Wireless printing: Which works best with MK2:Pronterface, OctoPrint, Tosiba WiFi card?
Hello,
I would like to setup the MK2 so I can upload prints using a remote computer and have been using OctoPrint on a PI.
In reading the the Prusa site I see references to Pronterface, OctoPrint, Toshiba WiFi card. Is there one solution that works better or are they all about the same? I want to use a dedicate Raspberry Pi unless the Toshiba WiFi card is better solution.
Thanks,
Dave
Re: Wireless printing: Which works best with MK2:Pronterface, OctoPrint, Tosiba WiFi card?
I currently use a W-0 FlashAir card, and I can tell you from experience this card leaves much to be desired. It's buggy, it has a very very high chance of being bricked when you update the card firmware (bricked 3 cards out of 4), it's hard to configure in a useful way, and most of all it's SLOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW.
I still use it for now, but I am working on switching to a Pi with Octoprint on it.
Perhaps others can chime in as well with their own experiences.
Re: Wireless printing: Which works best with MK2:Pronterface, OctoPrint, Tosiba WiFi card?
I'm pretty satisfied with FlashAir. I don't use Pronterface for printing, only for tuning/configuring/debugging. OctoPrint (on Raspberry) is good, possibility of live video is great, but I have bad experience with Raspberry SD card module, it destroyed 4 of 5 SD cards in few weeks.
Re: Wireless printing: Which works best with MK2:Pronterface, OctoPrint, Tosiba WiFi card?
I use Octoprint on a Raspberry Pi 3, and the setup works beautifully. The latest MK2 firmware version has some fixes that are relevant for Octoprint, so you should also look into applying the 3.09 firmware that was released 4 NOV if it's not already installed.
I run Octoprint for other 3D printers, as well, and find it to be the perfect solution for my uses. I've seen some interface lag when running wireless, so I generally prefer to hardwire it to my network, but the Pi 3's built-in wireless will work. You'll also have the added bonus of being able to do time lapse print videos.
The main thing when using the Raspberry Pi and Octoprint is to make sure you power the Pi down properly to avoid corrupting the SD card. I leave mine running off a battery backup, so I'm good even in power failures. If you just pull the power from it, you risk corrupting the SD Card and the Pi will fail to boot. Not a huge problem, just make sure you power it down from the menu in Octoprint.
You can mount the Raspberry Pi directly to the MK2 via this object on Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1325370 - just make sure you grab a 6 inch USB cable to connect it to the printer.
The easiest way to get up and running is just grab the OctoPi SD image from the Octoprint website. Good Luck!
Chief