Printing from Multiple printers on the same Computer

Hey!

I was hoping to have multiple prints printing on different printers at the same time, but I only have one computer, is this doable?

I have 5 total and I want to print on all of them at the same time

If you have (or can set up) 5 usb ports on your PC and your printers can print directly from on board sd cards, then I think you should be able to do it. Each printer will get a different serial port number on your PC and you should therefore be able to address each one individually by selecting the appropriate com port number, you should then be able to set up the print job from the printers internal sd card, go to the next prnter and so on.

By working from the printer's internal sd card it does not need to be talking to the PC in order for it to run its print job. I only have one printer but once I have got the print job running, I always 'disconnect' Pronterface (using the 'disconnect button' ) from it once the job is running.

I'm not sure, but I think you would need to leave each printer physically connect to one of the PC's usb ports hence the need for 5 ports. If your PC does not have this number of ports, then I think you should be able to satisfactorily expand the number by using a POWERED usb hub. I emphasise the word 'powered' as not all usb hubs are separately powered and the unpowered type can fail to work properly in some cirtcumstances.

Harvey

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2013 06:17AM by HarveyC.

The issue isn't the number of USB ports. As has been stated, you can simply add USB hubs, although in my case, I cannot connect the hub to power or else the port will fail - even though my hub is powered I do not plug it in.

The issue is the software. If you want to control multiple printers, and do it in parallel, you need to load up multiple copies of pronterface (or whatever host software you use). This may or may not be possible depending on how the software is written/configured. I know my own host software opens an http port so I can query print status from throughout the house. If I wanted to run multiple copies, I'd have to set each one to a different port. Pronterface may have something similar.

Right now, I have two printers, but I use them sequentially. It is a "pie in the sky" goal for me to implement multiple printer support into my host.

A lot of this depends on things like what OS you are running. A simple generic approach:

1) Download Pronterface source code from Git [github.com]
2) Set up your compiler with the listed dependancies (as needed)
3) Do a test compile and make sure the result works
4) Copy the source tree to directories pronterface1.... pronterface5
5) Rename the output file in each tree according to the tree name
6) Rename the settings file in the source code to a unique name for each instance
7) Compile and save each as a separate app
8) Bring each one up and configure it for it's own com port
9) Shut each down and bring them back up to be sure the settings files are all unique

That (possibly with some minor tweaks) should do what you want to do. The main risk is an OS that decides to re-number all of your USB serial ports at random. With one printer / one port that's not so crazy. With 5 of them it could be a hassle.

Simple answer - this is why people use LCD's and SD cards.

With WIndows I think that you will not get random port renumbering if the printers are switched on and active before the PC is started. Also if you are getting a port failure if you connect power to a powered hub, I suspect that the hub is faulty.

Harvey

On Windows (certain versions) if you *add* another serial port into the mix, it will re-number all of them. If you plug your printer into a new port it often will re-number it. It's more the drivers than the OS, so different mixes of devices will do different things.

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uncle_bob
On Windows (certain versions) if you *add* another serial port into the mix, it will re-number all of them. If you plug your printer into a new port it often will re-number it. It's more the drivers than the OS, so different mixes of devices will do different things.

You mentioned octoprint in another thread of mine. Would that be a good solution to this problem?

It sounds like I could load up octroprint, send the gcode data to each printer wirelessly by installing a rasberry pi onto my printers electronics, and then have multiple prints going simultaneously. Am I misinterpreting the abilities of Octoprint?

You have multiple threads going with very similar questions on each. The gotcha is that the information on one is not on the other. That's making this a bit tough to follow right now. It will make it very difficult for others to follow in the future.

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A Pi has very limited serial / usb capabilities. It's clear that you can run a Pi driving each printer (5 printers, 5 Pi's). It is not clear to me that a single Pi can run 5 printers at one time. Effectively what you do is to use the Pi as what it is, a computer. Semantically at least you are back to 5 printers and 5 (cheap) computers.

I have two printers hooked up to a single windows PC that I print from simultaneously all the time.
The big issue is processing power and memory on the PC. USB throughput could become an issue
if you get too many printers.
The only time I have big issues is when slicing something large and complex and printing the poor
old laptop I have just runs out of memory and CPU.
I use RepetierHost for the control software and it lets me keep different profiles for each printer.

Run all the printers off their own SD cards.

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Waitaki 3D Printer

We went through the SD card on the other thread and it was declared to be "an obsolete approach" by another member ...

Quote
by another member ...

oh, that's my turn. Printing from sd-card isn't obsolete. But isn't it a bad solution if you have to handle 5 sd-cards between pc and printer? Especially if you change the 3d model after every print.
Yes, you definitely need 5 pi's for 5 printer.

vincent.

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OS, 3D Drucker, CNC,...
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Wouldn't all five rasberries need their own SD card though

Quote
Wouldn't all five rasberries need their own SD card though

I've already answered that question, you don't have to touch the cards, you could easily upload the files over wlan.

vincent.

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OS, 3D Drucker, CNC,...
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vinmicgra

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Wouldn't all five rasberries need their own SD card though

I've already answered that question, you don't have to touch the cards, you could easily upload the files over wlan.

vincent.

The rasberries do not have wireless connectivity though. It only has LAN port. And while you wouldnt need to touch the SD cards, each rasberry would still need their own SD card, correct?

Quote
The rasberries do not have wireless connectivity though.

Yes, and the raspberrys dont have USB and there are no wireless USB adaptors...

oh dear, did you ever look on their site?
http://octoprint.org/

You don't have to use it and I'm not the octoprint support. It was only an advice.

vincent.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2013 11:38AM by vinmicgra.

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OS, 3D Drucker, CNC,...
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Quote
vinmicgra

Quote
The rasberries do not have wireless connectivity though.

Yes, and the raspberrys dont have USB and there are no wireless USB adaptors...

oh dear, did you ever look on their site?
http://octoprint.org/

You don't have to use it and I'm not the octoprint support. It was only an advice.

vincent.

This requires extra cost though. Wouldn't it be cheaper to not buy a wireless adapter, and just plug your computer into each Rasberry, upload your print file to it, unplug and move on to the next printer/rasberry?

Quote
vinmicgra

Quote
The rasberries do not have wireless connectivity though.

Yes, and the raspberrys dont have USB and there are no wireless USB adaptors...

oh dear, did you ever look on their site?
http://octoprint.org/

You don't have to use it and I'm not the octoprint support. It was only an advice.

vincent.

[www.walmart.com]

Would something like this^ work

Quote
Wouldn't it be cheaper to not buy a wireless adapter, and just plug your computer into each Rasberry, upload your print file to it, unplug and move on to the next printer/rasberry?

Yes you could connect the raspi directly over LAN. And you don't have to unplug each printer: You could connect as much as you want to have at the same time.

Quote
Would something like this^ work

Seems to be the same:
http://www.printrbottalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=4989


vincent.

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[the-sparklab.de]
OS, 3D Drucker, CNC,...
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Awesome thanks so much Vincent

I routinely run 2 printers off an old low end laptop. The only time I run into issues is when slicing/printing a really big object and
the poor old laptop runs out of memory. I use repetier host for control as it allows me to have multiple profiles for comms
and slicing.

Quote
uncle_bob
A lot of this depends on things like what OS you are running. A simple generic approach:

1) Download Pronterface source code from Git [github.com]
2) Set up your compiler with the listed dependancies (as needed)
3) Do a test compile and make sure the result works
4) Copy the source tree to directories pronterface1.... pronterface5
5) Rename the output file in each tree according to the tree name
6) Rename the settings file in the source code to a unique name for each instance
7) Compile and save each as a separate app
8) Bring each one up and configure it for it's own com port
9) Shut each down and bring them back up to be sure the settings files are all unique

That (possibly with some minor tweaks) should do what you want to do. The main risk is an OS that decides to re-number all of your USB serial ports at random. With one printer / one port that's not so crazy. With 5 of them it could be a hassle.

Simple answer - this is why people use LCD's and SD cards.

I am using a 64 bit HP notebook ($500 new) running Windows 7. I have a USB hub attached into which I plug the printers.
I have ONE copy of Pronterface that I can open up several times and select a different printer each time.
All my printers (I have run 6 at one time) all have a different com port that was set automatically when programmed. I just make sure that I select the correct port for which printer I wish to connect. After running the print file for each printer, I put the Pronterface that is open for that printer out of the way but not closed.
I have had no problems with this setup, but a lot will depend on the amount of available memory available and the computer that you have. A cheap secondhand computer may not have the ability to run more than one copy at the same time, all depends on the memory and computing power available.

I only do it this way if I have a lot of parts to print that are not what I usually print (one offs) I prefer to print using the SD cards and no computer at all.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/2014 07:12PM by regpye.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

Yes, it’s quite possible. Download and install FolderMill. This program can specify rules for working with different printers at the same time. Here is the instruction: http://www.foldermill.com/solutions/automatically-print-pdf-on-different-printers-at-the-same-time

Use Toshiba Flashair SD cards to wirelessly transfer files to the printer, and print from LCD or through Pronterface Sd.

Link to Flashair setup for printing.

I run two printers from one PC, or from my mobile phone when I feel like it. Both use Duet electronics, which provides an Ethernet port supporting a web interface, so both are on my home network. You could run any number of printers this way, you just need to give them different IP addresses.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].