Multiple Duet 2 WIFI Printers
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Hello All,
I am trying to setup a print farm for work. We are using Modix Big 60 printers which have duet 2 wifi boards. Has anyone set it up a system for multiple printer monitoring. I'd like to be able to switch between printers, monitor heats and a video signal from a single local desktop, or online if possible.
-I am unable to connect to the company wifi server so I have activated the board to provide its own wifi signal to connect a laptop to the printer.
-Also the heated bed is not connected to the motherboard, so I want to use a wifi switch to turn it off after a print. Can this switch be connected to the duet boards wifi?
What is the best way to get this done? Danal Estes's platform, octoprint, LAN and switching the LAN connections?Any input would be great!
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https://github.com/DanalEstes/MultiDuetWebMonitor
Might be a good start?
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From your description it might be worthwhile re-considering/addressing your wifi network. I am not sure how many clients a Duet in access point mode can support, and getting it to support online monitoring will be a further challenge. I do not know how MultiDuetMonitor works, but unless it automatically switches the wifi connection to each printers AP I think you are going to hit problems (and a brief read through the repo suggests it expects all the printers to be on the same network). It may be better to run your laptop as the wifi Access Point, and connect all your printers, wifi power switches etc to that, or buy a cheap wifi access-point, or an old router, or use a r-pi as an access point etc..
Once you have them all on the same network your options open up:
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MultiDuetWebMonitor
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A multi-printer Dashboard in NodeRed like this one (https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/18520/node-red-mobile-sized-status-dashboard-for-duet) and this one (https://forum.duet3d.com/topic/15107/duet-integration-with-nodered-home-automation-print-farms). NodeDSF - May help you out here as well.
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DueUI may offer some possibilities for you (https://github.com/gtjoseph/DueUI/wiki)
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BtnCmd will allow you to display multiple web cameras (on the same LAN) and add buttons to control remote printers using the Duet Rest API inside DWC - it will not display remote temps/telemetry info though.
Hopefully that's enough to at least get you started on understanding some of the options already available.
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I monitor and control my machines via remote desktop/teamviewer and have a browser tab for each machine… not sure what else would you need honestly. cheap “security” ip camera for video feed that’s linked to smartphone app so other than not being there physically either looking across the office to machines or at the videofeed on the screen is, for me, almost the same thing.
You do want well performing and tuned machines and fixed IPs set in router.IMO you would like to have SSRs for bed tho because one print will be done at like midnight and the other at 3am and third at 5am… can’t imagine waking up to turn those heaters off.
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It seems like my best option is try and setup a wifi router for a local network, but not connected to the internet. Then I can connect the duet boards to the local wifi, would each board have its own I.P.? I could then have multiple browser tabs with the different I.P. addresses to switch between them.
Each one would need a raspberry pi to connect a camera to it. And its own wifi plug to turn off the power to the heated bed.Or, I can get the Duet 2 LAN boards and a LAN switch connected directly to my desktop. (But how would I connect the raspberry pi and wifi switch to it?)
Thanks for the comments so far!
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@djthuma I would agree with your first scenario - assuming all you printers will be in proximity of the wifi signal. (each board with its own IP)
I do not think you need a separate pi for each camera - that could get expensive.
You can run multiple usb cameras off a single pi 3 or 4 with something like motioneye or maybe videostreamer to serve the images to DWC.
Alternatively you could get cheap IP Cameras that can directly server the stream to DWC without the need for a pi.
Edit: You never mentioned how many printers/cameras/devices this farm will involve. You may have consider available wifi bandwidth/router throughput in your plans. (Ethernet could end up being a better choice) . Also I don't know the size of the company - if you have an IT dept/manager you should consult them before you commit.
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@mintytrebor said in Multiple Duet 2 WIFI Printers:
I do not think you need a separate pi for each camera - that could get expensive.
I use a pi zero W for each camera and a cheap chinese pi camera .... about $30 USD total cost not including a 3D printed box and a power supply.
Good point about wifi channel saturation though - I wouldn't go beyond a small number of cameras , let's say 2 or 3, if using wifi. I am running 5 in my house (cameras, not printers) and I do get frequent lock-ups that I think are related to wifi saturation. I am getting close to giving in and hard-wiring the cameras on the printers with ethernet and I would have to upgrade since the pi zero W doesn't have an ethernet port but a pi3 B is pretty cheap too.
My newest printer build has a pi on it anyway so that will get a camera connected that way.BTW, my printers and cameras all have static IP numbers assigned so I can easily flip through them as needed.
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@mintytrebor I am working with the IT department and we are probably looking at the first one.
Can the webcams be run directly from the duet board? or do I need a pi? interested in the pi ribon cable cameras. Fairly inexpensive.
I am trying to make the most simple working system so It can work hands off. Cameras would be nice, but the control is more important. Looking at 6/8 modix big 60 printers, buildtak as a bed surface, printing mostly PETG and ASA. Mostly running longer prints with larger nozzles, some prototypes with smaller nozzles. Each machine would be calibrated to that specific material and nozzle, and not change. So the prints should remain pretty consistent.
Lan could be nice, but I want to try and get the wifi switch working too. Maybe both?
Wire the printers to the desktop, (it still shows IP correct?) connect to board IP in different tabs, and wifi signal to the switch? Can I get video feed through the duet? -
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@djthuma, no to the signal feed via the Duet, ribbon camera's is what I use, would suggest ethernet connection (pi3b) with that many cameras (you might find you need two per printer ).
I would stick with whatever Duet2 boards you have (wifi or ethernet) or, if you need new boards, go ethernet. In a commercial situation like this, wifi is really not the right thing ... although if you have wifi Duet2 boards I would stick with those as they have a MUCH smaller data throughput requirement. (Edit: sorry, didn't remember that you said you had wifi boards)
Why are the heated beds not controlled by the Duet? Having a separate switch for that (other than a 'holy shit the printer is on fire' switch doesn't make sense. Is the bed temperature set by the Duet? If not then why not?Lastly, to confuse matters, you can get dedicated security camera systems for under $100 per camera although the cameras are physically much larger. No need to build a box for every pi, everything is wired and a much cleaner front end for monitoring.
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@jens55 The modix printers have a very large bed size, so they have an independent heater and controller, that I set by hand and warmup before a print begins.
So can you break down the needs for that setup.
Duet wifi board ethernet connected to the pc, pi board for a few cameras? Can I connect the pi boards to the ethernet connection of the desktop to transfer the signal feed? I can get whatever cable length I need to get the ethernet setup. And idk what to do about the heated bed.
Or it may be easier to control those from a 8 channel security -
@djthuma, first up, you can't use Duet wifi and ethernet in the same sentence. They are two distinct products. If you have the boards already then you are (baring major effort) stuck with that board and it's manner of connecting to the world. My preference if I was in your shoes would be ethernet all the way - for cameras and the Duet boards.
I see no reason to deal with the bed heaters separately unless you already have them at hand and even then I would be tempted to somehow change she setup in such a manner that the Duet controls the heater.This is just my 2 cents of course and hopefully somebody else will offer their opinion as well.
Edit: So let's suppose you already have the heaters on hand and they are independently controlled. Let's further assume that you want to run 100C bed heat. What you would do is set the external controller to lets say 130C. The Duet signal to turn on heat would go to an SSR and the external heat controller would be powered by the output of this SSR. You will obviously need a second thermal sensor to attach to the heat bed and feed that signal to the Duet. You then have a rather interesting safety feature in that the external controller will never let the bed exceed it's set temperature (130C in this case) but the Duet will control the bed temperature in normal operation. Since SSR's can fail in the 'on' mode, this setup gives you a really nice safety net.
Note that I am not familiar with the bed heater that comes with a Modix printer and for all I know it might have multiple sensors and heat zones in which case my ramblings are just ramblings that do not apply.
As always, talk to a qualified person whenever you deal with something that can kill you or burn down your place of business.
