Setting up a Makerbase-powered 3D printer in SimplyPrint

Prerequisites

To follow this guide you will need the following things:

A 3D-Printer running makerbase that is connected to your network.
The IP address of your 3D printer.

Connecting to the printer

To "talk" with the printer we will be using SSH. SSH allows us to run commands on the printer's underlying computer.

To start an SSH connection, you will need to open your Operating system's terminal, org command prompt.

- On Windows you can open cmd by first pressing Win + R, this will open a window, where you can type cmd, and then press Enter.
- On MacOS press ⌘ + Space, search for Terminal, and press Enter.

Once your terminal is open, you can start an ssh connection by running the following command:

ssh mks@<ip address>

Replace <ip address> with the IP address of your 3D printer.

It will now prompt you for a password. The password is makerbase. Notice that the password might not show up while you type it.

You should now be connected and see a welcome message similar to this:



This is your command prompt, where you can run commands on the Printer.

You may run into this error during the installation process: SSLError(SSLCertVerificationError(1, '[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: certificate is not yet valid
This is due to most Makerbase-powered printers - especially those from QiDi Tec - have the system time set wrong. To fix this, run this command;

sudo date -s '2024-02-03'

Replace 2024-02-03 with today's date

Installing OctoPrint on the 3D printer

To run SimplyPrint on the 3D printer we will use OctoPrint to communicate with it.

To get started, run the following command on the printer:

kiauh/kiauh.sh

You might be prompted to update kiauh:

If this happens, just press Y and then Enter to update kiauh.
Afterwards, just run the command again.

If the kiauh installation fails or gives you the error Installing dependencies failed!, you may need to update your printer's firmware. This has been known to be the case for some QIDI Tech printers. QIDI Tech firmware can be found here; https://qidi3d.com/pages/software-firmware. For updating firmware on other printers, simply Google [printer name] firmware.


You will now be presented with the following screen, asking you to choose which action to perform:



As we want to install OctoPrint, we will proceed into the [Install] menu. Do this by pressing 1 and then Enter.

After going into the [Install] menu, you might be prompted for a password, this will be the same password as you used to log in (makerbase).

In the [Install] menu you will be greeted with a list of programs to install. Locate the OctoPrint entry, and write the corresponding number, and then press Enter:



It will now prompt you to confirm your choice. Make sure that it says OctoPrint, and in that case, press Y and then Enter.



The installation might take a while, so it might be time to grab a bite or some coffee while you wait.

When the installation has finished, kiauh should report back with the URL of the freshly installed OctoPrint instance:



Use your favourite browser to open the webpage. You should be met with the OctoPrint setup guide!

Setting up OctoPrint

Now that we have OctoPrint installed, we want to set it up such that it can communicate with SimplyPrint.

Now go through the OctoPrint setup guide, and choose the options that fit you.

After the initial setup has been completed, there are still a few more things to do before we are finished.

Start by going to settings:



Then go to the tab called Serial Connection.

In the text field labeled Additional serial ports, replace the contens with the text: /tmp/printer, as shown in the screenshot below:



Then press Save.

In the dropdown labeled Serial Port on the left side of the screen, set the following options:

- Serial Port: /tmp/printer
- Baudrate: AUTO
- Printer Profile: Default
- Save connection settings: On
- Auto-connect on server startup: On



Then press Connect.

Your printer should now be able to be controlled through OctoPrint. You can test this by going to the Control tab on the home page, and homing the printer.

Installing SimplyPrint.

Now that OctoPrint is fully set up, we can install the SimplyPrint plug-in and elevate your 3D-printing experience!

First, go to Settings > Plugin Manager, and press Get More:



In the popup, search for SimplyPrint, and install the plugin called SimplyPrint Cloud:



After the SimplyPrint plugin has been installed, you will be prompted to restart. Due to the unconventional way that the makerbase printers are configured, this will not work.

Instead you will want to turn off the entire printer, and then turn it on again after about 10 seconds.

When the printer has finished turning on, you should be able to add the 3D printer in the SimplyPrint panel.

Updated on: 19/04/2024