PrusaControl - official thread  

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Just having a play with PrusaControl before I eventually take delivery of a MK3. The slicer I've been used to so far has been Repetier with all sorts of mods to the standard profile, slicing for a heavily modified K8400 printer for the past 2 years, so I'm certainly no novice.

One thing that seems to be omitted from PrusaControl is vase mode, or am I missing something here?

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Hi,
yes you're right, currently there is no vase mode in PrusaControl. Its primary target are still complete 3D printing beginners, so we are trying to give them just the most essential options. Anyway, I will forward you feedback to the developer 😉

If you are experienced user I strongly recommend using Slic3r PE, which allows you almost endless possibilities to customise your prints.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Is there a possibility to duplicate a model ? I'd like to print out the identical part several time at the same print session. (There is no "+ More" button like in Slic3r)

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

just found it - a simple copy paste does it!

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

I haven't found a place to change my bed temp to 100c for ABS. It does 100c on the first layer, but after that it changes to 55c for the rest of the print. Is there a way to change this or fix it without having to dig into the GCODE file? I have been using Slic3r for the past 4-5 months however Prusa Control gives me FAR more reliable prints (guess I don't have the experience yet for tweaking the settings).

I like to toy around in the settings, however I also need reliable prints, so until I have the knowledge, I would much rather use Prusa Control until then, but sitting and waiting for the first layer to be done in order to manually change the bed temp back up when the second layer comes isn't something suitable for my time or schedule.

Any help will be appreciated!

Thanks,

Pete.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Importing gcode fails for me every time.

Files will get between 70% and 89% loaded (depending on the gcode I'm trying to load) and then hang there indefinitely, even when loading extremely simple gcode files. All controls are greyed out except for the "cancel file read" button which does not work. Upon clicking "cancel file read", a save window pops up with a "Save G-Code File" menu (asking me to name and save a gcode at the path where the gcode was loaded from). Nothing appears on the print bed in the software, it stays blank as if nothing has been loaded.

From that point my only option is to exit the software as the "file", "edit" and "settings" toolbars are all greyed out. Leaving me with nothing besides a non functional "cancel file read" button and the "help" toolbar.

Can PrusaControl only load gcode created from a specific slicing software?

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Importing gcode fails for me every time.

Files will get between 70% and 89% loaded (depending on the gcode I'm trying to load) and then hang there indefinitely, even when loading extremely simple gcode files. All controls are greyed out except for the "cancel file read" button which does not work. Upon clicking "cancel file read", a save window pops up with a "Save G-Code File" menu (asking me to name and save a gcode at the path where the gcode was loaded from). Nothing appears on the print bed in the software, it stays blank as if nothing has been loaded.

From that point my only option is to exit the software as the "file", "edit" and "settings" toolbars are all greyed out. Leaving me with nothing besides a non functional "cancel file read" button and the "help" toolbar.

Can PrusaControl only load gcode created from a specific slicing software?

I believe PrusaControl is a slicer program meant to import stl files. They need to place an error trap in the import routine to check for a valid file type.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Why does my MK2S spit out unwanted excess filament right after a color change?

This excess filament is impossible to remove because the head moves immediately to the resume point. It causes a high chance of print failure as it gets caught up in the print job. Why is it spitting this out? Only the actual load procedure should be spitting filament out. And how can I possibly be the only one with this issue? (I've searched the forums, found nothing, could have missed it though).

I assume this is this due to G-code instructions written by PrusaControl, but perhaps it's the MK2S firmware? Either way, this needs to be fixed.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

When I slice something with PrusaControl (Mac, version 0.9.4_415_beta), the progress bar counts up rapidly, but when it hits 100%, it sits for a very, very long time with the message "Generating G-code preview" in the lower left. This can be several minutes to even an hour, before it eventually finishes, and I can save the g-code. In Activity Monitor, PrusaControl is using 99% of CPU, so something is definitely happening.

Slic3r will generate the gcode from the same stl files in less than a minute.

I like the simplicity of prusacontrol and some of the other elements, but this delay between hitting 100% and being able to save is making it near impossible to use with all but the simplest prints.

Is anyone else seeing this? Is there a fix?

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

[*]The printer spews out a few inches of filament for no apparent reason and THEN resumes printing!
[/list]

This excess filament is impossible to remove because the head moves immediately to the resume point. It causes a high chance of print failure as it gets caught up in the print job. Why is it spitting this out? Only the actual load procedure should be spitting filament out. And how can I possibly be the only one with this issue? (I've searched the forums, found nothing, could have missed it though).

I assume this is this due to G-code instructions written by PrusaControl, but perhaps it's the MK2S firmware? Either way, this needs to be fixed.

Hi Dapug,
I believe this is a feature of the Base Marlin firmware.

what I do, is
go through the colour change process all the way until it asks if the colour is clear,

at which point there should be some waste filament on the build plate.

I grab the filament with long nose pilers, then press the button to continue.

The printer squirts a little more filament as mentioned, then moves the extruder back to the print. pulling the surplus filament off the Nozzle at the same time!

regards Joan

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

I haven't found a place to change my bed temp to 100c for ABS. It does 100c on the first layer, but after that it changes to 55c for the rest of the print. Is there a way to change this or fix it without having to dig into the GCODE file? I have been using Slic3r for the past 4-5 months however Prusa Control gives me FAR more reliable prints (guess I don't have the experience yet for tweaking the settings).

I like to toy around in the settings, however I also need reliable prints, so until I have the knowledge, I would much rather use Prusa Control until then, but sitting and waiting for the first layer to be done in order to manually change the bed temp back up when the second layer comes isn't something suitable for my time or schedule.

Any help will be appreciated!

Thanks,

Pete.

The default settings for printers and materials are in the .json files in the .prusacontrol folder. In Windows that folder is in the path c:\Users\"USERNAME"\.prusacontrol

Proceed at your own risk as this is not a verified Prusa procedure.

What I do i:
- first make a copy of all of the files there just in case you mess up
- then open the appropriate .json file in WordPad (mk3, mk2, mk2mm)
- find the section for the filament you use and change the values where appropriate
- save
- restart PrusaControl

Proceed at your own risk as this is not a verified Prusa procedure.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Importing gcode fails for me every time.

Files will get between 70% and 89% loaded (depending on the gcode I'm trying to load) and then hang there indefinitely, even when loading extremely simple gcode files. All controls are greyed out except for the "cancel file read" button which does not work. Upon clicking "cancel file read", a save window pops up with a "Save G-Code File" menu (asking me to name and save a gcode at the path where the gcode was loaded from). Nothing appears on the print bed in the software, it stays blank as if nothing has been loaded.

From that point my only option is to exit the software as the "file", "edit" and "settings" toolbars are all greyed out. Leaving me with nothing besides a non functional "cancel file read" button and the "help" toolbar.

Can PrusaControl only load gcode created from a specific slicing software?

I believe PrusaControl is a slicer program meant to import stl files. They need to place an error trap in the import routine to check for a valid file type.

There is an "import gcode" selection under the "file" menu. It is specifically for importing gcode files and is separate from import model files. I have found that it works for importing gcode files created by the PrusaControl but not for importing .gcode files edited by other programs. Currently there seems to be no dialogue in place to deal with failed imports.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

"The default settings for printers and materials are in the .json files in the .prusacontrol folder. In Windows that folder is in the path c:\Users\"USERNAME"\.prusacontrol

Proceed at your own risk as this is not a verified Prusa procedure.

What I do i:
- first make a copy of all of the files there just in case you mess up
- then open the appropriate .json file in WordPad (mk3, mk2, mk2mm)
- find the section for the filament you use and change the values where appropriate
- save
- restart PrusaControl

Proceed at your own risk as this is not a verified Prusa procedure."

I went through the json files and they all say the correct 100c info for "first layer bed temp" AND "bed temp". However when I print something, it switches to 55c as soon as the first layer is completed and I'm not seeing 55c on ANY of the ABS settings in the json file.

Is there maybe an option on the printer I can change for this or do you think this is 100% for sure an error from the software?

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

I went through the json files and they all say the correct 100c info for "first layer bed temp" AND "bed temp". However when I print something, it switches to 55c as soon as the first layer is completed and I'm not seeing 55c on ANY of the ABS settings in the json file.

Is there maybe an option on the printer I can change for this or do you think this is 100% for sure an error from the software?

If you tell me:
What printer model you are using: MK2, MK2 MM, MK3
What Material: Prusa ABS, Generic ABS, etc...
What firmware version: 3.1.0, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, etc...
What release of PrusaControl: 0.9.4_415_beta or ?

Then I will test on my printers to see what happens. I did also look at the .json files and saw what you saw (100C/100C) for all ABS so I would like to sniff this out if I can as it does not make sense.

Jerry.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Hi

What should I expect when it comes to the
accuracy of the time estimates?
It seems to me that the calculated time is generally a lot shorter than the actual print.
I printed quite large model that was estimated to 6h 22min that actually took over 13 hours.
I have the MK3 printer.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Hi

What should I expect when it comes to the
accuracy of the time estimates?
It seems to me that the calculated time is generally a lot shorter than the actual print.
I printed quite large model that was estimated to 6h 22min that actually took over 13 hours.
I have the MK3 printer.

Are you in stealth mode?

Stealth mode slows down the printer significantly.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Possible bug: When I tried to export Gcode, for some reason I was unable to save, no matter where I tried to save it thought I was trying to save to my E: drive (SD card) even when I tried to save the file on my internal hard drive (C:). It still said "unable to save to E:, please choose another location". This also happened when trying to save the project file, same error message no matter where I tried to save. The SD card was not locked and I was able to read/write to it with file explorer.

After exiting and restarting the program I was able to save again

It's possible it occurred because the first time I tried saving, I was trying to overwrite a file with the same name, and most programs have an "overwrite" option when you try to save something with a name that already exists. I'm thinking the program may not have been able to deal with it correctly and got stuck in some kind of loop where it detected I was unable to save once and then never tried to catch that exception again even with different inputs.

Unfortunately I lost the current project I had on the buildplate but it's not that much of a hassle to redo. If anyone else encounters that sort of issue, exiting and re-starting the program fixed it for me.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Hi

What should I expect when it comes to the
accuracy of the time estimates?
It seems to me that the calculated time is generally a lot shorter than the actual print.
I printed quite large model that was estimated to 6h 22min that actually took over 13 hours.
I have the MK3 printer.

I have the MK3 as well and I have the same issue, I'm not in stealth mode, and my print speed is always at 100% or higher. My actual print times are at least double the estimated PrusaControl print times for large prints. For very small prints (under 30 minutes) it seems to be accurate as long as you add in heating and live Z calibration times if you haven't preheated. I feel like there must be some variable not being taken into account that makes the estimate less accurate the more volume you have to print.

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

[*]The printer spews out a few inches of filament for no apparent reason and THEN resumes printing!
[/list]

...

Hi Dapug,
I believe this is a feature of the Base Marlin firmware.

what I do, is
go through the colour change process all the way until it asks if the colour is clear,

at which point there should be some waste filament on the build plate.

I grab the filament with long nose pilers, then press the button to continue.

The printer squirts a little more filament as mentioned, then moves the extruder back to the print. pulling the surplus filament off the Nozzle at the same time!

regards Joan

If it's a feature, I see no reason for it, and it has adverse risks of messing up the print in cases where that final excess does NOT break loose (which is often!)

Re: PrusaControl - official thread

Hi Dapug,

I am sorry to hear that you are suffering failures with the suggested routine. so far it has worked 100% for me.

best wishes in your quest to resolve this issue!

regards Joan