Kudos and wish list
I love Prusa Link and Prusa Connect. For me its is much simpler to use in real life, than Octoprint ever was, and more stable too.
So Of course I have wish list for further improvements.
For background, I have prusalink running on Raspberry Pi Zero 2W with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module Wide as well. I also have my MK4 printer connected.
So I can compare the two.
Firstly to say that the MK3 version has a lot more utility and instrumentation, such as the Bed Levelling display and Camera. The Raspi also buffers the files transferred to the printer, making it seem faster. The MK4 file transfer is very slow.
I'd like the Mk4 to have these things too, so the features of both versions and performance are the same.
I understand that MK4, not running Linux and not having CSI camera direct connection is problematic, so here is my suggestion:
Instead of the ESP Wifi Board, why not make it possible to connect a Raspi 2W to the xBuddy board instead of the ESP ? The Raspi board of course makes it possible to connect a camera or two, something the ESP board lacks.
Update the firmware on the MK4 to have it output the same instrumentation data as the MK3, which is obviously benefitting from prior developments to suit Octopi.
And it will make a lot of people happier because file transfer speed will improve.
So thats my list, not a long one.:)
RE: Kudos and wish list
Hi, that would be kind of admitting defeat for the team. This idea was already floated multiple times, but so far, the decision was not to pursue that, it would still take a lot of dev time to do and would require an additional purchase. I think that is kind of why we have decided against it. This is just my thoughts tho. Sorry
There is something coming with regards to upload speed on the buddy printer family tho.
RE:
They need to focus on the camera (sorry!) as well as upload speed. This was after all, a promise from Prusa. And the competitors have it as a feature.
Looks to me like xBuddy cannot connect it and make it work, if they did it would be a limited range of cameras could be supported.
So this is a potential solution, and I call that issue of it requiring a lot of dev time a plain and simple lie. The main areas where work required is simply the connection point and mounting of the RasPi. The fact that it requires the user to spend a little more cash is a pherfee. Everything costs money and most Mk4 users would value a camera solution to be added as an option/accessory. Prusa seem to have the blinkers on. They need to get out in the real world and speak to actual customers. Conduct a few customer surveys and ask them what they want.
The current connection point for ESP is at wrong orientation relative to the way a Pi zero would need to mount (vertical). And of course, needing a suitable enclosure for it. Perhaps signal levels might also be an issue (3.3V versus 5V). But not insurmountable I'm sure, for a talented engineer. Would the Raspi firmware need to be updated ? Likely not. Would the xBuddy firmware need to be updated ? Not sure, but perhaps the extra signals needed to emulate Octopi (Bed levelling etc) would need to be available/output. Prusa made a bad decision when it came to using the ESP board for wifi. It was short sighted. They should just man-up and admit they made a mistake and fix it.
RE: Kudos and wish list
Since this is a wish list that includes Prusalink i would personally like to see a couple of things.
-First is the ability to change user details through Prusalink. In XL i have a predefined password that no way i can remember and i cannot enter my personal perference. Or disable it since for the time being i print only on the local network.
-Second is the file handling through Prusalink. I cannot delete directories under storage only single files. Or i cannot select multiple files and delete them. That means that after a a while i have to go through the process of deleting one by one the old files. That is also true for the SLS1. Yes in the case of the XL i can take out the usb plug it in and delete everything i dont want, but i would like to avoid pluging and unpluging the usb all the time. Even the best of the usb ports sometimes fail. Also it would be nice to have a way to access this usb (like a samba share) through Prusalink or the network. This way i can upload new firmware delete old files or even alter the setting file that is used for setting up the wifi.
RE:
Your current communication platform will hurt all your printers moving forward. It is just a poor technical choice for hardware and won't allow your products to really shine as you move forward into the next 5 years. Smaller incremental improvements in speed won't help. In over 6 months, the team hasn't been able to provide a proper TCP "ping" implementation, so you are under-resourced, technically in this area. Redesign the hardware now, so this issue then becomes one of firmware, rather than allowing the hardware to throttle performance. And although, logically, in a 5 hour print, waiting 5 minutes for a file to upload should be a non-issue, it isn't to users. (and there are valid reasons it isn't depending on workflow). It is the one area that prevented me from moving from my MK3S+ to an MK4 and for me recommending a competitor for a College where we needed wireless connectivity for all our printers. To address comments that the Octoprint was less reliable than Prusa Connect/link.. my Octoprint has been absolutely rock-steady in about 1 year and at least 1000 hours of printing. Bed levelling, camera support, flawless TCP (wired & wireless), decent (but not perfect) file management support and an open-sourced framework for plug-ins. That all runs on a board that is currently under about $30-40 US .. the MK4 and XL require at least that level of hardware.
RE:
@bryn51
I cannot disagree, but also cannot change that. It is painfully obvious that people want cameras. Anyway, I do not think an external OctoPrint style host with PrusaLink will happen, but we will need to provide a solution for connecting a camera, be it internal or not. I do not like nor am allowed to discuss the internal state of the company, so let's not do that.
@tsamisa
There is a kind of a workaround. Copy the PrusaLink API key from Connect and paste it into the password box. No idea if and when will we let you make your own passwords, but other stuff has priority.
Same goes for proper file management.
I am not working on those projects, so this information might be wrong, this is not the first time i read file management sucks through PrusaLink tho.
@crab
I agree
My first printer didn't have an SD slot, I ran Octo. Making PrusaLink for the MK3, I am admiring what Gina was able to accomplish. It's imposter syndrome inducing.
Anyway, please stop wishing things on the forum, or do not expect me to answer, it's time consuming
The only people who want cameras are the ones who have never had them. I fitted one via Octoprint but after the novelty wore off - about a week, I dismounted it and repurposed both the Raspberry Pi and the camera.
But we have loads of users expecting a printer to act like a computer - if you must, the simple answer is to use an old computer as a printer server (No, not Windows, it's incapable, install a light linux distro or use a Pi) - because it's a printer. However, I wouldn't bother because you have to attend the printer to remove the previous print, clean the print sheet and load filament so you may as well carry the file in your pocket at the same time.
So look guys, treat it as a printer, store exactly as many files on it as you do your inkjet. Run as many cameras on it as you do on your laserjet.
Cheerio,
RE: Kudos and wish list
Weeellll is not exactly like that. I never connected a camera either to my mk3s or now to my xl. I have a few rpis home but i dont want to setup a satellite appliance for monitoring another appliance. Saying this i would like a camera if it was a rather simple plugin , not as a novelty, but as means to monitor my print. In contrast with the 2d printers a 3d print may take days. It may go haywire while i'm away or in another room doing something else. It could be nice to be able to check it now and then before i get plastic blobs of death on my extruders, waste material as plastic spaghettis all over the place etc. And in some cases to be able to remotely stop the print if im not home or my 3d printer is in the basement. The 2d printers in the worst case will start speeting pages until they run out of paper. And unless you have a huge printer at home with 5 cassetes full of paper ... well is rather a small issues. And rarely a 2d print takes hours or days on a print. Also file administration is not much of an issue on a 2d print since usually you dont store the files on you printer but the printer spooler send them directly to a buffer for printing via usb or a decent lan (Prusa...yours is far from decent). So sorry mate but i cannot store files to a 3d printer as i store them to my 2d printer because in the first case i actually need to store them there to print them. You comparing apples with bananas. Yes you dont have to peel the first but you dont eat the second with the skin (some do but its out of the scope).
I agree in one point though. I would like as i said in the beginning to setup a pi or pc just to monitor my 3d printer.
The only people who want cameras are the ones who have never had them. I fitted one via Octoprint but after the novelty wore off - about a week, I dismounted it and repurposed both the Raspberry Pi and the camera.
But we have loads of users expecting a printer to act like a computer - if you must, the simple answer is to use an old computer as a printer server (No, not Windows, it's incapable, install a light linux distro or use a Pi) - because it's a printer. However, I wouldn't bother because you have to attend the printer to remove the previous print, clean the print sheet and load filament so you may as well carry the file in your pocket at the same time.
So look guys, treat it as a printer, store exactly as many files on it as you do your inkjet. Run as many cameras on it as you do on your laserjet.
Cheerio,
RE: Kudos and wish list
You obviously never had an MMU or your experience would be different. Its very common for prints to run for days on end, and unless you print from a dryer, also common for prints to become s birds nest, or some other problem, requiring intervention. This requires frequent monitoring of the printer.
A camera allows the owner to check on a print while engaged on other business.
As for being able to send a print job to the printer remotely, 100% of mk4 owners would agree its too slow. Unexpectedly so, because the mk4 has a higher grade motherboard. Maybe this can be fixed in firmware, maybe not. But prusa are not listening to their customers if they aren’t giving it top priority now that IS is out of the way.
The two issues are linked by way of the capabilities of the ESP. which is why I want the option to upgrade it to RasPi and achieve the same capability seen on a MK3S printer having RasPi.
You obviously never had an MMU or your experience would be different. Its very common for prints to run for days on end,
I have an MMU, it's pretty reliable for plain multicolour stuff 'though I think I did have a blob of doom in the early days. I no longer use it as I have little use for multi *colour* and it doesn't do multi *material* well. That said, I do quite a few two or three day prints but I see no need to check on them unless a filament run-out is expected. It will be ready when it's ready.
But if you're making two or three day prints a few minutes extra on a file transfer is trivial.
Cheerio,