How to monitor 3D Print Files Workflow?

How to monitor 3D Print File Workflow?

Before we answer that question, let’s imagine if some of the processes we take for granted in 3D printing, applied to regular printing. 

What if you after you wrote a report, you had to download it to a USB and walk somewhere to print it? Maybe you finished writing it at home, in the evening. (And you enjoyed working on it, so we’re not taking points off for working late.) But instead of printing it right away, either by emailing it to a printer or hitting Control+P, you had to put it on a USB. Then the next morning, you find the guy who runs the printer, and give him the USB. Great, he says, come back and I’ll have it ready for you Thursday. There’s a few jobs ahead of yours…

You wouldn’t accept such a situation, would you? And the crazy part is that you shouldn’t accept it for 3D printing, either. 3DPrinterOS makes it pretty much as easy to 3D print, as to print a pdf. Maybe not 100%, but close to it.

Think about it. 

How to move your 3D print file from TinkerCad 3D printing to your 3D printer

With 3DPrinterOS, you can go from TinkerCad straight to slicing and printing – it’s that easy. With your file open in TinkerCad, you click ‘Export’, then instead of ‘Download’ there’s a tab for ‘3D Print’. There are about a dozen options to choose from, and 3DPrinterOS is one of those few TinkerCad integrations. Click it, and boom, you’re taken straight to your 3DPrinterOS account. From there – in less time than it has taken you to read this paragraph – you can choose which 3D printer you want it to print on.

Much like when you hit print on a word doc, you might choose which printer you want your document to print on.

Adding 3D printers to your 3DPrinterOS account

If you’re wondering how long it takes to add a 3D printer to your 3DPrinterOS account, the answer is, not very long – about 5 minutes, or even less. Here’s how:

Go to www.3DPrinterOS.com and log into your account. From the top menu click on ‘Printers’. 

Now, you’ll see a button on the right side, ‘Add Printer’.

Click it, and choose your make and model of 3D printer from the dropdown menu. Follow the remaining prompts to connect, and you’ll be on your way in no time.

Who uses multiple 3D printers? And why do they need 3DPrinterOS?

If you’re new to the idea of running more than one 3D printer at a time, you may wonder who uses them and why. And while we can’t go over every single use we’ve ever seen, this will give you an idea of who uses 3DPrinterOS to run their 3D printers, and what they’re doing.

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3D print farms: we’re seeing an uptick in 3D printing being used as a manufacturing process to produce finished parts. The equipment needed is often a lot more accessible than traditional machining equipment. These 3D print farms need software like 3DPrinterOS, that can help them scale without always increasing the manpower needed to manage an increasing number of 3D printers.

Makerspaces: we love the makerspace movement, as we get a front-row view of what’s happening in makerspaces around the world. Schools and universities often draw students from nearly every discipline into their makerspace: engineering, of course, but also history, art, architecture, and more. And when you consider that a makerspace like Duke University runs more than 100 3D printers and serves more than 11000 users, you can understand why they need 3DPrinterOS to manage it all.

Architects are using 3D printing to create models of their designs. And in architecture and design, of course, a key component is protecting intellectual property. 3DPrinterOS means they have a complete line of sight into who is printing what, and on which machine. USB sticks and SD cards are just too vulnerable to loss or theft.

Hospitals and medical fields are increasing their use of 3D printing. Medical devices can be customized to fit a specific patient, and models can be made ahead of complex surgeries, giving doctors an advantage and improving patient outcomes. Understandably, patient data must be kept secure. Again, you don’t want this information stored on a USB stick or SD card, as they are easily subject to data loss.

Car manufacturers use 3D printers in their rapid prototyping. An engineer can have an idea, design it, and 3D print the basic geometry, then test it and make changes…all in a matter of hours or days. Like architects, it’s very important for manufacturers to keep their intellectual property secure. Read the use case here of how Koenigsegg Automotive uses 3DPrinterOS.

All of these fields require multiple 3D printers.  The people who are doing this work – the ones sending their designs to the 3D printers – are working to deadlines. For them, it’s not a luxury or an option, to 3D print as easily as printing a document. It’s necessary.  

Book yourself a demo today!

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