Octoprint  

RE: Octoprint

I feel confident in responding that "nobody knows".  There are quite a few Octoprint-related issues posted on the firmware Github, but their priority in Prusa's eyes is unknown and there may very well be additional issues not yet documented there.

I would encourage everyone to review the Octoprint-related issues on the buddy-board firmware github.  Add comments to existing issues to clarify as needed, and add new issues for anything you've experienced that isn't yet there.

Hopefully these areas will be addressed, but I have to assume Prusa's first priority is to get everything working from the native control panel first.  I'm a fan of Octoprint, so I am anxious to see the features it needs (largely "status reporting" functions in Marlin) get cleaned up.

RE:

I upgraded from MK3s+ to the MK4

My MK3s+ with Octoprint performed flawlessly which is really important for me as I have a high level physical disability and gave me the greatest of ease to control my printing environment apart from getting my print off the print bed.

Now even after talking to tech support about the MK4 & combustibility with Octoprint not a priority Prusa, tech support urging me to do the Prusalink/connect options they have created. Had I known this is gonna be the case I would have held off purchasing to see the outcome.

Being in Australia my printer assembled & price & duties was just over $2200AUD but I stuck with them because of the ease of my experience with MK3s+

Ridiculous a 15 MB file can take 20 minutes or more to transfer especially this day and age & technology available to them we end up with data transfer speeds from the late 1980s.

I think they will lose customers purely based on non-compatibility with Octoprint,

I know I'm not alone & there are many others who thought it would just be as simple as switching out your new for old printer & happily printing again

RE: Octoprint

My experience with Octoprint and the MK4 is that it simply just works. The display on the MK4 doesn't update or anything, but I don't care because Octoprint tells me what I need to know. There are some plugins I have disabled because they aren't useful for now (MMU color select for individual colors for example). I didn't even change any setting for the connection that I had working for my MK3S+... just plugged it in, and started printing.

Obviously, there are some issues still needing resolved, and those are documented, but from the basic use it works the exact same as it did with my MK3S+. 

RE: Octoprint

I’ve seen a few people complain about slow upload speeds but I haven’t experienced it. In my setup it is only slightly slower than Octoprint to my MK3S+. E.g. just now I uploaded a 17GB file in under a minute. This is done via PrusaSlicer connection to PrusaLink. I wonder what is different? I connected my MK4 via Ethernet rather than WiFi so that would make a difference for sure. I did feel that the thumb drive shipped with my MK4 was slow when I used it on my PC to copy some files. So I replaced it with a name-brand I had on hand which performed better. I didn’t bother trying WiFi because I encountered errors occasionally when my Octoprint+MK3S+  was on WiFi. 

I expected I’d set up OctoPrint on my MK4 pretty quickly but for the way I use it Prusa Link/Connect has turned out better than I expected (I had low expectations). I am still using my OctoPrint’s camera to monitor the MK4 prints. The main feature I miss (this is just my particular usage) is the plugin that keeps track of my filament spools and how much is left on each one. That’s not a feature I’d ever expect Prusa to add.

RE: Octoprint

Posted by: @mysticgringo

...  but from the basic use it works the exact same as it did with my MK3S+. 

I mostly agree, but it really depends on what a particular user considers "basic use."  

Filament Runout detection is a good example.  The MK4 firmware does not currently communicate filament runout to a serial host (like Octoprint), so the serial host will just keep sending Gcode when filament has run out.  People who routinely do large prints would consider that to be "basic" (and required).  Same with any plugins that need printer status reporting.

Like you, I'm using Octoprint with my MK4, and all the prints I have sent worked just fine.

The original post stated that "...many things do not work...", which is pretty vague even if technically accurate.  The impact of those "many things" depends on whether a given user's needs intersect with one of them.  Personally, none of them have been critical for me. But I don't use plugins that need status reporting from the firmware, nor do I do many long prints where filament may runout, nor do I rely on M117 messages.  If I did, then I might have a different view of whether the MK4 firmware is "compatible" with Octoprint or not.

In any case, I think the best way forward to improved functionality is a very specific bug report (or enhancement request) on the MK4 firmware Github. That is the best way to get it in front of developers at Prusa, as well as other coders that might have the ability to code a pull request.

RE: Octoprint

Ah, yes... this is a pretty big issue.

I might be overly optimistic, but I do expect Prusa to implement this relatively soon (what ever that means). I think they offer their own networking method for people who are looking at specifications of them vs competitors and obviously they need to provide a network based solution to upload and monitor prints. If they didn't, the forums would be full of "why didn't they include wifi" or whatever. And then naturally you'd prefer to focus your software people on solving issues with your own systems before making sure 3rd party things work... that's just normal.

But Prusa have always been supportive of  Octoprint, I don't see why they won't be. It might take some time, but I am sure they'll get there.

Posted by: @scottw

Posted by: @mysticgringo

...  but from the basic use it works the exact same as it did with my MK3S+. 

I mostly agree, but it really depends on what a particular user considers "basic use."  

Filament Runout detection is a good example.  The MK4 firmware does not currently communicate filament runout to a serial host (like Octoprint), so the serial host will just keep sending Gcode when filament has run out.  People who routinely do large prints would consider that to be "basic" (and required).  Same with any plugins that need printer status reporting.

RE: Octoprint

Posted by: @ronguest

I’ve seen a few people complain about slow upload speeds but I haven’t experienced it. In my setup it is only slightly slower than Octoprint to my MK3S+. E.g. just now I uploaded a 17GB file in under a minute. This is done via PrusaSlicer connection to PrusaLink. I wonder what is different? I connected my MK4 via Ethernet rather than WiFi so that would make a difference for sure.

I'm not really complaining, but....   I just sliced a complex model that produced an 85mb gcode file.  Upload to MK4 via PrusaLink took 3 minutes, 52 seconds.  Upload to Octoprint was just under 2 seconds.

Same network, same cable.  Both using Ethernet (I can't even imagine how long it would have taken on MK4's wifi).  Both using the direct upload from PrusaSlicer.

Granted, that is an unusually complex/large print to be 85mb -- and not the kind of thing *I* do regularly.  But 3:52 vs 0:02 is a huge difference for someone who frequently prints complex models.

RE: Octoprint

Thanks for the update & feed back