www.3ders.org

Sep 28, 2015 | By Alec

3DPrinterOS is already very commonly used to operate 3D printers all over the world – from universities to startups and even to private homes. However, it looks like it is about to become far easier to use in settings with very large numbers of users, as 3DPrinterOS has just announced that they will release two new custom licences: one for educational purposes, as well as a premium option featuring more and improves options.

Now, 3DPrinterOS hardly needs an introduction; their excellent operating system is commonly used and appreciated for its excellent management platform, streaming options and data tracking features.

But as the company’s head of operations and strategy Aaron Roy explained, they have been working hard to be more appealing to those universities and schools that use 3D printing extensively. The development of the educational license has therefore depended on the input and testing from schools including Duke, Purdue and Florida State. As he explains, it gives faculties the ability to easily distribute and track access throughout the campus. ‘The 3DPrinterOS educational license brings connected printing capabilities to almost any make or model 3D printer. You can manage your printer from a web dashboard that also supports multiple printers,’ he says. ‘So if you're a school or university with several 3D printers, you only have one place to go to monitor your print jobs.’

And those engineers and professors who participated in its development are very positive already. As Chip Bobbert, who is a Digital Media Engineer at Duke University explained, their students accumulated over 1478 hours of 3D printing, spread out over 601 print jobs, in just four weeks of experimenting. ‘We did this using only seven printers and a small student support staff. 3DPrinterOS allowed us to maximize output while minimizing input and at the same time gave a tool to our makers that is simple, easy to use, and requires a minimum amount of training,’ he says.

The idea is that this license will enable schools to invest in 3D printing without requiring a costly staff to operate the 3D printers and regulate the workflow. With it, 3D printing will be seamless and easily regulated by just a few admins. ‘We use 3DPrinterOS to track the quantity of prints going through our doors and the amount of active users we have.  We can use this data as a point for calculating funding and costs for semesters to come,’ Davin Huston, Clinical Assistant Professor at Purdue, further added. In short, a very interesting option for educational institutes.

The premium license, meanwhile, looks like an excellent upgrade from the free 3DPrinterOS license most of us use. Among others, it offers access to a direct print API where you can build your own 3D marketplace and sell designs. ‘The API includes editing tools, Magic Fix for design preparation and direct streaming without exposing source files to supported printer types,’ Aaron Roy says. Then there’s also the Virtual Factory option, which gives users the ability to manage workflow for other making machines such as CNC machines and laser cutters – perfect for makerspaces.

 

 

Posted in 3D Software

 

 

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