Jump to content

Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable


Kai_Re

Recommended Posts

Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

Hi,

as part of a showcase installation we need a simple way how to start the printout of an existing .gcode file (previously created using the Cura application) on a UM2Go printer (connected via USB cable) via a batch script or program.

As the print should start in the background (as soon as the .gcode-file is transferred to and stored in a defined directory), we can’t use the normal Cura application.

Does anyone know of a Windows(10) executable, script or other options to start printing a .gcode-file in the way described?

Thanks in advance,

Kai

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

    I'm not sure what you are asking but I have 3 answers for you:

    1) If you are doing a showcase printer you could print the same thing over and over and push the part off with the head.  I have done this with bracelets where one gcode file has been cut/pasted such that it prints one bracelet every 7 minutes for about 3 hours.  Also the file is named auto.g (or something similar - I forget the name you need to do) and if you power cycle the machine it starts printing again without any intervention.  This is a feature on the um2 series printers.

     

    2) I think what you want is printrun.  With a usb cable you can print from the command line.  Also printrun comes with pronterface which is a really great interface.

    Get pronterface here. It's free:
    http://koti.kapsi.fi/~kliment/printrun/

     

    3) For about $25 or 25 euros you can buy a raspberry pi and put octoprint on it.  Octoprint will control a UM2 through a USB cable and can connect to your network and it supplies a web page.  You can do everything from the octoprint web page so you can print parts from a phone, ipad, pc, mac, whatever.  You slice and upload the gcode files to octoprint (there's an upload button) and it will store quite a few gcode files if you want.

     

     

    • Like 1
    Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

    Thanks for the answers. Indeed printrun looks like a matching solution, but unfortunately the link http://koti.kapsi.fi/~kliment/printrun/ is not active anymore (already found some information on Github or http://www.pronterface.com/ as well, but also there the same URL is used... ? ).

     

    Octoprint or Atlasprint are no option as well, as we need a Windows based solution. We also had a look at repetier.com, but didn't find a command line option as well...

     

    A bit more background information to explain what we are doing. Our main functionality is transferring and storing files anonymously. As part of a demo, we are transferring a .gcode file over several instances, which should be printed at the end (using a Win10 device). Therefore the print should start as soon as the .gcode file is stored in a pre-defined directory.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable
    44 minutes ago, Kai_Re said:

    Octoprint or Atlasprint are no option as well, as we need a Windows based solution.

    windows supports web browsers.

     

    Do you mean that raspberry pi's are an illegal device to be in your company maybe?  But that seems unlikely since cell phones, paper printers, 3d printers and many other's run on non-windows.

     

    I'm guessing you misunderstood.  You guy a raspberry pi.  It's about 25 euros.  You install octoprint on it.  Now you can print using a web page.  But maybe that's not what you want.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

    It looks like printrun moved here:

    http://www.pronterface.com/

     

    Correction - no it's still at the old link.  I can see it fine.  This version is pretty new from 2017 - I think it's the most recent: http://kliment.kapsi.fi/printrun/

     

    I believe it has a windows command line interface if you want to script something.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

    If you want to do printing over USB with a UM2Go, make sure you set the GCode flavor to "Marlin" instead of "Ultimaker 2". This can be found in Machine Settings.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

    Thanks for the hint. Based from the information a read previously (see https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/20996-gcode-flavours-reprap-vs-ultigcode)  I would heve used "UltiGCode" as the flavor for the UM2GO. What are the advantages of using "Marlin" instead?

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Printing GCODE file directly via Windows command line or executable

    You get full control over all material properties in Cura, instead of having some in Cura and some on the printer.

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now
    • Our picks

      • Introducing Universal Cura Projects in the UltiMaker Cura 5.7 beta
        Strap in for the first Cura release of 2024! This 5.7 beta release brings new material profiles as well as cloud printing for Method series printers, and introduces a powerful new way of sharing print settings using printer-agnostic project files! Also, if you want to download the cute dinosaur card holder featured below, it was specially designed for this release and can be found on Thingiverse! 
          • Like
        • 10 replies
      • S-Line Firmware 8.3.0 was released Nov. 20th on the "Latest" firmware branch.
        (Sorry, was out of office when this released)

        This update is for...
        All UltiMaker S series  
        New features
         
        Temperature status. During print preparation, the temperatures of the print cores and build plate will be shown on the display. This gives a better indication of the progress and remaining wait time. Save log files in paused state. It is now possible to save the printer's log files to USB if the currently active print job is paused. Previously, the Dump logs to USB option was only enabled if the printer was in idle state. Confirm print removal via Digital Factory. If the printer is connected to the Digital Factory, it is now possible to confirm the removal of a previous print job via the Digital Factory interface. This is useful in situations where the build plate is clear, but the operator forgot to select Confirm removal on the printer’s display. Visit this page for more information about this feature.
          • Like
        • 0 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...