What is the best software to print with?  

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Pronterface that was installed with the driver package will handle the printing after Slic3r slices the stl. Save it to a gcode on you computer and then load it into Pronterface.

You could also save it to an SD card, load it into the printer and print from there.

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Or as many of use to do here, get a Raspberry Pi and install OctoPi on it to manage the print.

Printing from a computer may be ruined quite easily by automatic updates that reboot silently the computer, and is not the most efficient way regarding electric consomption.

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Thanks for the info guys, Ponterface just gives me an error it can't find slic3r I think what it says.
Guess I will just use slic3r to convert to gcode and use the sd card it's been working great that way.
Thanks much..

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Christophe,

I actually use a Raspberry Pi on all 4 of my printers. I didn't want to confuse the situation, just get him printing from what I knew he had available.

Richard,

If you want to print from your PC slice it in Slic3r, save it to disk and then in Pronterface click on Load File. Make sure you can connect to the printer through Pronterface and then click on Print.

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Hi Richard (s) 😉

What I wanted to point out is the "danger" to rely on a PC to print during long and late hours. SD card printing is the best initial approach to mitigate this potential issue.

But on longer term, going to OctoPrint way is a very nice and easy option to consider.

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Hi Richard (s) 😉

What I wanted to point out is the "danger" to rely on a PC to print during long and late hours. SD card printing is the best initial approach to mitigate this potential issue.

But on longer term, going to OctoPrint way is a very nice and easy option to consider.

Thanks Christophe ,can you give me a link or recommend any specific raspberry to use?

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Thanks Christophe ,can you give me a link or recommend any specific raspberry to use?
The latest Raspberry Pi 3 is your best bet. You can buy one from many places. My favorite shop is Adafruit. You can see their line here: https://www.adafruit.com/category/105

Be SURE to get a very good power supply for it. It is very sensitive to USB power and although it can tolerate poor power (it won't crash and burn) it degrades performance with bad power. If the little red LED flickers it's a power problem. A lesson I learned the hard way. The one they have on Adafruit is good. I have also gotten some good ones on Amazon. This one is great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MARDJZ4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Re: What is the best software to print with?

When I first got my Raspberry Pi 3, I bought it from MCM Electronics. If you prefer Amazon, you can get it from Amazon.com here. It came with a beefy enough power supply and other things I considered essential at the time to get started.

MCM Electronics is typically one of the first suppliers for Raspberry Pi's when they get released (here in the USA at least). I bought my Pi before I got my printer. The MCM Version is cheaper than Adafruit's starter pack but admittedly comes with fewer items. Adafruit's version comes with items for experimenters vs MCM's version for production use. MCM does have other starter kits that can include a camera or other items for different prices. I do like Adafruit's Laser cut case which allows me to put the Pi in a case and still mount it somewhere with extra long M2.5 screws. I also opted to get the Raspberry Pi 7" Touchscreen LCD Display which allowed me to turn OctoPrint into something similar to MatterHackers' MatterControl device.

Other accessories I bought to make it easier for me:

I also remember this post where richard.l used their existing MK2 power supply to feed power to the Raspberry Pi using these. I also ordered some of these so that it is easier to connect up to the Pi.

Re: What is the best software to print with?

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and links. 😀