just select the correct one in Cura on the top left when slicing.
Originally printer grouping was part of "Cura Connect", then became "Ultimaker Connect", and now is part of "Ultimaker Digital Factory". However the grouping still runs in the local network, and the cloud functionality is built on top of that. I personally prefer not to use the grouping (as it can cause other issues due to the wide variety of local network configurations out there) and just connect every printer by itself to the cloud, and then sign into Cura and automatically access all the printers.
1. Can you tell me what circumstance might be creating a pop-up notification that might prompt a user to group a printer? I would like to recreate this and screen shot it with some instructions for the users on how to proceed in those cases.
2. If the printers are connected via the cloud does this pose any network security risks? I would like to inquire with our IT department about this and see if they have any concerns. Can you provide a link to some documentation that explains how this works (user management, etc)? Does this require an Essentials subscription?
4. With the cloud option, I assume that we wouldn't need to VPN into our corporate network to access the printers anymore? Anyone with an account and permission to access them would be able to see them (this probably falls under #2 above).
1. Grouping a printer starts by navigating to the /printers page on the IP address of the printer you want to use a group host, and then add printers from there. That will prompt a confirmation message on display of the printer you want to add. Once confirming from there, the printer will be in the group as a guest printer.
2. Cloud printing is very secure and uses encryption of all data in both transit and rest. It's actually more secure than local network printing, as connections from Cura to the printers in your local network cannot be encrypted (as they do not use a domain name). More details are available in our security documentation. Features like user management on organization level require an Essentials subscription indeed. However in the free version you can already manage users on in a more restricted way using teams.
4. Correct. When using Ultimaker Digital Factory via the cloud, there is a secure connection between the printer and our cloud using web socket technology. There's no need for a VPN connection anymore. If you then also enable the firewall on your printers there is no other way to send print jobs or see the printer status other than using the managed Digital Factory or USB.
I am in the office and thought I would try connecting one of the machines to the Digital Factory. However, it doesn't seem to do anything when I pick the "Digital Factory" menu item and enter the code I get from the Connect button press. No printers show up in my digital factory. The button on the Digital Factory page shows "Disconnect" after I close the window with the code. I have tried a few times with no luck.
Replying to my own comment. I ended up trying another printer (right next to the one that was having issues), and that one connected just fine. I went into network settings and reset the Digital Factory settings, and after that I was able to add that printer to my cloud account as well.
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