Workflow with SD card
I just finished the kit and I'm finding the workflow with gcode files on the SD card confusing and tedious. I've been using a Robo printer with Simplify3D. It's easy to tinker with settings and then send a print to the printer. But with Prusaslicer, you have to make a choice about settings for the filament, generate a gcode file, and move it to the printer. In my first test I was using MatterHacker PLA, and it seemed like the bed was too hot, so I made a custom filament with lower temperatures. The part didn't adhere to the bed, and I'm thinking maybe the bed wasn't hot enough. But all the details of these experiments are invisibly encoded in the gcode file. I can't tell what settings a file used unless I include them all in the filename, and the name is already much too long to fit on the LCD screen. How do y'all deal with this? I've been encouraged to give Prusaslicer a chance, but can I also plug a USB cable into the Prusa and use Simplify3D like I have in the past?
Settings don't live in the printer...
You seem to be wanting to change a setting and have it apply to all prints forever more thereafter. Doesn't work that way. But yes, you can register a printer in the slicer and directly send prints to the printer. The trouble is you have to stay online with no sleep, no screen saver, etc, the whole time. You could go from the slicer to the printers SD card directly (via the USB) - as long as you don't try and make your PC run your print you should be able to get what you want.
Prusaslicer
In the past, my archive file was the STL, and when I wanted a print, I was able to select the settings dynamically. There is also a stored list of Processes, and it is easy to print an STL with the same process every time. With Prusa, I have a new file, which is the gcode. Maybe I should just view these as transient and delete them after every print. Because a week (or a day) after I use it, I will have no idea what settings are in it. I'm just trying to understand the new paradigm.
I have had no trouble whatsoever with my Mac staying awake for my USB Robo prints. I have applications that require constant monitoring of sensors and other real world inputs, and my Mac is configured for this. I just haven't seen anyone say that the USB port on the Prusa could be used in the same way as the Robo uses a USB port with Simplify3D.
Printing via USB was deliberately removed and is not likely to return
You are describing printing directly from the slicer via USB. This was supported in older versions of PrusaSlicer (Slic3rPE) but was removed due to unreliability. I realize you think your Mac is super steady and so on, but the simple fact is that printing via USB from a general-purpose desktop OS is very prone to interruptions and quality impacts. It may work for you, but not for the vast majority of users, so the feature was removed. I would not expect printing via USB to return to PrusaSlicer anytime soon.
If you like the "one button print" capability, check out OctoPrint. If you set up OctoPrint on an inexpensive Raspberry Pi computer, you can restore your "slice & print" simplicity quite easily. You also gain a lot of quality-of-life features as a bonus.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
Octoprint
I bought my Prusa because a trusted friend has two and loves them. He set up Octoprint, and said it was not reliable, and that the consensus of the online community was similar, maybe because the tiny Raspberry was too weak. Is this not the case? Where can I look more closely into Octoprint on Prusa?
You do need to run OctoPrint on a supported platform
I bought my Prusa because a trusted friend has two and loves them. He set up Octoprint, and said it was not reliable, and that the consensus of the online community was similar, maybe because the tiny Raspberry was too weak. Is this not the case? Where can I look more closely into Octoprint on Prusa?
Hard to say, but a lot of people insist on trying to run OctoPrint on underpowered Raspberry Pi Zeros. This configuration is specifically not supported by the developer, but people like to try. I have had a few problems over the years attributable to OctoPrint, but it has mostly been a very reliable way of firing off a print and moving on with life. I use a dedicated RPi 4 for each printer.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RPi 4
Where can I learn more about Octoprint on a RPi 4? How does it attach to the Prusa, if the planned location on the Einsy board is for the Zero?
YouTube
Where can I learn more about Octoprint on a RPi 4? How does it attach to the Prusa, if the planned location on the Einsy board is for the Zero?
There are many YouTube tutorials that are pretty thorough.
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He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
Thanks
Thank you for your help and guidance.
Not on the subject of RasPi but on PS and gcode instead. Any gcode generated from PS stores a copy of the settings at the end of the gcode. You can load those settings back into PS using File>Import>Import Config and choosing a gcode file. However it is MUCH better to save projects as 3mf files from PS. As well as the settings those also store your model, positional data, any modifiers in use etc. In effect its a snapshot of your work environment. You can easily adjust things and tweak and then generate new gcode.
Its a much better workflow and something well worth getting into the habit of. Basically save your project, generate the gcode and print.
Once you have saved the 3mf initially then you just save at the same time as you generate gcode. Even if you lose your model at a later date its still in the project and you can export the file as stl at any point to recover it.