How to Add a Printer to the 3DPos Network

Software 3DPrinterOS
1

How to Add a Printer to the 3DPos Network

1. Make sure the 3DPos client is up to date

3D POS will give an alert if an upgrade is available. If the need to upgrade:

  1. Request a raspberry pi image from 3DPos: 3DPrinterOS
  2. Image will be emailed to you - download it to your computer.
  3. Remove microSD card from Raspberry Pi
  4. Get an SD card adapter from Jason’s top shelf locker
  5. Insert MicroSd card into SD card adapter and plugin into port on computer
  6. Open (install as needed) balenaEtcher software for mac
  7. Follow instructions to flash the SD card with the image you saved to your computer
  8. Power down Raspberry Pi - insert newly flashed microSD card
  9. Reboot Raspberry Pi

2. Add New Printer to 3DPos Network via 3DPos client

Connect your laptop via Ethernet to a port on a switch connecting the printers and Raspberry Pis to access the 3DPos client.

Approach this step thinking in terms of Pis: 1 Pi controls 4-6 printers. You get to the printers through the Pi ip address gets you there.

  1. Take an ethernet cable - connect 1 end to your laptop (mac will need thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter) and plug the other end into a network switch
  2. Locate the ip address of the Raspberry Pi you are working on
    3. You can find the ip address in this document?: XXXX
    4. Or looking at the label taped to the Raspberry Pi
  3. Type the Raspberry Pi ip address into a chrome browser
  4. Login to the 3DPos client with your 3DPos admin account (if you can send prints you have an admin account)
  5. On the left menu click: “Add Network Printer”
  6. Enter the ip address of the printer you are adding (ip addresses here)
    9. The ip address from our spreadsheet must match the ip address assigned to the printer. To double check - go to the printer > Info > confirm the ip addresses are a match.
  7. Select the correct printer from the drop down list
  8. Click connect
  9. The light around the dial should be flashing - click it to authenticate the printer
  10. Find the printer in the 3DOPos CLIENT list - if you have a lot of printers it may be moving up and down…
  11. Select Undefined printer name and enter the printer name following the scheme and matching to the ip address spreadsheet - R1D1, for example.
  12. Click the “Manage Workgroups” button on the printer you just added and select the set of workgroup printers that the printer should be associated (from the point of view of the student sending a print) > click save
  13. Go to 3DPos - where you send prints - and confirm the printer you just added is in the list
  14. If replacing an old dead printer, find the printer you are replacing in the list
  15. Click the Tools button > Printer Settings button
  16. At the bottom of the printer settings find and click the Make Inactive button

Non-Responsive IP Addresses

If a Raspberry Pi or Printer’s IP address is “not responding or timing out” than the machine was likely assigned a new IP address. To find the IP Address:

  1. Run Angry IP Scanner
  2. Ping 10.68.56.1 - 10.68.56.255
  3. Compare active IPs to assigned IPs on this spreadsheet
  4. Isolate the hot IP address that is not in the spreadsheet
  5. Look at the machine type for clues - Makerbot will say Makerbot, Raspberry Pi will say N/a
  6. Trail and error the remaining hot IP addresses till you locate the machine you are trying to network

Remove a Non-Repsonsive or Incorrect Printer from the client

There can be old printers - or you can add a printer incorrect - go to Forget Network Printer to remove the bad printer from the 3DPos Client

RTFM

Read the fucking manual.

Here is where you can find it: 3DPrinterOS MakerBot 5th Generation Installation guide v2.4 - Google Docs