Pronterface/Printrun - Build request

[ekianjo]

Nothing too exciting, but I sliced some more files yesterday on my PC and had the Pandora run the printer for about 6 hours.

Are there are limitations of using the Pandora for that purpose ? i.e. complexity of shapes. file size, etc ? 

 

[TrashyMG]

Nothing too exciting, but I sliced some more files yesterday on my PC and had the Pandora run the printer for about 6 hours.

Are there are limitations of using the Pandora for that purpose ? i.e. complexity of shapes. file size, etc ? 

Nah that's the speed of the printing..It can be fairly slow depending on the layers and size of the print...  The Pandora is just sending some code via a USB to serial port interface, it can keep up with it no problem. Slicing (converting the 3D model to machine code) can be a tad slower, maybe a few minutes vs 40 seconds.. but once it's turned into machine code (gcode) it's just a matter of it sending it over to the printer, which the Pandora can handle just fine.

 

[ekianjo]

Nothing too exciting, but I sliced some more files yesterday on my PC and had the Pandora run the printer for about 6 hours.

Are there are limitations of using the Pandora for that purpose ? i.e. complexity of shapes. file size, etc ? 

Nah that's the speed of the printing..It can be fairly slow depending on the layers and size of the print...  The Pandora is just sending some code via a USB to serial port interface, it can keep up with it no problem. Slicing (converting the 3D model to machine code) can be a tad slower, maybe a few minutes vs 40 seconds.. but once it's turned into machine code (gcode) it's just a matter of it sending it over to the printer, which the Pandora can handle just fine.

Wow, very cool then It makes me feel like getting a 3d printer now... must... resist...

 

[jasay]

Are there are limitations of using the Pandora for that purpose ? i.e. complexity of shapes. file size, etc ?

Finding the exact settings to use in the slicing program can be a real chore. I have everything set up already on my pc. If slic3r really is working (or can be made to do so soon) I can just copy over the config files and be up and running. Slic3r is also significantly faster than skienforge so the Pandora would probably benefit from that.


As for the six hours, my machine is old and heavy. Can't move too fast or the inertia will cause the stepper motors to skip steps and ruin the print. That and I've been playing with thinner layers recently so more layers are required to get the same height.

 

[jasay]

Nice!, You have a pretty nice setup..


FYI I've had some success with Slic3r, even though it fails some of the tests after compiling, It seems to slice everything I throw at it fine. so maybe it's okay?... Ptitseb is going to try to bundle up all the perl dependencies and add it to the PND.

Thanks. My machine is from 2010 and everytime I look at the new ones out my credit card fingers get itchy. Nevertheless it does alright for its age. Last real quality thorn left is some z axis wobble.

I'll try to check out the built in Slic3r sometime this week. Any way to run it separately from Printrun in the pnd?

 

[ptitSeb]

Not sure yet how I will package Slic3r. Maybe in the the Same PND, maybe another one.

Either way, I understand you like an access to it's GUI with a seperate menu entry ?

@jasay: cool video And I like the object you printed! I have have put your video in the Competition thread too.

 

[jasay]

Not sure yet how I will package Slic3r. Maybe in the the Same PND, maybe another one.


Either way, I understand you like an access to it's GUI with a seperate menu entry ?

If it's easy to do I'd like a separate menu entry for just the slicer. If it's not, no big deal.

My usual work flow is to slice things and then print as I get around to it. Or else slice one thing and then slice other components while the first one prints. That second use case might not work well on a single chore processor since the printer may stall if the slicer hogs the cpu.