Use Raspberry Pi to Print with Your 3D Printer via WiFi and 3DPrinterOS!
Currently, common 3D printing transmission methods still involve using SD cards or USB to connect. If you connect via USB, it inevitably affects computer performance, and if the computer crashes, hours or even tens of hours of effort could be lost. With an SD card, you have to run to the machine, remove the card, slice the model, save the file, then run back to the machine and reinsert it. If you have 5 or 10 machines to use... oh dear, my legs are aching. Why can't I control the 3D printer remotely from my computer? Well, you're in luck! I have a solution. Using 3Dprinter OS, you can remotely control and track your 3D printer more easily! This article will guide you step-by-step on how to use Raspberry Pi 3 and 3DPrinterOS to enable your 3D printer to print via WiFi!1. Go to the official website of 3dprinteros at 3dprinteros.com.
www.3dprinteros.com
2. Create your account.
3. Log in to your account.
4. Go to "Download" and click "Request RaspberryPI image".
5. You will receive the download link for the "RaspberryPI image" in your email.
6. Download the .zip archive and extract it to any folder.
7. In this guide, we will show how to create a Raspberry Pi image on a Windows operating system. Mac users can check here.
First, download Win32 Disk Imager from the link below:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
8. Insert the MicroSD card into your computer (a card reader with a MicroSD port is required) and open Win32 Disk Imager.
For "Image file", select the ".img" file you extracted.
For "Device", select your MicroSD card.
Then click "Write".
9. After successfully writing the image file to the Micro SD card,
Insert your Micro SD card into the Raspberry Pi slot.
Connect your Raspberry Pi 3 to power,
Connect it to any available monitor via HDMI cable.
Connect a keyboard to the Raspberry Pi 3 via USB cable.
When the Raspberry Pi 3 boots up, you will see the following screen:
10. Enter your username and password (user information can be found in your email).
Tip: It's normal for no letters or numbers to appear when you type your password; this is for your account security.
After entering your password, press Enter.
11. If your username and password are correct, you will see the following screen:
12. Please type "sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf".
Press Enter again, and you will see:
13. Enter your WiFi name and password in the following format:
network={
ssid="YourWiFi Name"
psk="YourWiFi Password"
}
14. Then, press Ctrl+X on your keyboard.
Then press "Y".
Finally, press Enter.
15. Type "sudo reboot" and press Enter:
16. After your Raspberry Pi 3 restarts, re-enter your username and password:
17. Type "ifconfig wlan0" to confirm if you have successfully connected to the WiFi network.
Press Enter and you will see:
If you see an IP address under "Inet addr", it means the Raspberry Pi has successfully connected to WiFi.
18. At this point, you can disconnect your monitor and keyboard from the Raspberry Pi 3.
Connect your 3D printer to the Raspberry Pi 3 via a USB cable.
Also connect the USB camera and power cable.
19. Log in to your 3DPrinterOS account on the web and select "Printers".
You should see the IP address linked to this device.
20. Click "Tools" -> "Printer Settings".
21. You can now enter the name and type of your 3D printer! For example, we entered Ultimaker2+.
22. Now you can start your first WiFi print!
Upload your STL file and click "Save and go to my files" to save your file to the cloud.
23. When you see that the file has been successfully uploaded, click "Slice" to set up slicing.
24. Select your relevant slicing settings according to the STL. Then click "Slice" to slice.
25. After slicing is complete, you will see that the G-code is in the queue, waiting to be printed. You just need to click "Print".
26. Select the 3D printer you want to use (if you have many) and click "Print" to start printing.
27. Now you can track the status of your 3D print in real-time.
24. Congratulations! You've completed your first WiFi print!
With the tutorial above, I believe everyone can easily print via WiFi! From now on, you won't have to run around or worry about computer instability!