Rotate, Scale, and Print your designs with AstroPrint Desktop
We’d like to officially introduce you to our latest creation.
Please welcome, AstroPrint Desktop.
AstroPrint Desktop is a cross-platform, cloud-enabled Desktop app that allows you to manipulate and print designs locally and via the cloud.
AstroPrint Desktop allows you to print to your 3D Printer via USB without needing an AstroBox Gateway.
Meanwhile, if you are an existing AstroPrint user, AstroPrint Desktop will extend your capabilities even further and make your workflow much more pleasant.
Sticking to our goal in making 3D Printing accessible to more and more people, AstroPrint Desktop is another pillar in the master plan.
So, what can AstroPrint Desktop do?
Scale, Rotate and Multiply Objects
Over the years, one of the most requested features of AstroPrint has been the ability to scale, rotate, and duplicate designs before printing.
Since we didn’t have that ability before, users were forced to use other CAD software to manipulate their designs before exporting it back into AstroPrint.
I have good news for you: You no longer need to go back and forth between software to manipulate your designs.
AstroPrint Desktop will allow you to:
- Scale your designs
- Rotate your designs
- Duplicate & Multiply to make more copies of your designs
After manipulating your design, all you need to do is click PRINT on the bottom right-hand corner.
At this stage, you can choose to print to your local AstroBox or via the cloud.
All you have to do is enter a name for your build plate (to identify it) and choose a printer.
That’s all.
Side note: We are planning on introducing the ability to scale, rotate, and duplicate designs on our cloud platform in the future as well. Stay tuned.
Print via USB without an AstroBox Gateway
One of the cool features of AstroPrint Desktop is its ability to print via USB without the need for an AstroBox Gateway.
If you have NEVER used AstroPrint and have a compatible 3D Printer, AstroPrint Desktop is one of the best and easiest entry points into trying our platform.
All you need to do is plug the printer in via USB to a laptop or desktop.
No Internet required.
No AstroBox required.
Seriously.
Side note: If you want to print via the cloud, you’ll still need an AstroBox connected to your 3D Printer. Plus, if you already have an AstroBox, your workflow will be much more pleasant with the addition of AstroPrint Desktop — even if you use your AstroBox purely offline.
Diagnose your prints with the GCODE viewer
GCODE viewer is a neat diagnostics tool that will allow you to do things like:
- View the print paths of your GCODE files
- Analyze your design layer by layer before printing
- Analyze the print speed (represented by different shades of the SAME COLOR)
- Tweak settings and see the changes reflected visually in the viewer
It might be a bit tricky to find the GCODE viewer because it won’t be visible UNTIL you have selected your Printer, Material & Quality on the horizontal bar on the bottom like this:
As you can see, once you select your Printer, Material, and Quality on the bottom horizontal bar, the GCODE viewer button will become visible on the right-hand side next to the PRINT button
It will be labeled PREVIEW. (not GCODE viewer)
Find your printers easily
Another useful feature of AstroPrint Desktop is its ability to find your (local and cloud) printers with ease.
Even if you plug in a brand new AstroBox via Ethernet, AstroPrint Desktop will find your AstroBox without needing to hunt down IP Addresses.
It makes it VERY easy to find and set up brand new AstroBoxes.
No need to be a nerd.
Perfect synchronization with your cloud file manager
Being a cloud platform, it wouldn’t make much sense if AstroPrint Desktop didn’t keep all of your files nice, tidy and in sync with your existing cloud account — so, cloud synchronicity is a fundamental component of AstroPrint Desktop.
You can easily import any of your designs into AstroPrint Desktop, manipulate or duplicate them as needed and initiate a print within the app.
Those are the main features of AstroPrint Desktop.
That’s not all though.
You still have access to standard functionality such as:
- Creating a new Printer Profile
- Adding a new Printer
- Accessing your Custom Slicer Settings
- Controlling your local printer
- Accessing the GCODE Terminal
- Accessing your files in the cloud File Manager
In a nutshell, that’s how AstroPrint Desktop works.
If you have any suggestions on improving AstroPrint Desktop, please let us know via our forums or twitter. We make a concerted effort to incorporate your feedback into future iteration(s) of AstroPrint Desktop — your feedback is what drives our platform. Thanks!
Originally posted on the AstroPrint Blog by Dilanka
