Controlling multiple MK4’s without installing software  

The MK4 and Xl are new, it is safe to assume that all the major slicers and management systems will handle them in time - depending how soon the developers get hold of them for testing.  Likewise MK3s will not go away any time soon.

So really it boils down to which software you can support and how big is your farm likely to grow?

IF you are sticking to one manufacturer then it makes sense to look closely at Prusa's offerings but if you are planning to expand into other manufacturers, technologies or formats then those might become the constraint.

My instinct would be to begin supporting PrusaSlicer as an alternative and see how the users handle it, watch which they prefer and decide in the light of user preference.

Cheerio,

RE: Controlling multiple MK4’s without installing software

The newest firmware for MK4 supports MK3 gcodes... so in some respects nothing may change, except the usb cord. I'd stay with what is working, don't change just for sake of change. Experiment if you'd like to see if different software works better, but the beauty of staying with octoprint is freedom to not be locked into an eco-system.

RE: Controlling multiple MK4’s without installing software

Thanks for the thoughts, friends.

I’ll stick with Octoprint for now, and I’ll try out PrusaSlicer as an alternative. We’re already pretty committed to the Prusa ecosystem, so I don’t mind going deeper, especially given its open source nature.

Thanks again.

RE: Controlling multiple MK4’s without installing software

This depends on why you use octoprint.  If it's imply for remotely sending prints to a machine, use prusalink\connect.  Otherwise Octoprint is superior in every way.  That said, you can instantiate octoprint with docker containers on a Pi.  Since you mentioned you're using Pi3, I probably wouldn't recommend running octoprint contained docker instances.  If you can get your hands on some Pi4's (probably 2GB or higher), you can without worry.

Posted by: @pingswept

Hi,

I run a printfarm for a university makerspace. We currently have a bunch of MK3S+’s. Each one has a Raspberry Pi 3B+ running Octoprint bolted to the back of it. When people come in to use the printers, they don’t have to install any software; they just upload an STL, slice it using an Octoprint Cura plugin, and start it printing. The setup works great. Here it is: print farm

As the printers die over time (which hasn’t actually happened yet, but some are getting there after years of heavy use), I’ll probably replace them with MK4’s.

As we switch to MK4’s, should I plan on sticking with Octoprint? Is there a better solution that involves Prusa Connect? Maybe Prusa Slicer in a VM accessed through NoVNC?

The requirement that the users not install any software is important. There are some advanced users who already install and use Prusa Slicer. That’s fine. I just don’t want to add an installation step for beginners to make their first print.

Thanks!