Cura not recognizing printer through USB

[mikeybikey2001 0]

I have recently redownloaded Cura on a new computer and connected my Ender 3 through a USB cable just like I used to, but now Cura can't find my printer. I have tried downloading plug-ins, redownloading Cura, plugging in the printer before and after Cura launches. I don't know what to do.

[Slashee_the_Cow 269]

Printing over USB is a bad idea to begin with, unless you're using a dedicated system like OctoPrint (which I have running on a Raspberry Pi).

 

It's a relic left over from days when printers were too stupid to do anything themselves and had to receive instructions line by line. If your computer freezes or the connection gets interrupted (it's just emulating a serial port - anyone remember the ports you plugged mice into until we had the round PS/2 ports? That old) your print is going to fail and you might not be able to recover it.

 

You should be putting your files on an SD card and getting the printer to print them - it's more reliable and a lot of them can handle things like power cuts.

 

If you must print over USB for whatever reason, if it's a Windows computer, you probably just need to go into Device Manager and for any unknown devices right click them and click Update Driver (or whatever it's called)

[flight-commander 0]

Same here...... so this works on the the MacBook Air, just fine, no glitches, flaws or stalls or even lags - any solution to get this working on the Macbook Pro running Cura 5.6.0 on Sonoma 14.2.1?

 

Ender 3 S1 Pro

 

I think they added this feature so that professor xavier could print from his chair...

 

Still looking for a solution too. 

Edited February 19 by flight-commander

[GregValiant 1,256]

All you can really do is try different port drivers until you find one that works.

The computer manufacturers are like anyone else...if they find a component (like a USB port) for $.02 cheaper from a different supplier then that's what goes into the machine.  It's going to be at least slightly different than whatever design the original supplier was selling them.

This is the main reason no one has picked up USB printing and tried to fix it.  There are so many combinations of hardware, software, firmware out there that trying to build in compatibility for all of them, and maintaining that compatibility, is a long slippery slope.

If you go to the MarketPlace you will find "USB Printing NG".  It is a slightly different version of the standard "USB Printing".  You can un-install USB Printing (click on the Gear icon to find it) and then install the NG version.  Maybe it will make a difference.

 

Just for reference, every version of Cura from 4.2 up through 5.7alpha has worked fine communicating with my older Ender 3 Pro.  That's across 4 computers, Windows 7, 8, 10 Home, and 10 Pro, 3 different printer mainboards, and 3 different Marlin versions.  I bought a newer Ender 3Pro for my son and USB printing doesn't work with his computer...but it does if we use my laptop.

 

[flight-commander 0]

Thanks - was able to find a way to do it wirelessly. 

 

Works soooooo much better than connecting the computer directly.