MakerBot Desktop 3.3, Firmware 1.4 Released

[Brian_Krassenstein]

MakerBot announced a couple of big updates today, announcing MakerBot Desktop 3.3 and Firmware 1.4. The updates improve the performance, communications, and capabilities of MakerBot's interconnected Desktop, Fifth Generation 3D printers, and MakerBot Mobile app. Desktop 3.3 is setting the stage for the next update, Desktop 3.4, which is expected to further improve performance. Check out more details: http://3dprint.com/21914/makerbot-updates-desktop/


Let us know if you have downloaded this new software and firmware. Have any problems or opinions on it? Post them here!
makerbot-desktop.jpg

[American 3D Printing]

Thanks for the announcement. I had 3 separate emails from Makerbot this morning, but none of them announce the new desktop and firmware. Maybe between them we can get our 5th Gen to start working.

[Eddie]

MakerBot has come through for their community of 3D printing enthusiasts and Thingiverse makers with the release of MakerBot Desktop 3.3. The new release offers Print History, which allows the user much greater efficiency so that 3D prints are saved, catalogued, and easy to find for reprinting. The user is able to go straight to the library and 3D print the file immediately, rather than having to re-slice the entire build plate layout. Makerbot Mobile is also the new iOS app that users can download for greater flexibility while items are 3D printing. Check out more details: http://3dprint.com/22432/makerbot-desktop-3-3-history/
Below is an example of the Print History feature:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...makerbot-1.png

[Geoff]

MakerBot has come through for their community of 3D printing enthusiasts and Thingiverse makers with the release of MakerBot Desktop 3.3. The new release offers Print History, which allows the user much greater efficiency so that 3D prints are saved, catalogued, and easy to find for reprinting. The user is able to go straight to the library and 3D print the file immediately, rather than having to re-slice the entire build plate layout. Makerbot Mobile is also the new iOS app that users can download for greater flexibility while items are 3D printing. Check out more details: http://3dprint.com/22432/makerbot-desktop-3-3-history/
Below is an example of the Print History feature:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...makerbot-1.png

The print history looks pretty, but the price to pay is too high, the software for me is like putting water in my fuel tank... useless

Luckily, we have had a print history feature for some time on all machines... exporting to X3G and printing from the SD card
I will be sticking to makerware 2.4 as its the last one that works with my particular firmware.

[American 3D Printing]

I tried updating the firmware in the 5th Gen to what was available after this announcement, 1.4.0.188 and it failed repeatedly. The next day, 1.4.0 was available and it updated right away. Obviously there must have been something wrong with 1.4.0.188.

[sguthery]

I've installed both the firmware update and the desktop update. A couple cosmetic grumps.

1) When Unload is clicked one goes through the familiar heating and extruder "bumping" process but now there is no "Safe to remove the filament" message. A blinking red hand comes up during the "bumping" but after "bumping" is done the window goes back to the initial Load/Unload screen. One assumes that this means it is safe to remove the filament at this point but who knows?

2) I always load an .stl file named output.stl. I run a program that generates the file but the desktop seems to remember the first load of the file and always puts it on the platform rather than the new version of the file. This means I have to constantly give the file a new name before I do an Add File so that the desktop will grab the latest version of my model. I know somebody thought this was a smart convenience but it, from my point of view at least, isn't.

Why in the world Makerbot keeps making gratuitous changes in the desktop is beyond me. Nothing seems to settle down and in fact things get more confusing.

Cheers, Scott

[richardphat]

Wait what?
You got to pay for their freaking updates?

[American 3D Printing]

I had a scan customer come in the other day, and I fired up Makerbot for Desktop 3.3 and it said that the Digitizer was not connected, even though it was. Tried cycling power on the Digitizer, no help. Tried rebooting the computer, no help. Finally I uninstalled 3.3 and reinstalled 3.2 and now it saw the Digitizer and did the scan.

As Geoff would say: [facepalm]