I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
I thought that I had seen somewhere that the LAN interface had most oof the functionality of Octoprint, or, at least that it could be used to upload print jobs and Tune the temperatures and settings.
All that I see is the "Dashboard" showing me the print progress and temperature. There seems to be no ability to actually do anything.
Am I missing something or do I need to do something? Or, is the LAN interface mostly useless.
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
I think it's a working in progress.
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
We're still waiting for full LAN functionality, the Prusa web site is a little misleading as it implies this feature exists now, but it doesn't. We're also waiting for other planned functions like Wi-Fi, power panic, farm management software.
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
I am increasingly finding reality disconnects at Prusa.
Taking 6~9 months to deliver advertised features, and not making it very clear what advertised feature isn’t really there (like WiFi on Mini) is boarderline deceptive.
The open source stuff they adapt is well made, but the stuff they design (like MMU2S) seems poorly implemented.
Prusa also seems to suffer from new “product constipation”. Looking over the course of years now, they don’t seem to release much that is new. It is as if the “Reasearch” part of Prusa Research is just a couple of people.
It seems that their promised feature queue just gets longer and longer.
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
That is your opinion, I still think after my waiting period en using the mini, PR delivers on every promise they have made... They said WiFi functionality should arrive somewhere in Summer... I still think they will deliver on that promise and if not I will gladly wait -- IMHO this is simply the best 3D Printer experience (hardware/slicer/firmware/support/etc) you can buy for that money.
Mini with FW:4.4.1 + SuperPINDA + Bondtech Heatbreak + PC4-M8 couplers + 1 piece boden
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
The sales website states in a single sentence:
“Send files to the printer wirelessly, or download OTA firmware updates.”
A more honest, direct statement would be:
“Sometime in the future we hope to make it possible to send files to the printer wirelessly, or download OTA firmware updates.”
One should not need to be a lawyer and scrutinize every statement and qualifier. A more forthright approach would be to just tell the truth in an unambiguous way.
In my jurisdiction, “statements which are literally true but which have a tendency to deceive or leave false expectations to a casual consumer are illegal” and are punishable by fines of three times the purchase price. Consumer Protection is and should be a high standard.
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
“print via ethernet”
In the product announcement with no statement that it was a vision and not a feature.
I actually thought you could print via Ethernet, now. I didn’t expect to have to spend $100 on an Octopi setup to print via Ethernet.
Yes, buried on different web pages they do in one place indicate it is a future feature. But how much fact-checking should a customer be required to do on a reputable company?
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
That is your opinion, I still think after my waiting period en using the mini, PR delivers on every promise they have made... They said WiFi functionality should arrive somewhere in Summer... I still think they will deliver on that promise and if not I will gladly wait -- IMHO this is simply the best 3D Printer experience (hardware/slicer/firmware/support/etc) you can buy for that money.
Where and when was that said? "Summer" can be a vague term, but however you define it there is not much of summer left, so I highly doubt they will deliver on that.
The firmware upgrades we have seen are often for features no one really asked for (like NTP client), and are quite buggy when they are released. There are several BSOD crashes in the latest release, not what I would consider good quality. To be fair, Prusa development will have been affected by Covid-19, plus we know they are working on other development like XL and Mk4. But at the current rate of progress, I would expect it will be a year or two before Prusa deliver all the promised Mini features.
However, if you are happy that the printer merely has "Prusa" written on the front, anything to the contrary will be irrelevant!
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
@bobcousins
I know I have read it here on the forum (by a moderator/employee of PR) but I can only find ( https://forum.prusa3d.com/forum/hardware-firmware-and-software-help/mini-wifi-networking/#post-213599 ) made by a user. Maybe It was in one of the PR Youtube video's.
I agree it would benefit us if PR would release a document outlining the priority list of new features for the mini - but as a developer you know it is hardly ever done...
Mini with FW:4.4.1 + SuperPINDA + Bondtech Heatbreak + PC4-M8 couplers + 1 piece boden
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
As the person who made the comment Oxygen refers to, it was largely based on this issue: https://github.com/prusa3d/Prusa-Firmware-Buddy/issues/373 although I'm sure I also heard it from Jo on a video, but can't remember the source of the video 😕
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
The product announcement linked to on the product page includes this bit:
Not every feature will be available in the launch firmware, but we will keep improving the printer through new firmware after launch.
The product page itself does mention on-board Ethernet out of the box and future wifi capability. It should be made more clear that these features are in the works but not yet available. Apparently some functionality is available over Ethernet, but definitely limited at this time.
If this is a real problem, definitely contact support about a refund. Otherwise, we just have to wait. Worth noting that summer equinox is September 22nd this year. Interestingly, I'm not seeing discussion about networking on the firmware github pages.
$1,000+ phones are regularly shipping with features advertised that are not functional, or only partially implemented all the time. It seems to be a norm these days. If I absolutely must have the latest toy, I expect to wait for some of the goodies. At least the hardware is in place to allow those features. Otherwise, I do my research and simply don't fork over my money. I'd love to get a Mini someday, but circumstances (and the presence of a big Sidewinder on my table) made me decide to wait until the dust settles and we see what the Mini will do once mature. It's the same old tech "bleeding edge" issue.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
Fully agree. I like to see Ethernet and WiFi functionality - as Prusa promised on their website - rather sooner than later, instead of prioritizing any additional features.
Not to mention that OctoPrint has issues with the Mini (or vice versa).
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
Any guess whether the Prusa Mini will provide the advertised LAN features (such as ability to upload files to print and possibly offering a WiFi option) before the Mini is obsolete? Announcing capabilities 11 months in advance of availability (with no availability yet in sight) would seem to be pushing the limits of reasonableness and honest business practices.
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
@seattledavid
Welcome to the constant tug-of-war between Marketing and Engineering. Engineering says "We can do this eventually" and marketing advertises it as "We can do this"...
RE: I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
I would agree that announcing features that aren't available a year after launch could be considered pushing the limits, but in fairness to Prusa they have been hit by the effect of their development team working from home since ~March it has reduced their ability to collaborate on new features and bug fixing as well as accessing hardware for testing. On a recent PrusaLive it was suggested that WiFi would be in a firmware release around the end of the year.
I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
Is there a progress in upload trough ethernet? I see some code in the firmware to support this. But found no "Done" news.
Is it perhaps implemented and only "hidden" ?
I thought the Mini LAN Interface would allow uploading and controlling prints
I believe in latest Prusa Live (just before Dubai) they got a question about Wifi support and said something about the networking stack being redone in preparation for these features.