Ability to change printer name on Form2

Which is one of the reasons why the serial number should be a systemic string. Or at least the ID of the printer on the network or on the dashboard should be replaceable even if the SN of the printer is still a phrase.

Setting up a system that can have undesirable results and then using the excuse “we can’t check everything by hand” isn’t a good way to proceed.

Just about any English word has multiple meanings and it is not at all difficult to see innuendoes if one tries hard enough. The same is true of many alphanumeric systemic strings cf. road vehicle licence plates. Personally I believe that people do not have the right to not be offended and Formlabs should not give in to this prudishness.

Of course Formlabs could just change the language they used to a less well know one Latin? Sanskrit? Welsh? but all such language are less rich than English and so would are likely not to provide as many usable serial numbers.

seriously. dude. get a life.
NOBODY is gonna judge your ‘professionalism’ by the name of ONE gizmo on your network.

Nobody really cares.

When you have a valued worker quit over the network name of a device, then let me hear the complaint.
When you have a client specifically cite the name of your Form2 as the reason they are pulling their business… then maybe i’ll believe the faux outrage is real.

Until then, such demands just smack of serious control issues.

bhorten cares and he/she is the one who owns the printer, so your opinion is irrelevant. please stop telling people this isn’t a problem just because it isn’t a problem to you. Asking Formlabs to allow us to change the identifier of a printer is not a crazy request. I can change the name of my iphone, my computer, my wifi network, my headphones, etc. and it does not change the serial number. Asking Formlabs to allow the same thing seems reasonable to me. The original post is about assigning logical and potentially location based names to more easily navigate and train new operators on his/her large print farm.

You can put your post up and say “I do not vote for this change, I prefer Formlabs dedicates resources elsewhere” but you are going well beyond that. If this feature was added it would have absolutely no impact on your use of the machine, you can ignore it completely so please, just chill.

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Oh- I’m plenty chill.

I am so chill that the name of a gizmo wouldn’t upset me no matter what the name was.

The requested change would have a huge effect on FORMLABS.
They would have to retool their entire information systems just because a few individuals have an issue with a couple words.

You can change the names of other devices, because their names are NOT their serial numbers.
But on the Form2 the name IS the serial number- so that’s why they don’t let you change it.

I have my form 2 in a cabinet- carefully Leveled- I don’t want to have to yank it out of there and re-level it every time I have to try and remember the real name of the printer that is etched in the back to get service.

And consider- Formlabs runs a web tool that allows you to monitor prints, tank usage, resin stocks and more…
Is THAT gonna run on the REAL name/serial number of the machine? or the name YOU want to give it?

And what happens when 75 people on the Dashboard have independantly decided to give their machine the SAME name?

Sorry- but if you get to make a magilla over nothing… I have every right to explain carefully and lucidly that you are making a magilla over nothing.
People read these forums… and how many folks does this kind of spurious complaint get worked up over something that is actually nothing?

Formlab’s naming conventions solve real problems in running a world wide network of printers. They make it easier to deal with warrantee issues and repairs. They make it possible to have web-connected services.

And the ONLY thing on the other side of the argument is a “feeling” that you don’t ‘like’ the name your machine came with, and some kind of allegation that the name might affect your professional reputation. And, friend, if your professional reputation hinges on the name that shows up on your network for one device… then you haven’t really got a professional reputation.

if a rational examination of the issue upsets you… stop making irrational demands.

If someone goes online to argue that the color of the sky upsets the living hell out of them… I have every right to try and talk them off that ledge.

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That response doesn’t seem chill to me and you appear to have much more time on your hands than I do…

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Weighing in, because …well, because.

There are a few different types of reasons why customizable F2 names are desirable. The most “frivolous” might be that a good percentage of F2 users are artists and as such, like “elegance” in their little world. A F2 name that reflects their personal tastes, or even their professional identity, is not an invalid reason to consider the need. Especially because for the money spent, this is a pretty basic feature to expect. Can you imagine the riots in the streets if Macintosh or smartphone owners couldn’t give their devices personalized network identities? But I digress.

Next, to assume a networked printer is nearby is naive. Thus, naming printers geographically (“3rd Floor Art Dept”, “2nd Floor Accounting”) is a clear advantage and good practice to boot. F2s, spread out across different rooms or even floors, would surely benefit from this process.

Even more relevantly: if you have a farm of 12 F2s and an error message pops up on Dashboard, wouldn’t it be easier to locate “Row2, Unit 4” for examination than “SpinyLumpsucker?”

Totally unrelated, I need this feature just so I can rename my printer to “SpinyLumpsucker”. I’ll pay royalties!

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I can’t agree. first- two of your ‘reasons’ are unreasonable because they would complicate the very tools that TELL you that Printer 3 2nd Floor needs a new cartridge- namely- web connected services. Web connected services REQUIRE knowably unique names for ALL printers connected to the service.

Is a mere idiosyncratic preference for a word you get to pick worth losing all those services?

Secondly- if you work in a business with more than one printer on more than one location, then you ALREADY use Formlabs’ method to identify every Co-worker. They come with a name- you learn their name- you remember their name. It works.

And if you have a farm of Form2’s all you gotta do get a label maker or a sharpie and put the name of each machine on the shelf where its sits… presto! problem solved for the trifling few who have the problem without Formlabs having to rework their entire web services platform.

This is, again, how you already deal with office assets- because i will bet any amount of money that you don’t identify your workers as 2nd floor, East Aisle, 4th cubicle, Left- Rather, you identify the Cubicle as being Bob’s.
And you send texts or Emails to an account that has Bob’s name in it.

Its nothing but a control issue. And a form of control that has No effect whatsoever on the machine, or using it.

Wow, it really is your way or the highway, isn’t it?

In point of fact, proper office assets systems assign a sticker to everything not nailed down with a serial number and/or barcode for use in an internal corporate database, regardless of what snarky name it was given by its manufacturer. And I’M talking from direct experience at little mom’n’pops you might know - ExxonMobil Research and Development, Sharp Electronics, to name two. But if you insist on towing the corporate line, I’ll be happy to call you H9236-43171 or whatever your Employee Identification Number is. Although I for one tend to distinguish between office assets and human coworkers. I’m silly that way. And you’re welcome for my not throwing the quote about “control issues” back at someone who clearly has them.

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Tell you what, the next time Apple Computer orders a Form2, have it named “MicrosoftRules”. THEN we’ll see how long changing the hardware name remains impossible. :wink:

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Our IT department finds it difficult as well.

We have a corporate network that’s available world wide. Every device is identified with a serial number defining device type(laptop, desktop, printer, test device, mobile phone, etc), location, etc. I can send a print job to a printer on the other side of the world by just looking at the name. If a device in the network causes unexpected behaviour, they know where it is located. This works with every device and of course, all these devices have a manufacturer serial code so the manufacturer can track it as well and use that unique number for their processes like a dashboard.

Saying that they’re not flexible is a non-argument. There are certain guidelines and rules you have to follow in these massive networks. Having an extra list to identify the printer is cumbersome and some of these funny names don’t look professional in some businesses(luckily no customer sees it).

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One more thing as I re-read through this excellent thread: Okay, so the name IS the serial number. You know what? That’s fine. Brilliant. Clever. Adjective. So TREAT it like a serial number - any other serial number on any other printer… because YOU CAN RENAME such printers without affecting or even involving the serial number. Let the Form2 go on being “PungentShihtzu” inside its own little addled brain. But let Ethernet think it’s “Form2_Room12_Unit08”. Win-win! Live and let live!

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That is the request, I am not sure why some people don’t see this separation. Your other analogy of employee numbers vs. their names is another great example. No one calls each other by their employee number but the company has all of your information in databases based on that number. SSN also…

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I think everyone agrees on this except one person. The idea of this thread was to get the point across to Formlabs and I think we have done that pretty well. Let’s not feed the discussion as from this point on it will only make the thread less clear.

dude our printer came with the name Subdued Chick. You are talking about professionalism lol.

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Holy crap, that’s by far the best one I’ve seen !

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I suppose ‘subdued lobster’ wouldn’t raise an eyebrow?

Innuendo is always in the mind of the beholder…

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I would like to be able to name my printer, this feature is expected as standard and would be typical for ANY other product connecting to a network and visible to all on that network. Very unprofessional.

They always name then so as the keep track and each unique

The name is also the serial number, that’s why you can’t change it. But yes, the option of choosing a “Display Name” for PreForm and Dashboard would be very welcome.