I have looked in a lot of places to see if this is already a feature request, or if there is a way to do this, but I have found nothing.
We have two Form1+ printers, and we want to be able to have both of them connected to the same computer on our network at all times, and allow PreForm to select which printer to use.
We currently have to unplug one USB, and plug the other machine in whenever we want to switch. I would prefer to remotely connect to the dedicated computer from my own desk, and begin a print without needing to go all the way to the 3D print room to do so.
Is there a plan to add multiple machine support to PreForm? Is there a workaround for this at the moment? Any input would be helpful…
If you plug both of them in to one computer do they show up as different devices? If so, you should be able to open two instances of preform and one will recognize and use one printer while the other should default to the next available. Being able to choose the printer in one instance would be a software update but this method should allow you to run them as is for now. I use it often for other FDM Printers and have run 4 off of one box at the same time.
Hi William,
At the very least, you can check out wireless printing here:
http://formlabs.com/en/company/blog/2014/08/05/wi-fi-and-wireless-printing/
I don’t know if we’ve explicitly tried to do multiple printers wirelessly printing - despite the clever image, it doesn’t seem to be mentioned in the instructions. Confusing!
If you have any success, let us know - I for one would love to hook up a mini farm near my desk.
W
I will have my 1st Form1+ shortly. But if all goes well I can see myself as having more than one machine. For the items I make is is truly perfect. Now with the castable material it just doubled the usefulness for me essentially as 2 machines in 1. THAT was when the purchase was made. The 2nd machine would likely stay as castable material at all times.
I have already asked if a printer can be named to differentiate one from another, without an answer to that inquiry. I have NO interest in wireless printing. My entire house is hard wired.
I have also suggested a Ethernet port should have been included - maybe on the next model. I realize 3D printers are different and you have to be THERE to at least set it up. But ultimately it might not be 3 feet away from the controlling computer. Local and desktop are not a factor in location. I bought a 20’ long USB cable which would have been better and easier as a Cat5 cable instead. I too plan on keeping the USB plugged in at all times. I just got a 8 port USB hub.
Bill Lane
Bill@3DModelTech.com
Adam,
Late response here, but better late than never, right?
I’ve tried to get two instances of PreForm to recognize different printers, but the software only recognizes the first printer that was plugged in within either instance of the software.
Also, about half of the time, the second instance of PreForm that I open does not recognize that any printer is available. I am guessing that the first instance has taken ownership and the second instance no longer sees it?
Any other suggestions?
Bill,
Any luck with printing to multiple printers from one computer? have you tried this yet?
At the moment, only one Form 1+ or Form 1 can be connected to a computer at a time, whether you’re connected wirelessly (using a USB hub), or otherwise .
Thanks Sam. Any idea if this could be added later, or if its something the team is thinking about?
I know that it’s been lingering in the queue, but from I recall, it’s not necessarily as easy as it may sound, so I wouldn’t look for it in the near future. We’ve definitely registered the interest, though! Thanks!
Hi William,
It is a major workaround, but you might be able to have a virtual machine that runs PreForm within the main computer. Have one printer connected to the main, and another printer connected to the virtual machine.
I hope this helps a bit! Sorry that I do not have a more elegant solution.
Aaron
The right fix here is to use a different interconnect than USB. These devices should really have GigE as the main interconnect, with 802.11N as an option. GigE has much better distance per cable, and it would allow easily networking the printer. Plus you’d be able to print to a remote printer over a VPN. Lot’s of advantages.
-C
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… will it come with ResinPouring-over-IP and Vat-Cleanup-over-IP? 
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I have remote printing working well. I grabbed a little WinBook Windows 8.1 tablet for $29 with a coupon from MicroCenter, and then installed USB Network Gate from Eltima Software on it. This dinky little tablet is set not to go to sleep for 5 hours (as having it sleep while sending instructions to the printer does not go well). Eltima’s client and server software are the same package, and function on OS X and Windows, so I use the little Windows tablet to share the Form 1+, but I actually run PreForm in an OS X virtual machine in VMWare Fusion on my Mac Pro. Printing works great, but you cannot do a firmware update over this connection - for that the machine needs to be physically connected to the machine running PreForm.
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