S3D usb vs SD printing
What if any are the benefits of printing on USB vs SD card? Other then the obvios that your pc doesnt have to be near the printer and if it crashes during a print you dont loose the print. Are all the settings saved to the SD card? Temps, speeds, supports, skirt/brim, fan speeds etc? I have lost 2 large prints now due to me playing a game while printing and the game freezes. Only way to recover this is to do a hard reset and i loose the print. I am trying my first print over SD now and its coming fine but I am just curious if there are any real benefits to using either method.,
Re: S3D usb vs SD printing
I always use the SD card after having multiple crashed prints caused by Windows doing something to USB in the background. It may depend on your printer, but if ANYTHING tickles the USB for any reason, my printer (MakerGear M2E) throws a fit.
I have a USB connection to control the printer for things like filament changes, but I had to install a hardware switch to disconnect the USB completely when printing. Even when I'm printing off an SD card, any USB activity can cause the printer to freeze. I don't know how much of this is the fault of the printer being overly fussy about USB activity, and how much of it is Windows mucking about. As long as I remember to flip the switch after changing filaments, I haven't had an issue.
To answer your other question, the SD card contains the gcode file for the print job. That has ALL the info required to run the job from start to finish.
I have a USB connection to control the printer for things like filament changes, but I had to install a hardware switch to disconnect the USB completely when printing. Even when I'm printing off an SD card, any USB activity can cause the printer to freeze. I don't know how much of this is the fault of the printer being overly fussy about USB activity, and how much of it is Windows mucking about. As long as I remember to flip the switch after changing filaments, I haven't had an issue.
To answer your other question, the SD card contains the gcode file for the print job. That has ALL the info required to run the job from start to finish.
Re: S3D usb vs SD printing
To expand on the last answer....the print settings are incorporated in comment lines at the top of the gcode file wherever it is written.
And for a bonus, you can import the settings from any gcode file created by S3D.....use the Import Settings, and select the gcode file as the source - and th settings will be imported from the file!
And for a bonus, you can import the settings from any gcode file created by S3D.....use the Import Settings, and select the gcode file as the source - and th settings will be imported from the file!
Doug Kightley
Volunteer at the National Tramway Museum http://www.tramway.co.uk
Railway modeller and webmaster at http://www.talkingtgauge.net
Volunteer at the National Tramway Museum http://www.tramway.co.uk
Railway modeller and webmaster at http://www.talkingtgauge.net
Re: S3D usb vs SD printing
I gotcha. Yeah i just lost a 14hr 47min print in the last 20 minutes for the same thing. I woke up and came down to check it. Then decided to do some testing with different controller Bluetooth adapters while i waited on everyone to wake up. I pulled one out of the USB slot and it was an oddly tight fit. It BARELY jarred the pc and i lost the print. It just froze. lol i was crushed. Ive lost other prints while gaming and the game has frozen the pc. Luckily they where within a couple of hours of starting so not a huge loss but still sucked. This last one has made me start printing from SD.