Configure 3d printers
3D printers often have very long running tasks and usually don’t require constant attention – unlike laser cutters or CNC routers.
Therefore it’s often advisable to configure them differently that most other equipment:
- Select your 3d printer from the overview or equipment list to go to the printer’s detail page.
- Find the bridge settings on the right side and click on "Edit" next to it.
Have you previously configured a "busy / idle" input for your printer?
- If you don’t know what that means, here’s an article describing idle and busy states in Fabman.
- If you don’t have a "busy / idle" input configured:
- Disable "Turn off the equipment if members don't interact…" to allow members to leave the printer running while being away. But unless you set up a "busy / idle" input for your printer, the bridge will not be switched off when the job is done, so members can’t check the member portal to see if a printer is available.
- If you have a "busy / idle" input set up:
- Disable "Turn off busy equipment" to allow members to leave the printer running while being away.
- Enable "Turn off idle equipment" to save power and show the printer as "avaliable" once a print job is done.
- You might want to enable "Prevent power-off while the equipment is busy" to prevent members from accidentally switching off the printer while a job is running. Otherwise, you might get cold filament stuck in the print nozzle.
Allow long-running print jobs
If you don’t allow your members 24/7 access to your space, you might want to add an extra permission to their package to allow long-running jobs to finish outside opening hours:
- Click on "Configuration" and then "Packages" on the main navigation bar.
- Click on your non-24/7 package.
- Scroll down and click on "Add another rule".
- Select "every 3d printer" from the drop-down and leave the time set to "Always 24/7".
- Save your changes.
- Repeat these steps for every package that allows members to use 3d printers.