Cancelling prints

[Darren_DeVecchio]

So this has happened a few times in the past and today with a problem print it has also been an issue…

I start a Print Job, but while the print is in progress I am doing other things in AstroPrint, like preparing new models and slice files…but while working I notice the print has gone bad. Now often I have the local astrobox controls open is a separate window so I can click there and stop things. However on these occasions I didn’t have that screen open. The result is I have to do alot of navigation back through the dashboard to the controls screen to get to the point where I can cancel the print…maybe I just haven’t found the quickest path…

Possibly an emergency stop button at the top of most of the astroprint web pages would be nice. Not sure how that would work for those with multiple printers but for those of us with only one a simple red button that we could click to either pause and take us to the control screen or a real terminate job button might be handy.

[Daniel]

As always very good suggestion. We need to think about the UI around it but I totally see the value

[dilanka]

I am not sure if this is necessary…

Plus, the UI/UX is likely going to be very messy/cluttered by adding this…

I see why it’s useful, but don’t know many folks who need to cancel THAT fast…

[Darren_DeVecchio]

I have no solution to the UI issue…:(…Other print drivers (Repetier Host comes to mind) have this but then again they mostly support only one printer and have a simpler single screen but more cluttered interface. I would like to know how they actually do the stop as it seems to happen instantly even things in the print buffer seem to just stop. With Astroprint it takes several seconds to stop even once the print is canceled, and it stops in kind of a odd jerky way as I presume the buffer is cleared.

I am just used to an emergency stop button from CNC milling, having to navigate around to stop or pull the plug seems less than optimal. I have had models come loose and with my Delta printer moving at 300mm/s it can knock itself out of alignment, and even damage some of the smaller components, both of which are a pain. No guarantee I could stop it in time either but I could certainly have fewer impacts.

All that said if it messes with the interface in a bad way then I would agree maybe it is not practical to have this in AstroPrint, I imagine as you say it is not a widely ‘NEEDED’ feature.

[Mike_Dallatorre]

Is there a remote kill, like when you are viewing from outside your network?
Sometimes I set up things to print and I go to work. And if something happens midway all I can do is watch it waste my filament and make a mess.

Thanks!

[Darren_DeVecchio]

With Astroprint I can usually kill a bad print by simply connecting to the astrobox remotely and clicking cancel…this works if astroprint/astrobox/printer/network is working correctly…only the print has gone awry.

When I am doing things remotely I am more okay with the time lag to kill a print, since I am usually not doing something tricky and odds of a crash are low (although making spaghetti can happen).

I like having an Estop when I am next to the printer and doing something that goes bad in a way that can be damaging…obviously pulling the plug or powering down works too but not as fast or easy.

[Daniel]

Connect your astrobox to an astroprint cloud account and you can start/monitor/cancel/pause your prints from anywhere

[Alexander_Reifsnyder]

Where is this setting? I don’t see any printer controls unless I am connected to the same network. Am I doing something wrong?

[Daniel]

There’s a monitor app at astroprint.com where you can cancel, pause and monitor ongoing prints.

You can start new prints remotely from the file manager

[Joe]

I would actually like to see this implemented a bit more. I could be missing something, but it seems that when I’m using the UI on the RPi it brings me the monitor screen, but it seems limited in functionality. Mostly if I want to exit the program, load up the next model and then go back to check on the print. I think a “universal” stop button on any page is also important. If I notice a failed print I want to be able to stop that immediately, no matter where I am. I think @Darren_DeVecchio has a very good point with all this. Prior to upgrading to 10.7 I had some issues where the print would start, but I’d lose the screen and couldn’t get back, or got stuck on the monitor screen. Things to this effect. I’m going to add this to the list in my thread, for my own reference as well.

[jtpowell]

There also needs to be a way to cancel prints that have been cancelled from the front of a printer, instead of that job showing up in history as in progress, even after other jobs have been ran. Yes, there are reasons to cancel a job immediately without going into the UI. Those jobs should not be left history wise in a limbo state.

[Daniel]

Most printers won’t inform the software when this happens. In any case these are not left in limbo, they’re cleanup by the system after a few days.

[jtpowell]

That’s good to know. Thanks for the info.

[Michael_A_Fuselier]

A universal stop print button on all pages, is not a bad idea.

[Scott1]

OK… this is deeply concerning. Especially with with new AstroPrint-Touch coming out… YOU MUST PUT IN AN ESTOP!

All industrial equipment used in consumer/professional environments require an eStop capability. The current cancel print feature is more like, “oh let’s make sure, then we’ll get around to it after the next sequence of G codes are done.”

Today I had a print peel off the table and jam the machine. I was monitoring remotely and I saw via the camera the print-carriage was jammed on the ball of PLA goo. I could hear it banging from 20 feet away behind a closed door – I issued a cancel print. It took almost 30 seconds before the printer stopped as it was clearly waiting for the a command sequence to stop. It appeared it was doing several batched G-codes.

Since I was just down the hall, I ran into the printer room and turned off the printer. Figuring the astro box would time out, I turned the printer back on about 30 seconds later and it returned immediately back to running and jamming again…

All the other S/W control packages (Simplify3D, GCodePrintr, Mach3) pretty much do an immediate motor off when the stop button is pressed.

What if a kid or overly curious person got a sleeve caught in the machine? And cannot reach around the back of the machine to power it off.

PAUSE is not the same as eSTOP. That is just a “feed hold” operation. eStop means you cannot just resume, you have to figure out what is wrong and fix it.

So… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put in an all-motor off estop button. In fact, while you are at it, please add the ability in the S/W to select an I/O pin to allow people wire in an external e-stop switch. (Normally ON is typical in the industry as per how eStop switches work, so you can wire several in series if you need to).

I am stunned you guys only “think this is a good idea”, and “we need to think about the UI”.

This reminds me of the joke, “the speed limit of light at 186,000mps is not just a good idea, IT’s THE LAW”.

Honestly, by law you must put in an eSTOP capability, to shut off all movement (axis motors and extruder at least) during an eStop. I’d recommend turning off the heat too.

Seriously, you are opening yourself up for severe liabilities. Disclaimers won’t get you far if someone is hurt.

I look forward to seeing a proper eStop in a build very soon…

Did I mention the word “please”?

THANKS

Scott

[Daniel]

We fully understand the need for this and have needed it a few times ourselves, however due to the nature of our system we simply can’t offer a 100% reliable eSTOP solution. These are the reasons:

1. delivery of the command via the network while mostly reliable can’t be expected to always work in all conditions. Some users place their boxes in areas with poor WiFi coverage which means that sometimes commands don’t reach the box or do so with long delays.

2. some firmwares would buffer a few commands during print to optimize and speed up the print. Even when the command reaches the machine, it won’t be executed until the buffer is clear since we’re sending them via a serial port.

3. support for an eSTOP command and its behavior is not fully standardized yet across all firmwares.

Having said all this we’re working on something that should be faster than the current cancel but nothing can replace having a HW button next to the printer that can halt the main board or cut power.

Maybe this all sounds like a bunch of excuses but these are the challenges we face. While always working to improve, at this point we coudn’t claim to have an fully reliable eSTOP solution.

[Scott1]

Thank and fair enough, Daniel. All good points. Whatever they do on Simplify3D works for me. Perhaps some kind of scripting ability could be made available to allow people who can wire in a relay to an IO line to cut power remotely. I’ll take my chances with WiFi etc.
On Mach3 I use with my huge retro-fitted CNC Vertical Milling Center, I had to implement custom scripts and some custom arduino based H/W to handle various emergency conditions including eStop (operating axis brakes etc).

I’m sure the user community can give you feedback on which firmware and H/W doesn’t handle eStop very well, or well.

I’d be happy to test on my Leapfrog Creatr Duals and Xeed.

You guys rock!

Scott

I am sorry I missed the Kickstarter for Astro Touch. Sigh

[Darren_DeVecchio]

Thought I would chime back in…

For what it is worth my printer is Repetier firmware based and whatever they do from the Repetier control application does seem to stop the printer very quickly…possibly there could be some clues there…Perhaps if printers
or firmwares vary the stop function would need to be based on the printer selected but the suggestion to add a script
would be a good one too…I am sure in short order and where possible the Astroprint users would have solutions you could implement based on printer information.

Oh and to Scott1 I have seen the same thing you mentioned where your printer tries to just jam itself back after a power down…the secret is you need to pull the usb cable after power down and the plug it back in…part of the problem is that the AstroBox will provide power to the Printer electronics via USB even when the printer is powered down…so all you stop is the motors until you power it back up then it continues…breaking the USB connection will cause the printer to reboot on power up (clearing any cache of commands) and also prevent astrobox from sending anything further…Fortunately this is not a frequent problem for me and the printers are usually not powerful enough to do a lot of damage to themselves or anyone near by…unlike most CNC Machining equipment.

Looking forward to my AstroTouch…which hey that might address some of this too…there is no wifi issue there right? It connects directly to the Printer via USB…as does the AstroPrint application (though I wish it could connect to the printer through AstroPrint box via the net for direct control as that would make it much more useable for me)

[Scott_Vandereems]

Any updates on this new feature you said?

Having said all this we’re working on something that should be faster than the current cancel but nothing can replace having a HW button next to the printer that can halt the main board or cut power.