32-bit linux printer host software

Are there any (even old) releases out there of 3D printer host software (e.g. Cura, Printrun, Repetier...) that easily run out-of-the-box for a legacy i386 system running for instance Lubuntu 16.04?
No modern slicer even needed - I can do that externally, I just want something to be able to run my gcode and monitor the printer's state, without being a pain to install.

Reason - I am trying to use an old eeePC to save space and energy, giving my old Mendel a very small and portable controller where before I once had a rubbish old air-gapped tower, monitor, keyboard 'n' mouse to control it in the corner that it lives in.
All my attempts to get one of these programs running so far have only had options to run from source or no clear installation instructions, with a headache to get the necessary dependencies if even possible, and for instance throwing up errors on setup for Repetier's ConfigureFirst or just having 'invalid desktop file' errors or python scripts that immediately crash for Cura and Printrun.
Overall, the effort to troubleshoot and get them running seems excessive, I don't recall it being this hard before, and I wish there was something as simple as those AppImage files that Cura now uses, but compatible with this system.

Cura Github question here.

Couldn't find a topic for this here, so posting.

Otherwise I'll have to find an external CD drive to install XP on there. *shudders*

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[engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk]

If you want to save energy and space why not print from SD cards instead of streaming gcode through an unreliable USB connection? The LCD display that's usually attached to the SD card reader will tell you as much as you need to know, and provide controls to move the axes around, set temperatures, etc.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
the_digital_dentist
why not print from SD cards..?

I do not try and use SD cards because that's impossible.
Instead, only try to realise the truth...
There is no SD card reader.

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[engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk]

And there's no way to connect one to that board? Maybe time to upgrade the controller...

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

An upgrade would be possible but undesirable for now. I want to avoid wasting perfectly serviceable circuit-boards given the huge amount of energy that goes into mining and processing the materials for them.
Also I prefer to have the desktop GUI of things like Pronterface, so using this netbook would be ideal for me. I don't like faffing around with a rotary input and menus.

Can anyone actually answer the thread question?
Someone had to have used reprap host software on 32-bit GNU/Linux in the past since there was apparently some demand for it, just low demand now. What was the last thing that worked and how did you set it up?

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[engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk]

... hmmm ... I've (heavily) modified Pronterface for our paste-dispensers and lasercutters years ago - mostly running with Windows-PC's ... but should be running on Linux too ... was then with Python 2.7 and not got it to port for Python 3.2 and further

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2021 03:38PM by VDX.

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Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

As my rustic grandmother in Tennessee used to say, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
the_digital_dentist
As my rustic grandmother in Tennessee used to say, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear".

Another saying from even further back in time

Mayhap not, but with a bodkin and some thread you can make a sows ear into a purse that is more sturdy than a silk purse while more resistant to the knife of a cutpurse and less flaunting of your wealth.

Mike

@4ndy you wouldn't be wasting a perfectly good circuit board, you'd be freeing it up for another project that needs stepper motor drivers and a gcode interpreter. Maybe something like this:

[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]

If you search through posts here from several years ago, there were a LOT of problems with sending gcode via USB to printer controller boards. Printers would stop and stutter while a print was running because the gcode buffer would fill up or empty and then there would be a delay getting the next line into the controller. That causes print surface quality problems, as you can imagine. Very early in my 3D printing "career" I was using a laptop to stream gcode to my printer with an arduino/RAMPS board. The very first time I tried a print that took over an hour, my laptop went to sleep and wrecked the print. That got me thinking about how unreliable USB can be for many different reasons (including my cat who like to chew on wires) so I added an LCD panel with SD card reader and found it extremely reliable and used it that way for years. Prusa machine still use SD cards because it is so reliable and so cheap.

Newer controllers have network interfaces (it looks like your board has a network jack on it) and local storage, usually a uSD card, that allows you to stream the gcode file to the local storage and then print from there. That is almost as reliable as sneaker netting an SD card to the printer. If you must connect a computer to the printer, use the network interface. It will be far more reliable than USB.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
4ndy
An upgrade would be possible but undesirable for now. I want to avoid wasting perfectly serviceable circuit-boards given the huge amount of energy that goes into mining and processing the materials for them.
Also I prefer to have the desktop GUI of things like Pronterface, so using this netbook would be ideal for me. I don't like faffing around with a rotary input and menus.

Can anyone actually answer the thread question?
Someone had to have used reprap host software on 32-bit GNU/Linux in the past since there was apparently some demand for it, just low demand now. What was the last thing that worked and how did you set it up?

I don't use anything fancy to control my printer.
A simple Pi running octopi and using octoprint allows it to be managed from where ever my desktop is located with a low power (15W) SBC that can set next to the printer using a wall-wart PS is all that is needed. I happen to use a Raspberry Pi 4b, but it would work with almost any of the Pi versions and once configured I don't have to touch anything at the printer. Control is remote at my desktop using a standard browser and the octoprint interface.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2021 12:19PM by wildone.

Quote
the_digital_dentist
@4ndy you wouldn't be wasting a perfectly good circuit board, you'd be freeing it up for another project that needs stepper motor drivers and a gcode interpreter. Maybe something like this:

[www.youtube.com]
[www.youtube.com]

If you search through posts here from several years ago, there were a LOT of problems with sending gcode via USB to printer controller boards. Printers would stop and stutter while a print was running because the gcode buffer would fill up or empty and then there would be a delay getting the next line into the controller. That causes print surface quality problems, as you can imagine. Very early in my 3D printing "career" I was using a laptop to stream gcode to my printer with an arduino/RAMPS board. The very first time I tried a print that took over an hour, my laptop went to sleep and wrecked the print. That got me thinking about how unreliable USB can be for many different reasons (including my cat who like to chew on wires) so I added an LCD panel with SD card reader and found it extremely reliable and used it that way for years. Prusa machine still use SD cards because it is so reliable and so cheap.

I had a similar problem when printing directly from my desktop/laptop. Since I started using a Pi with octoprint to control the printer the Pi never sleeps so the interruptions are non-existent and I have never had a bad print since I added the Pi over a year ago. Buffer issues are a thing of the past with USB for me now.

Recently I did a print that took almost 3 days and there were no surface flaws of any kind. Yes, the Pi is connected to the printer by USB.

I wish you continued luck with it.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
wildone
Since I started using a Pi with octoprint to control the printer the Pi never sleeps so the interruptions are non-existent and I have never had a bad print since I added the Pi over a year ago. Buffer issues are a thing of the past with USB for me now.

I'm also using a Pi for printing, connected via USB to the printer. The software on the Pi is Pronterface plus a VNC server (remote-desktop kind of software), so I can control the GUI on the Pi from my PC or from my smartphone. It's been very reliable so far.

Quote
the_digital_dentist
If you search through posts here from several years ago, there were a LOT of problems with sending gcode via USB to printer controller boards. Printers would stop and stutter while a print was running because the gcode buffer would fill up or empty and then there would be a delay getting the next line into the controller.

I was aware of the issue but AFAIR have never run into it myself in the last several years. It sounds like it may be a problem that only shows up at high print speeds and/or low baud rates, or may be an Arduino hardware limitation.

Quote
the_digital_dentist
my laptop went to sleep and wrecked the print.

You should have set power/sleep settings to Always On, and set a timed shutdown if you actually wanted it to sleep when it finished.

Quote
the_digital_dentist
If you must connect a computer to the printer, use the network interface.

Nice idea, so what software works to do this?

It seems that only VDX got close to actually answering my question.

Quote
VDX
mostly running with Windows-PC's ... but should be running on Linux too ... was then with Python 2.7 and not got it to port for Python 3.2 and further

Are you saying that you have also only managed to get 32-bit host software to run on Windows? Has nobody still around here managed to get it running on Linux or remember how they did it?

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[engineeringourfreedom.blogspot.co.uk]

... when I was active with reprogramming Pronterface to "gieCAPS", it was for my dayjob then and for "comercial" pastedispensing, while all the customers were using windows -- so then no need to build it for Linux.

Now it's some 5+ years later, changed dayjob and more "focussed" on lasers and laser-applications with different softwares (and for the job programming in python on Linux - Ubuntu 18.04 on Jetson Nano and Xavier XP with totally different software).

Pretty long time not using/programming Pronterface anymore ... so, sorry for this

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Viktor
--------
Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Printrun still has a 32-bit release for Windows. Does it not run on 32-bit Linux? Older versions are available too.
[github.com]

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