Monoprice Maker Select Plus and Chromebook

[CrimsonDBlood]

Is there a way to get my Monoprice Maker Select Plus to work with my SAMSUNG Chromebook, or did I just buy an oversized paperweight?

[rcmadiax]

First off - the specifications on the printer are clear you need Windows / Mac / Linux to run software. You would need to find a slicer that can operate on Chrome OS or have someone slice each print for you and send you the GCODE to put on the SD card.

-Mike

[learley]

You could try a web-based slicer like this one: Kiri:Moto

You can export the gcode from there, save it to the SD card and then print from the SD card.

Overall, you’re going to have a subpar experience (no matter what 3d printer you’re using) without a proper computer though

[Andrew_247]

Oh, come on. The Samsung Chromebook isn’t that bad.

[CrimsonDBlood]

I wasn’t refering to the chromebook

[CrimsonDBlood]

the specs didn’t state that they were using an outdated firmware from makerbot. Marlin open source firmware would make more compatible, kind of strange that the cad pad I used updated the Cura slicer on my sd card

[wirlybird]

The firmware on the printer is irrelevant to the OS on the computer. As already said, you really need a slicer/software that will run in Chrome. Here are a few resources. Go google for others.

3D Printing with a Chromebook (or just a browser)

Online STL Slicer & GCODE, X3G Generator | AstroPrint®

[learley]

What is your basis for the claim that the printer uses outdated firmware from Makerbot? My Maker Select Plus reports that it is running Marlin V1 (after sending M115). I think it is a customized build for the touchscreen support but everything I’ve ever read (admittedly not much) indicates that it runs Marlin.

[CrimsonDBlood]

then you got lucky, mine doesn’t have marlin, although I do admit, I might need to update the firmware to the latest version, Marlin firmware is compatible with Tinkercad, or atleast the newest version is, the firmware that is on my Maker Select Plus is not

[CrimsonDBlood]

Already have astroprint, and still have an oversize paperweight

[wirlybird]

Completely incorrect. Tinkercad is design software and has nothing to do with the firmware on a printer.

[CrimsonDBlood]

Tell that to the creators of Marlin, since I was quoting their claim, might want to check their site before trying to say something is “completely incorrect” and tinkercad also has a built- in slicer for stl file, otherwise it wouldn’t have a print function. I understand what you are trying to say, but my problem is an interface problem, my chromebook has an intel processor, there should be no problem with the interface according to the specs, yet there is no interface, I am not trying to print through the interface but instead be alerted when my print is complete, my chromebook is already synced to my tablet so it can alert me, when I use the usb port I can pull up certain info but not what I need. and I’ve already lost 4 prints because of this issue

[wirlybird]

It is incorrect since the two have nothing to do with each other.

Firmware (Marlin or Sailfish) is embedded “software” that controls the device, in this case a printer.

You design a part then export it to an STL file or STereoLithography file. The STL file then needs to be “sliced” and this creates a gcode file. This gcode file is an instruction set (a program) that tells the firmware (Marlin) what to do and the firmware then tells the hardware what to do.

The slicer is the part that needs to know what printer and firmware is going to be used so it can include the proper instruction set in the gcode file. This can include things like whether it has a heated bed and the size of the bed. How many extruders etc.

Some printers use firmware that requires its own file type in order to print. In these cases either the slicer or a post processor will convert the gcode file into the format the printer requires.

So, the only thing Marlin is saying is it is supported by standard STL and gcode file formats.

The fact that the printer has Marlin really doesn’t matter as much as setting the correct printer make and model in the slicer. If the slicer didn’t have support for the printer then you can set up a “generic” printer and during this set up you would want to set the firmware type to Marlin, as opposed to Sailfish or something else so the slicer knows what it is dealing with.

Tinkercad can export the model as an STL file ready to be run in a slicer.

[CrimsonDBlood]

Ok let’s try this from a different approach, since you must not have seen my other posts, the firmware has to reconize the slicer’s gcode to translate it to print (yes I took the courses) I am trying to use the usb port to get the latest Marlin update to my printer, it is not reconizing anything, since the update to the Cura slicer on the sd card was updated the firmware will not even reconize the slicer software, that is my dilema

[wirlybird]

Ok, what is the issue with the firmware? I did a little research and found the info below. I would proceed carefully with messing with firmware on this one. Like a lot of these it appears to be running custom firmware specific to the board. This isn’t that unusual.

Also I don’t really understand what you mean about Cura on the SD card. Cura has to be install on a PC.

The Maker Select has a Melzi control board running Repetier firmware, not Marlin.

It uses custom firmware for the Melzi board it has. You can’t change it to Marlin or Sailfish (for example) without changing the electronics. The electronics can be changed though and there are guides for doing so available, though the only one I’ve really looked at is RAMPS. Search RAMPS Conversion at 3dprinterbrain.com

The Monoprice Maker Select has a known issue with the SD cards. You need to either use a different SD card or look into using Octoprint on a Raspberry Pi which eliminates the need for an SD card and just transfers the data straight from your PC to your printer.

[CrimsonDBlood]

thank you, you just confirmed that I bought an oversized paperweight, I think I will either change out the electronics or buy a DIY kit and build my own printer, then if something goes wrong with it I will know what the problem is and how to correct it, besides it would be a shame to just let this download of Marlin go to waste

[wirlybird]

Well, good luck. Firmware is a real sticker on a lot of these since they may use a modified version of the main release. Common for Marlin also. Some of them don’t really have a consumer friendly update method either. You have to get in with a programmer and that gets tricky.

Hit up the google groups for this printer and see what they have to say. I think one thing though is you will need some type of a windows pc to get things going.

At minimum you should be able to generate a model in tinkercad or something else and then load the STL into an on-line slicer to generate the gcode then download that to a SD card and at least get something to work.

Still, check the google groups or look for a facebook group for the printer. These can be very good resources.