Prusa i3 MK2S Print Server

thingiverse

**24 Dec 2018 Update:** Modified Camera Mount including camera housing accommodates Prusa's R3 Canted Cooling Fan perfectly. This required a longer standoff from the print bed, which in turn demanded stiffeners to dampen out vibrations during high-speed printing efficiently. Also modified the way the camera housing mounts to the standoff securely. The Prusa i3 MK2S is an exceptional printer, ideal for hobbyists or light industrial desktop users. However, it's a raw printer without many accessories that would make it an outstanding printer. This is the fourth in a series of accessories I designed for the i3. The others are: - Enclosure https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2396990 - HEPA Filter https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2394452 - Spool Holder https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2398480 The Prusa i3 MK2S printer's primary input is via a standard-sized SD card. The card supplied with the printer contains numerous utilities and sample prints but the logistics of moving designs to the printer are cumbersome at best, particularly if the printer and workstation are not close by. Also provided is a standard USB Printer Port that can be connected to a print server easily. Although full-size PCs can be used to host a print server, their reliability as a print server is less than desirable unless they are dedicated to that task exclusively. A better solution is to use a small but powerful computer-on-a-chip board like the Raspberry Pi (RPi). The Raspberry Pi Zero W contains all the necessary interfaces to provide wireless print serving along with a camera interface that supports a low-cost 1080P pinhole camera. This design includes an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for the RPi. While this is not absolutely necessary, it's good practice with Linux-based computers. Much like Windows, Linux can corrupt files if not properly shut down before power is removed. The UPS has enough capacity to operate for several hours after power is interrupted. This is very useful in areas prone to power outages that would otherwise destroy long print runs. At idle, the OctoPrint Server consumes 0.230 Amps. During the average print run, OctoPrint draws 0.350 amps. Peak consumption (0.450 amps) occurs during Time Lapse Movie generation at the end of the print run. An alternative to using an on-board UPS would be to use an external unit. OctoPrint (OctoPrint.org) is a free Linux-based print server designed for the Raspberry Pi computer, among other platforms, and is licensed under the Affero General Public License. The latest version can be downloaded and executed on the Raspberry Pi Zero W without modification. See the OctoPrint.org site for details on downloading and setup. **Note:** Be sure to order the Raspberry Pi Zero __W__ and not the Raspberry Pi Zero. The "*__W__*" version includes a high-speed WiFi adapter which obviates the need for a USB Bridge and External WiFi adapter. **Warning:** This design requires the builder to have some soldering capabilities and skills. Please review the construction steps carefully before proceeding.