Let’s take a look at SimplyPrint, which had a very interesting announcement last week.
SimplyPrint is a five-year-old Danish company that provides a cloud-based printer management system that includes quite a range of functions.
With SimplyPrint, your attached 3D printers are able to make use of the following features:
- Monitor and print from anywhere
- Log statistics about print jobs
- Slice 3D models in the cloud from anywhere
- Operate multiple 3D printers
- Manage an inventory of filament spools
- Use a bed-levelling assistant
- Receive notifications from your 3D printer anywhere
- Queue print jobs for later runs
- Put 3D printers on “autopilot”
- Store 3D files in the cloud
- Collaborate with multiple users
- Change filament in a smarter manner
- Organize large groups of 3D printers
- Log all details of print jobs
That’s quite an impressive list, and somewhat similar to cloud features offered by some 3D printer manufacturers. However, the big difference here is that SimplyPrint works with all 3D printers, not just those from one manufacturer. They say:
“It’s easier to list the printers we don’t support! Almost every printer is supported. You can see all supported printers at our compatibility list. SimplyPrint works for most Cartesian, Delta, and belt printers. Generally, all printers that have a plug where you can put a USB cable in, it probably means it works with SimplyPrint / OctoPrint.”
OctoPrint, the well-known system that can control a 3D printer, is a requirement for SimplyPrint. In other words, SimplyPrint is a meta-layer that sits on top of OctoPrint installations, providing much more powerful features.
Note, however, that SimplyPrint does NOT work with resin 3D printers.
SimplyPrint provides security for your data, and ensures that GCODE files are fully downloaded to local devices so that Internet interruptions don’t cause job failures.
SimplyPrint is intended for use by organizations that use multiple 3D printers, or individuals requiring secure remote operation and control.
Pricing for SimplyPrint is quite interesting. There’s a free tier for up to two 3D printers, which will be of significant interest to anyone with an OctoPrint setup. For more than two 3D printers, SimplyPrint offers mostly subscriptions starting from US$5.99 to US$39.99 for ten printers. For more, they do offer special arrangements upon contact.
Their features are very comprehensive, and it appears they regularly add more features. One recent addition, for example, is the ability to reprint a prior job. There are many more features.
The news from the company last week was an email announcement of a new Bambu Lab integration, leaked on Reddit. The announcement said:
“The SimplyPrint Bambu Lab integration connects to your Bambu Lab printers via a piece of software we call the SimplyPrint Bambu Lab Client. This client needs to run on a computer; either a Mac, Windows, Linux computer, or a Raspberry Pi. The device that runs the Bambu Lab Client must be on the same network as your Bambu Lab printer(s).”
This is very interesting as it could provide an alternative approach for cloud management of Bambu Lab 3D printers.
Readers will probably recall the recent controversy with Bambu Lab’s announcement of new firmware and a new security architecture that disrupted many operators’ workflows. The change caused a number of Bambu Lab operators to switch their devices to “LAN Mode” to disconnect from Bambu Lab’s cloud.
While this provides some independence from Bambu Lab, it also loses a lot of useful cloud functionality. That functionality — and possibly more — might be restored with a subscription to SimplyPrint using this new integration.
If you’re one of the LAN Mode operators of Bambu Lab equipment, you might want to check out SimplyPrint.
Via SimplyPrint and Reddit
