OctoPrint

Earlier this summer, I was tasked with learning how OctoPrint works with our Lulzbot Minis to see if we could set up a feasible system for the rest of the district. IT really wanted to use Raspberry Pi instead of dedicated laptops for the printers. We will be rolling these out to branches who may or may not have anyone on staff with experience using the district's printer.  I wanted to make sure we provide quality training for these branches and had a clear set of instructions with how the Pi works.

The first challenge was to decide what our goal is for 3D printing at our branches. I met with my senior assistant that handles the bulk of 3D printing for the public in our branch, as well as my colleague at a nearby branch, and the district's program coordinator.  We all agreed our ultimate goal was to use the printers as a teaching tool for the public.

We worked at our branches with the Pis to see what we could and couldn't do. OctoPrint worked really well if we had straightforward prints that didn't need a lot of manipulation to print. We did quickly come upon quite a few challenges to using OctoPrint for our printer interface in addition to the Cura slicing software:

• d be nice to be able to see the object on the bed before printing (not just gcode layers)
• I can't figure out how to load multiple objects into one print (unless I slice it in Cura first)
• I can't fine tune the extruder and bed temps to fix poor print quality
• I have identified the need for 36 printer profiles to load based on filament/bed temps, 
  platform adhesion, and support structure
• I can't figure out how to send print jobs as a patron (not signed in to admin)
• I can only have 29GB loaded into OctoPrint at a time (~20 print jobs)
• Octoprint disconnects, cannot be reconnected ~45 minutes
• I can’t figure out how to resize an object
• I tried to load a file with supports and resizing, but OctoPrint froze (see IT Ticket 1610). 
  Error received: “The server at va3dprinter02.fvrl.org is taking too long to respond.”
• I can’t troubleshoot print fails in OctoPrint. I have to reslice the object in Cura and then 
  re-load the object to OctoPrint and hope for the best.
• Sometimes OctoPrint will begin printing object, but will not extrude filament; 
  manual extrusion works fine
   

At this point, we've come to the conclusion that it will be easier for staff and patrons to learn about this technology through a dedicated laptop or computer that connects directly to the printer, rather than adding an RPi to communicate with the printer. I could see use for an RPi if our libraries get to a point where we have production machines in addition to our teaching printer.