This guide is split into five sections:
1) Intro
2) Getting Started: Understanding Print Queues, & Best Practices
3) Adding Files to Print Queues
4) Optimizing Your Queues
5) Ways to Start the Next Job in Your Print Queue
NOTE: Business, Education, and Enterprise accounts have access to ADVANCED Print Queueing functionality, which is not covered in this walkthrough. This includes functionality such as setting queue permissions and printer permissions for each user in your organization.
Intro
So you want to load up multiple designs on your 3D Printer and control the sequence of when they will be printed? Great!
This guide will give you a walkthrough of how you can make your life easier with AstroPrint's Print Queueing feature!
Along with the existing ability to organize your files in your AstroCenter Design Library, Print Queues will save you time when needing to print multiple designs in a specific order without having to wait for your printer to finish an existing print.
Let's get started!
Getting Started: Understanding Print Queues, & Best Practices
Premium Account (or higher) Required
Print Queueing is only available on Premium, Business, Education, and Enterprise accounts. If you have a free/Basic account, you will need to upgrade in order to use Print Queues. As mentioned above, some Advanced Print Queueing functions are only available on Business, Education, and Enterprise accounts. This is mostly related to multi-user functionality and advanced analytics. Those advanced functions are not covered in this guide.
Creating Print Queues
You do not need to create Print Queues manually. The system creates two types of Print Queues for you. You simply move files to the queues.
Two Types of Print Queues
- Per Printer - The system automagically creates a queue for each AstroBox (Touch, Gateway, or OctoPi Plugin) that has been connected to your account. You can think of this as a queue for each 3D printer in your fleet.
- You will notice that your Print Queues are named with the same name you used for your AstroBox. We recommend naming your AstroBox in a way that references the printer it is attached to. That way it's easy to figure out where files are going when you print through a Queue. For example, if your AstroBox is named 'astrobox-1234', you will have a Printer Queue named 'astrobox-1234'. It will likely be hard to remember which 3D Printer in your fleet that queue is connected to. However, let's pretend you have a 3D Printer in your fleet you call 'Lulzbot 5A'. If you name the AstroBox associated with that printer 'Lulzbot 5A', then you will have a Printer Queue named 'Lulzbot 5A'. This will make it very clear which printer queue sends files to which printers in your fleet.
- 'Print Later' Bucket - This is a general queue for any file you plan to Print Later but do not wish to currently put in a queue for a specific printer.
- Although files in the Print Later queue have been sliced for a specific printer model, they are not yet in a queue for a specific printer in your fleet. They will remain in the Print Later Bucket until you designate the exact Printer Queue you wish them to go in.
- For example, let's suppose you have three Lulzbot Taz 6's, named "lulzbot A", "lulzbot B", and "lulzbot C". You slice a file for a Taz 6 and place it in the Print Later queue. The file will sit there UNTIL you move it to the "lulzbot A" Printer Queue, the "lulzbot B" Printer Queue, or the "lulzbot C" Printer Queue.
Queue Up 'Print Files', not 'Design Files'
AstroPrint designates files as either "Design Files" (such at STLs) or "Print Files" (such as GCODE/X3G). For a number of reasons, only Print Files can be added to a Queue. You will need to either create Print Files with AstroPrint's online slicer, or upload your own Print Files created on another slicing engine (such as Simplify3D or Slic3r).
Recommendation - Use the AstroBox Touch (ABT)
We recommend using an AstroBox Touch with each of the 3D Printers in your fleet. Print Queueing will work just fine with the AstroBox Gateway or the AstroPrint Plugin for Octoprint. However, the touchscreen of the ABT will make your workflow much more efficient. For example, right after you clear the printer bed, you can access your Print Queue right on the touchscreen of the ABT, making it VERY simple to print the next file in the queue. Without an ABT connected to your printer (i.e. a screen right at the printer), you'll have to go back to your computer (or open the mobile app), go to queues, find the queue/printer in question, and start the next print from there.
If you are setting up a large 3D Printer Farm, we offer bulk discount pricing for the ABT Software Licenses. We also offer bulk discounts on purchases of the physical ABT units.
Queues are Synced Across Devices
As mentioned above, your Print Queues can be accessed from various pieces of AstroPrint software. All of these pieces sync together, keeping your queues always up to date. For example, if you are using your AstroCenter (i.e. your AstroPrint.com dashboard) and add a file to a Print Queue for 'Printer-123', that file will immediately show in the Print Queue on both AstroPrint Mobile and the AstroBox Touch for 'Printer-123'.
This makes it very easy to then start the next print from the AstroBox Touch or AstroPrint Mobile, when the time is right. Many 3D Printing Businesses use this feature to allow technicians to start the next print in the queue after they clear the print bed from the previous print. The technicians do not need to leave the printer, nor do they need to verify which file is next in line to print. Best of all, they aren't dealing with any SD cards whatsoever.
Adding Files to Your Print Queues
Adding files to your Print Queues is very simple, and can be done from any of the following:
- AstroCenter Online Dashboard
- AstroPrint Mobile App (iOS/Android)
- AstroBox Touch Touchscreen
There are three main ways to add files to your print queues:
1) Design Library
Whether you are using the online AstroCenter Dashboard or the AstroPrint Mobile App, the process of using your Design Library to add Print Files to a Print Queue is the same.
Step 1 - Open Design Library
A) via AstroCenter Dashboard (The page you see after logging in on AstroPrint.com)
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
Step 2 - Click on a Print File, then click 'Add to Queue'
By default, the Print File column shows 'loose' Print Files that are NOT associated with any particular design. Typically these will be Print Files you sliced outside of AstroPrint, then uploaded the Print File (for example, a GCODE file you prepared on Simplify3D then uploaded into your AstroPrint account).
If your Print File is associated with a specific design, select the design from the Design column first. You will then see all the associated Print Files for that design, in the Print File column.
A) via AstroCenter Dashboard
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
Step 3 - Choose the queue, and you're done!
You can select a specific printer's queue or the general 'Print Later' queue. Although files in the Print Later queue have been sliced for a specific printer model, they are not yet in a queue for a specific printer in your fleet. They will remain in the "Print Later Bucket" until you designate the exact Printer Queue you wish them to go in.
A) via AstroCenter
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
2) Print History
Whether you are using the online AstroCenter Dashboard or the AstroPrint Mobile App, the process of using your Print History to add Print Files to a Print Queue is the same.
Step 1 - Open Print History
A) via AstroCenter Dashboard
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
Step 2 - Choose a Print File
Choose your Print File and click "Add to Queue."
A) via AstroCenter Dashboard
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
Step 3 - Choose the Queue, and you're done!
You can select a specific printer's queue or the general 'Print Later' queue.
A) via AstroCenter Dashboard
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
3) AstroBox Touch Touchscreen
The workflow is a little different when adding files to a Print Queue from the AstroBox Touch Touchscreen. Here's how you do it:
Step 1 - Open the Cloud File Manager
On the AstroBox Touch homescreen, click Print, then Open the Cloud File Manager.
Step 2 - Choose Print File
The AstroBox Touch Cloud files are synced with your AstroPrint Cloud account. You will find the same familiar file structure of: Projects, Designs, and Print Files. As a reminder, only Print Files can be added to Queues. By default the Print Files tab will show 'loose' Print Files that are not associated with a particular design. If the Print File you are looking for is associated with a particular Design File, find your Design File first, then select the Print File you wish to add to a queue.
Step 3 - Add to Queue
Click 'Add to Queue' and you are done! The file has now been added to the Printer Queue!
You'll notice that, unlike using AstroPrint Mobile or the online AstroCenter Dashboard, when using the ABT you do not need to specify which Printer Queue to add the file to. The file will always be added to the Printer Queue associated with they ABT you are using.
Optimizing Your Queues
Whether you are changing the Print Order for files in one of your Queues, or moving files from Print Later to a Printer Queue, from time to time you'll need to optimize the files in your Queues. Here are some tips about how to do that.
Moving files
Moving files from the Print Later Queue to a specific Printer Queue
A) via AstroCenter Dashboard
In the Print Queues application, click Print Later to view the Print Later queue. Then click the down arrow beside Print Now, then click Add to Queue.
Next, simply choose which Printer Queue you wish to use.
That's it, you're done! The file has been added to the appropriate queue.
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
Simply open the Print Later queue, select a file, click Add to Queue, and select which queue to move it to.
Moving files up/down a queue
A) via AstroCenter
First click Print Queues, then Show Queue.
Then Simply click the up and down arrows on the left to move the order of files in the queue. You'll notice that there is also a 'Send to Top' option. This is very helpful when you want to prioritize a file that is far down the queue.
B) via AstroPrint Mobile
First go to your list of Printers, then select the printer you are working with.
Next go to the queue for the printer. Find the file in the queue that you wish to move, and swipe the file LEFT. From there you can move the file up, or down, the queue. There is also an option here to remove the file from the queue.
C) via AstroBox Touch Touchscreen
From the AstroBox Touch homescreen, click Apps. Next, select the Print Queues app.
Locate the file you wish to move in the queue, then click the three dots to the right of the file name. You will then see the menu for moving the file up, or down, the queue. You can also use this menu to remove the file from the queue altogether.
Deleting files from queue
[Coming Soon]
Making Notes
[Coming Soon]
Using Tags
[Coming Soon]
Starting the Next Job in Your Print Queue
There are a number of ways to start the next print job. This can be done from the AstroCenter, AstroPrint Mobile, or even directly from the screen of the AstroBox Touch. For most people, it's fastest and easiest to use the AstroBox Touch to start the next print job.
A) via AstroBox Touch Touchscreen
Method 1 - After a print finishes, simply hit Print Next. Just above the Print Next button is the name of the Print File that is next in the queue.
Method 2 - Use the Print Queue App. It's as easy as opening the Print Queue app, then hitting the Print button beside the file at the top of the queue.
B) via AstroCenter Dashboard
In the Print Queues application, first select Print Queues in the upper left. Then, locate the queue you are working with and simply hit Print. Information for the file that is next in the queue will show on the left.
C) AstroPrint Mobile
In your list of available 3D Printers, select the printer you wish to access. Next, in the bottom menu, select Queue. Now you simply press the Print button next to the top file in the printer queue.
That's it. You are now a master of using Print Queues! Please let us know if you have any questions!