Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
Have just recently received my Prusa i3 Mk3 but I am confused ( But I am usually confused)
I have a Creality Ender 3 and a JG Aurora A5 as well, and when I create a design using Solidworks I save it as an STL send to the printer via CURA and that it, but not with Prusa,
I have tried Slic3r and Prusa control and I can load my design and set the parameters, but I cannot find a Print button or anything to tell the printer to start printing I am 80 years old and blind in one eye but i don't think I am stupid.
Prusa is obviously different, can someone tell exactly how I can print a project from my PC or Surface Pro, what program do I need etc.
Thanks in advance
Andy
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
Cura and Prusa Control should both be able to do what you are asking.
Are you on a Windows computer or some other computer?
Are you using a Raspberry Pi and/or Octoprint? If so, that would add another layer of setup.
Have you verified that you have a working USB connection between your computer and the printer? It may be that whatever program you are using to try to talk to the printer needs a little help to "find" the right port, although they normally do it automatically.
The Prusa mind-set from the factory seems to lean toward putting your G-code on a SD card, and then plugging the SD card into the printer. But I've been using USB from my Windows computer exclusively with no problem at all. By the way, I like using Slic3r PE to do the slicing and then Repetier Host to communicate with the printer. I like the extra information that Repetier provides over Cura or Prusa Control.
(BTW, I'm just a spring chicken - only 72 years old. And I have a blind spot in both eyes - but not a very big one. 😆 )
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
I am using windows computers, and no I do not have Raspberry Pi nor Octoprint Just Cura,
I tried connecting with USB Printer cable but did not seem to communicate with the Printer ( Prusa suggest to use USB 2.0 Type B cable) but the connecting small USB part does not match the printer input adaptor which is a normal printer connection. And yes you right the Printer arrived set for SD card, but I am unable to change to any other type, and as I said I cannot find anyway to initate printing from slic3r or Prusa Control.
BTW I have Wet Macular Degeneration, that what made me One Eyed.
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
I am using windows computers, and no I do not have Raspberry Pi nor Octoprint Just Cura,
I tried connecting with USB Printer cable but did not seem to communicate with the Printer ( Prusa suggest to use USB 2.0 Type B cable) but the connecting small USB part does not match the printer input adaptor which is a normal printer connection. And yes you right the Printer arrived set for SD card, but I am unable to change to any other type, and as I said I cannot find anyway to initate printing from slic3r or Prusa Control.
BTW I have Wet Macular Degeneration, that what made me One Eyed.
I'm a little confused by the above. Do you have a working USB connection between your computer or not? You should have received an appropriate connecting cable from Prusa with the printer (but it is a standard cable type). When you plug the Prusa into your computer you should hear the "ba-ding" indicating a connection has been made, and (after a very long pause the first time you ever plug it in) the USB icon in the Windows taskbar should say that a device has been added. At that point, the printer should show up in Device Manager as "Original Prusa i3 MK3" with a COM port number.
Once you have the USB connection established, then either Cura or Prusa Control should work. There is no "switch" needed to put the printer into the USB mode; if it starts receiving G-Code from the computer via USB, it acts upon it. The icon in Cura to "Print with USB" looks like this (at least on my old version of Cura; I don't actually use Cura so I don't keep it up to date). If the "Print with USB" icon is greyed out then Cura hasn't "connected" with the printer and you need to help it find the correct COM port based on what you can see in Device Manager. (I never did actually print with Prusa Control; maybe it is a little less obvious about getting away from its default mode of writing to an SD card instead of sending commands over USB.)
EDIT: this icon is active only when you have a file ready to print. It's greyed out if there's no object in Cura, or the object can't be printed for some reason.
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
On the printer, find settings on the LCD screen and scroll down to RPI Port and make sure this is off.
If on, you will not be able to print from USB.
If your using Windows 10 you may already have Print 3d installed, just get 3d Builder and have a look at this solution to printing via USB, it's not perfect, but works most of the time until the computer decides to do something else in the middle of a print job, but this is the case with all usb printing from Windows 10.
You really are better off transferring to an SD card and printing from this.
I use a Toshiba Flashair W-04 32 Gb card and have this set up as a network drive so that I can just SendTo by right clicking the file I want to send, then select this from the SD card on the printer and away it goes, but getting the SD card set up in the first place seems to be problematic, took me a few tries to get it right.
If you are looking to creating your own designs and have some technical drawing background, then check designspark from RS components, it's free and if you use CURA, it integrates with this directly or exports as .stl for loading into Slic3r which will then produce the .gcode file.
https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/mechanical-software
Normal people believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain’t broke, it doesn’t have enough features yet.
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
Thanks to all trying to help with my print problem.
I will attempt all the suggestions and advise accordingly.
Andy.r8
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
Hi Andy. Here's some food for thought.
One of the cool features unique to the MK3 doesn't work unless you're printing from an SD Card. Power-failure-resume. During a black out, or accidental unplug of the printer, the wee bit of power still in the capacitors quickly stores the last position of the extruder onto the SD Card. Power comes back, nozzle and bed heat back up, and the screen will prompt you to resume print. Doesn't work unless you are printing from the card. Having a card in the printer is not enough.
If you're not familiar with SD Card printing, here's how. With your SD card in your computer, save or move a copy of the STL to the card. Just to be safe, mouse to your taskbar, and click the USB icon to "Safely Remove Device" then pull it out. On your printer, slide the card into the port on the left side of the screen with the backside facing you. Push scroll wheel, scroll to "Print from SD Card" and push the scroll wheel. You will see a list of files, scroll down the list to the one you want then push the scroll wheel, and walk away. Come back later to a finished print.
I print 3 ways. From my Octoprint, from my computer (Prusa control & Cura), and from the SD Card. Octoprint is my preferred method. However, if I'm doing anything that takes longer than a couple hours, I use the SD Card. I have lost two 20+ hour prints from black outs-- even very brief flickers will kill a print. Using the SD card has saved one of my prints from a black out.
Hope that's helpful!
Re: Prusa i3 Mk3 How do I print a file
OK - I have a i3 MK3 that I build from the kit. Everything seems to be working OK if I use the SD card to manage the prints. I have a Windows 10 laptop that I connected the USB cable (from Prusa). I hear the Windows "ding," and I can see the Prusa printer in the "Unspecificed" hardware portion of the Windows Printer listing.
I can load a g-code file into PrusaControl, but I have NO IDEA why PrusaControl doesn't "see" the 3d printer.
What am I doing incorrectly? BTW, in case it's an issue, the RPI Port is OFF.