3DPrinterOS 3D Printer Operating System to Run Them all

A company based in San Francisco, called 3D Control Systems has announced the beta release of drivers for their 3DPrinter Operating System. The software is called 3DPrinterOS and will eventually work with hundreds of different printers, allowing users to collaborate with one another no matter what 3D printer they own. The software has many key features to allow for the secure exchange of files, and access on the cloud. They expect to release the very first stable version sometime in August of this year. Further Details can be found here: http://3dprint.com/6479/3dprinteros/

Have you downloaded the test drivers for 3DPrinterOS? Let us know what you think.
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...r-1-300x95.png

I'm at a loss as to what problem this solves.

Each professional printer has it's own locked in proprietary software (I'm generalizing, yes). So now there is another level between you and the printer?

Does it solve sharing?

I think there is a little more to the story... If you remember, Brian posted a story (about a month ago???) in which Auto_Desk was going to do an open source printer that was fully supported by their software. One of the big claims to fame was it was going to run some new 3D-Printer OS called Spark. Why does the Auto_Desk 3D-Printer need its own OS? Maybe because it is going to have 'features' that existing printers do not have???

I would not be surprised to see the Auto_Desk 3D-Printer use a partnership with somebody else to support the goals of their printer. (Maybe this company???) And did you notice... A big part of why this is so 'good' is because of increased security with the 'cloud' to get designs. In other words... They want to lock down the designs they sell you so you can only print as many as you pay for.

Well, they had better have some super good content that makes people willing to put up with this non-sense. Or they won't get very far. I think we can see a trend developing here.

PS. I'm so glad they are going to enable 'collaboration' among 3D-Printer owners!!! I would be totally lost without their effort!

They can't be bothered to post screen shots on their site. The site has some words, but they look like they're written by someone that likes writing vague platitudes.

I'm not going to sign up for an account just to see what the software does and how it works. I just don't care that much about a vaguely described service.

I also question their usage of the term "operating system".

it's just semantics really, any software that controls something else can be considered an operating system. I do agree though, without something to really show, this feels very very vaporware adjacent.

I still feel they are making a cloud based operating system for devices that work best offline. Another level of difficulty that it might be hard to convince users that they 'need' this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by f.larsen

it's just semantics really, any software that controls something else can be considered an operating system. I do agree though, without something to really show, this feels very very vaporware adjacent.

I still feel they are making a cloud based operating system for devices that work best offline. Another level of difficulty that it might be hard to convince users that they 'need' this.

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Or... Stated differently.... What software (firmware) problem do today's printers have that everybody is going to jump through hoops to migrate to their 'solution' ? If the biggest problem you can come up with is I need to seamlessly connect to the 'cloud' so I can pay for and print one of something... I'm thinking they aren't bringing much to the party.

Hello Guys,


I just tried it on my MAC and it is pretty awesome ! I just downloaded it, and created an account. It instantly detected my webcam, and now I have my printer online, and can print remotely. Web camera is pretty sweet. I want to hook up my other printers and see how it works. Really excited ! Leo :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leo.kani

Hello Guys,


I just tried it on my MAC and it is pretty awesome ! I just downloaded it, and created an account. It instantly detected my webcam, and now I have my printer online, and can print remotely. Web camera is pretty sweet. I want to hook up my other printers and see how it works. Really excited ! Leo :)

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Well, That is good news!!! Maybe we were being too cynical????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roxy

Or... Stated differently.... What software (firmware) problem do today's printers have that everybody is going to jump through hoops to migrate to their 'solution' ? If the biggest problem you can come up with is I need to seamlessly connect to the 'cloud' so I can pay for and print one of something... I'm thinking they aren't bringing much to the party.

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Well put Roxy. That 'killer app' aspect is lost with the hype that everything should be 'in the cloud'

There might be a more social aspect that I am missing here.

*Using lots of quotes through my posts recently*

leo.kani, if you don't mind me asking, what printer you have running?

I'm running a Makerbot 2x :) I just tried it with a Gcode that uses the Dual Extruder and it works also. I want my buddy with the Ultimaker to also try it, and see how we can share the printers online just for fun. Personally I don't care about the security, but the remote control web camera feature is really useful. Going to chat up the support guys and see what else this thing can do.

Initially when I logged in, there where some test files, with this camera Icon, that when hovered over, produced this blank box , and didn't get what that was for, until I printed my first object. It recorded the print and made time lapse preview! I feel there are like other hidden features they are not talking about. I'll find out more. Going now to try to share my printer with a buddy.

Hey Guys,

I am using the Makerbot 2x and it is working perfect so far. My buddy has the 2 and it installed for him instantly also. I don't see any restrictions with my designs, prints, or anything actually. I guess I could collect money from someone in Paypal, and set permission for them to print once, but it doesn't force you into anything. Ummm actually the more I think about it, there is nothing stopping me from actually selling a design on any market place today. Collect a check, and simply click share -- type the persons email address in. I just need to design something bad ass first.

What would be really awesome is getting a hold of this software modification they made that lets you print like 100's of parts without touching the machine. Check this out -- 35 hours of printing without touching the printer !!! :) http://secured3d.com/blog/real-examp...g-3d-printing/

Hey Guys,

I am using the Makerbot 2x and it is working perfect so far. My buddy has the 2 and it installed for him instantly also. I don't see any restrictions with my designs, prints, or anything actually. I guess I could collect money from someone in Paypal, and set permission for them to print once, but it doesn't force you into anything. Ummm actually the more I think about it, there is nothing stopping me from actually selling a design on any market place today. Collect a check, and simply click share -- type the persons email address in. I just need to design something bad ass first.

What would be really awesome is getting a hold of this software modification they made that lets you print like 100's of parts without touching the machine. Check this out -- 35 hours of printing without touching the printer !!! :)http://secured3d.com/blog/real-examp...g-3d-printing/

Ethan Hunt, the CEO of Rapide 3D, says the successful campaign on Indiegogo for the Rapide Lite 200 printer has led to a second round of funding for the Rapide Lite 200XL, a commercial quality desktop 3D printer with a build height of 400mm. Hunt says that more than 700 of the 200 series printers have been delivered to contributors, and his company now plans to include the cloud-based 3D Printer OS software suite in every machine his company makes. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/58122/rapide-3d-3dprinteros-deal/


Below is a photo of a 3D printer from Rapide 3D:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...sign01_new.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brian_Krassenstein

Ethan Hunt...

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Wait, when did this become a mission impossible thing?

San Francisco-based 3DPrinterOS, which officially launched just last month, is working to streamline the 3D printing process by use of intuitive, accessible, cloud-based software and a universal operating system. This past week at the Box Dev Conference, Box announced several new integration partners, including 3DPrinterOS. Box is a file sharing and personal cloud content management firm, used by half of the companies in the Fortune 500 among its 45,000+ global customers, and the new partnership with 3DPrinterOS will allow for users of the OS to select 'Box' on their uploads, linking their accounts and opening cloud accessibility. Find out more details about this integration in the full article: http://3dprint.com/61257/3dprinteros-box/
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/b23.png

John Dogru, the CEO of 3DPrinterOS, hopes an open source release of his company's groundbreaking, cloud-based 3D printing system will make it possible to connect any 3D printer to the cloud. Dogru says ideally, contributors will add features, fix bugs, and customize the cloud client to fit their printers and unique user requirements to the project on GitHub. The release gives developers access to the full set of tools available in the 3DPrinterOS cloud platform. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/72968/3dprinteros-cloud-open-source/