Starting a print job remotely using PLC & Pi - would this be feasible?
Hello. I have a Raspberry Pi running Octoprint connected to the MK3S. As part of a school project, I'm trying to start a print job from an Omron PLC running Sysmac Studio connected to the same LAN.
In my mind, the simplest way to do this would be sending a string over UDP containing some basic info to be parsed (à la "start printing" , "currently printing", "done printing").
The printer only needs to print one thing from the Pi or SD card, and I've already figured out how to handle simple sockets/ string parsing on the PLC.
Has anyone done something like this before? Maybe I'm out of my mind, and there's a simpler way to achieve the same result? Any and all ideas are welcome! Thanks!😀
RE: Starting a print job remotely using PLC & Pi - would this be feasible?
You can do what you've described without the PLC using Octoprint, possibly with a bit of custom code in a plugin. Is the PLC and essential part of this exercise (for class perhaps)?
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RE: Starting a print job remotely using PLC & Pi - would this be feasible?
Thanks for replying. The gist of it all is that we're making a proof-of-concept production line where a user selects some product to manufacture, then the PLC handles some logic and tells a bunch of different machines to do different things. If possible, I was hoping I could have a few files on the SD card and select which one to print by sending a string or something like that.
The challenge is essentially starting the printer without a human having to manually select what to print. Do you know if there are any plugins that could help us achieve something like that? It doesn't have to be a perfect solution, just something to show it's theoretically possible.
RE: Starting a print job remotely using PLC & Pi - would this be feasible?
Can't you use Octoprint's REST API?
RE: Starting a print job remotely using PLC & Pi - would this be feasible?
From the looks of it, that should be possible. I'll have to look further into it. Thank you for the help!
RE: Starting a print job remotely using PLC & Pi - would this be feasible?
@bobstro
I also do 7x7 bed leveling and don't really see it very useful. If I didn't do my own offsets I wouldn't be able to get at least good results. Now I got the Pi, run bed leveling and see the bed is nearly 0.6mm off..
I am definitely doing the nylock mod.