So I'm printing out a large part for a customer last night. I was plugged in to my mac and connected with MC, but printing through the SD card.
All was going well, until I decided to move my LT and clicked "Disconnect" on the mattercontrol. Shouldn't have mattered right? Its running off the SD card.
NOPE.
Strange behavior
#1. The print continued, and never wavered, just kept going.
#2. The nozzle thermistor turned off and the temp in the nozzle started plummeting (luckily I caught it by 205 ABS, and got it re-engaged)
#3. The bed did NOT turn its heater off. It kept at 95 degrees and never wavered.,
Print finished 7 hours later without a hiccup...
Strange?
Almost fail :)
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Khalid Khattak
- Printmaster!
- Posts: 276
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 12:50 am
Re: Almost fail :)
can you show the print, pls.
Re: Almost fail :)
I have experienced the same thing with a.PC. I dont click disconnect anymore when running off the SD card.
Russ
Russ
Re: Almost fail :)
Good the hear the print finished despite dire signs. Thought I'd share the configuration I use to help isolate the laptop from adversely effecting a print.
Being one of "those" people with too darned many computers, I run both my 3d printer and a CNC router off a dedicated, UPS protected desk-side computer that's in a different part of the house. For simplicity, let's call it \\studio. It communicates to the two "printers" via USB using a Silex USB-over-ethernet device server. So, the slicing and control software runs on that nice stable, protected computer.
Then, when I want to print something, I bring my laptop (okay, a Windows Surface 2) to the machine, and open a remote session to \\studio. That way, I can completely control the device from where I sit, but pretty much nothing that happens to the laptop will adversely effect \\studio. Well, clicking stop will, but a screen saver won't, losing power to the laptop or unplugging it won't do a thing. Plus, I can carry the laptop around the house and see the control panel process during long prints.
And yes, I also sometimes print from an SD card. But, like you said, even that's not always a safe bet: the controlling computer can still kill a print pretty effectively.
Just an idea for when those inevitable computer problems crop up.
Thom
Being one of "those" people with too darned many computers, I run both my 3d printer and a CNC router off a dedicated, UPS protected desk-side computer that's in a different part of the house. For simplicity, let's call it \\studio. It communicates to the two "printers" via USB using a Silex USB-over-ethernet device server. So, the slicing and control software runs on that nice stable, protected computer.
Then, when I want to print something, I bring my laptop (okay, a Windows Surface 2) to the machine, and open a remote session to \\studio. That way, I can completely control the device from where I sit, but pretty much nothing that happens to the laptop will adversely effect \\studio. Well, clicking stop will, but a screen saver won't, losing power to the laptop or unplugging it won't do a thing. Plus, I can carry the laptop around the house and see the control panel process during long prints.
And yes, I also sometimes print from an SD card. But, like you said, even that's not always a safe bet: the controlling computer can still kill a print pretty effectively.
Just an idea for when those inevitable computer problems crop up.
Thom
Re: Almost fail :)
Why do you run the machine tethered anyway? Do you monitor the temps closely from another room, or something?
*not actually a robot
Re: Almost fail :)
(Assuming you're asking me, bot) I've found running tethered is pretty essential when setting up to run the print, burn the SD card, and so on. Even when it's running on an SD card, if I'm working for an extended period away, say down in the basement (3D printer's on main floor) for several hours, yeah I'll drag the wireless laptop down to just monitor where it is, the bed and head temp, etc. I guess primarily I run tethered because I have enough computers that I can? I run tethered cameras and strobes in my photo studio also, and also with the CNC router, so maybe it's some odd obsession with wires? 
Probably the other significant reason is stability. We all know laptops have myriad ways to fail. Worst offenders are running a several-hour print and not noticing the laptop isn't actually plugged in, or the adapter isn't. At some point in the print, the laptop shuts off, and the print just sits there, wondering when it's going to get another command. I guess for me, I have a lot more trust in that dual-processor XOEN (16 physical cores) monster machine that's way over-spec'd (I got it from a guy who's research project with it had ended). With it having a UPS, and the network also under UPS, and that computer far away from any electrical noise, it's something I'm confident will stay running. The screensaver won't kill the print, because it's turned off. Zero power-management stuff, none of it. It runs rock-solid for quite literally a month at a time...or until Satya (Microsoft) decides to do the patch and reboot shuffle.
Probably the other significant reason is stability. We all know laptops have myriad ways to fail. Worst offenders are running a several-hour print and not noticing the laptop isn't actually plugged in, or the adapter isn't. At some point in the print, the laptop shuts off, and the print just sits there, wondering when it's going to get another command. I guess for me, I have a lot more trust in that dual-processor XOEN (16 physical cores) monster machine that's way over-spec'd (I got it from a guy who's research project with it had ended). With it having a UPS, and the network also under UPS, and that computer far away from any electrical noise, it's something I'm confident will stay running. The screensaver won't kill the print, because it's turned off. Zero power-management stuff, none of it. It runs rock-solid for quite literally a month at a time...or until Satya (Microsoft) decides to do the patch and reboot shuffle.
Re: Almost fail :)
So... that brings us back to the point of why you print with the printer plugged into usb... you know it doesn't have to be plugged into USB, right?
Unless you have a different control board or a rambo that doesn't have the whatever 5v or whatever that the USB provides for some controllers. I'm still very confused.
Unless you have a different control board or a rambo that doesn't have the whatever 5v or whatever that the USB provides for some controllers. I'm still very confused.
*not actually a robot
-
Mac The Knife
- ULTIMATE 3D JEDI
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Re: Almost fail :)
bot wrote:So... that brings us back to the point of why you print with the printer plugged into usb... you know it doesn't have to be plugged into USB, right?
Unless you have a different control board or a rambo that doesn't have the whatever 5v or whatever that the USB provides for some controllers. I'm still very confused.
It has to be plugged in to be able to monitor it remotely, which he says he does with a wireless laptop. I do the same using remote desktop, and with a webcam plugged into the same desktop, I can monitor my printer when I'm away from the house on my smartphone. No need for Octoprint, Astro Print, or any of the other "opensource" solutions.
R-Max V2
Eris
Folger Tech FT-5 R2
Eris
Folger Tech FT-5 R2
Re: Almost fail :)
bot, not to be rude, or anything, but I had to giggle at you asking if I know the USB can be unplugged...right while I'm reading about USB internals and over-the-wire transactions. 
. The book is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/USB-Complete-Deve ... 012&sr=8-1
No worries, just found it funny the different worlds we all live in. So yes, I do know I can unplug it.
. The book is this one: http://www.amazon.com/USB-Complete-Deve ... 012&sr=8-1
No worries, just found it funny the different worlds we all live in. So yes, I do know I can unplug it
.Re: Almost fail :)
No offense taken. I'm laughing at all of you who are having problems with the printer being tethered and refuse to do the one thing that will prevent all possible problems relating to it. 
*not actually a robot
Re: Almost fail :)
Huh? Which is what? print from an SD card? Yeah, even when I do that I keep the laptop monitoring it. It's not about control, it's about monitoring the progress when I can't be right there. Prints fail in mid-stream, and not catching them promptly wastes material, time and can damage equipment.
So why is it so funny that we actually WANT to monitor it? When connecting to monitor the system, we minimize the chances that monitoring will affect the print, while still maintaining the monitoring. It follows a philosophy of minimally-invasive, loosely-coupled control systems. Isolating the system being monitored from potential issues arising in the monitoring system is actually quite a normal and important part of systems engineering, so I'm not quite sure the source of your humor.
Maybe the difference arises from us choosing to prevent interference issues, while still insisting on having full functionality in our preferred way to interact with the machine. People report problems with their laptops WRT prints, we suggest ways to keep the functionality while removing the risk. Seems like a Good Thing to me....
However, I should add...I did have a print once that I ran completely untethered, like you're saying. As it built up in height, I started to ramp down the bed temp from some value to another, using the system's LCD control panel. Yeah...and it froze....just sat there....the LCD stopped responding.....So I guess I'd say going completely untethered is not without print-failure risks either.
But hey, whatever floats y'er boat....err, bot
So why is it so funny that we actually WANT to monitor it? When connecting to monitor the system, we minimize the chances that monitoring will affect the print, while still maintaining the monitoring. It follows a philosophy of minimally-invasive, loosely-coupled control systems. Isolating the system being monitored from potential issues arising in the monitoring system is actually quite a normal and important part of systems engineering, so I'm not quite sure the source of your humor.
Maybe the difference arises from us choosing to prevent interference issues, while still insisting on having full functionality in our preferred way to interact with the machine. People report problems with their laptops WRT prints, we suggest ways to keep the functionality while removing the risk. Seems like a Good Thing to me....
However, I should add...I did have a print once that I ran completely untethered, like you're saying. As it built up in height, I started to ramp down the bed temp from some value to another, using the system's LCD control panel. Yeah...and it froze....just sat there....the LCD stopped responding.....So I guess I'd say going completely untethered is not without print-failure risks either.
But hey, whatever floats y'er boat....err, bot
Re: Almost fail :)
Oh, I mean yeah if you want to monitor the temps that closely I understand. Why the need to monitor temps so closely?
I can monitor the printer via a webcam, without having it tethered. I monitor my printer from across the city while enjoying sunshine on the beach (yes, in winter
)
Your LCD froze? Weird. I've never encountered that. You must have it setup incorrectly.
I can monitor the printer via a webcam, without having it tethered. I monitor my printer from across the city while enjoying sunshine on the beach (yes, in winter
)Your LCD froze? Weird. I've never encountered that. You must have it setup incorrectly.
*not actually a robot
Re: Almost fail :)
Just keep pokin', bot.
Re: Almost fail :)
Where shall I stick it? (Wait, I know the answer to this one! )
)*not actually a robot