OctoPrint is open source, cutting edge “host software” for 3D printers. While there are other solutions to control your 3D printer and send commands such as Printrun, Repetier Host and Cura, OctoPrint is a whole different ballgame.
Gina Häußge
OctoPrint is different from the above solutions in that it provides a web interface to allow remote control of a printer from anywhere on a network or the internet. While it offers the same responsiveness and feedback options available on native host applications, OctoPrint relies heavily on current web technologies and frameworks such as AJAX and HTML5 web sockets.
The designers say OctoPrint was originally developed to be used on small embedded devices like the Raspberry Pi. It also allows a user to turn an existing 3D printer into a WiFi-enabled printer and thereby untether it from a laptop or work station computer.
Now the developers have released Octoprint 1.2.3 along with a list of upgrades to the software. Among them is a new option which actively polls the watched folder, better resilience against unneeded temperature and SD-status-polling intervals and log exceptions during writing to the serial port to the OctoPrint logs.
There are also a long list of bug fixes.
One of them repaired a JavaScript error that caused an error to be logged when “enter” was pressed in file or plug-in search.
Update notifications now “vanish” correctly following updates.
The development of OctoPrint is sponsored by BQ, a Spanish technology company which has, over the course of the last year, embraced open source DIY projects, 3D printing among them.
The project boasts a development team fully-dedicated to improving, evolving and expanding the program’s functionality, robustness and quality. That team is led by OctoPrint creator Gina Häußge.
The team say OctoPrint is – and will remain – Open Source Software under the GNU AGPL 3 license. They add that they hope anyone who uses the software will participate in OctoPrint’s continued development through pull requests and other forms of contribution.
BQ says that by sponsoring OctoPrint, they hope to ensure the quality and continuity of the software and they guarantee proper technical support. They also say OctoPrint will never be limited or force functionality solely to BQ products.
The API and source will remain open and usable by anyone in accordance with the license, but they add that OctoPrint will continue to pay special attention to RepRap-based printers.
Have you ever used OctoPrint to operate your 3D printer? Let us know in the OctoPrint forum thread on 3DPB.com.
