May 20, 2014
3Dagogo, a California-based startup just launched a Kickstarter campaign today for their new product 'AstroPrint'. The AstroPrint platform allows you to use any smartphone or tablet as an effective interface to control your 3D printers.
AstroPrint is a software platform that performs all the functions of your printer controllers and slicers. The AstroPrint platform consist of two parts:
The AstroBox is a small stylish box with a laser cut acrylic case that connects to your 3D printer via a USB cable. It allows you to connect to, and control, your 3D printer over wifi from phones, computers, and tablets. The pre-assembled plug-and-play AstroBox is coming stocked with a pcDuino v2. This is 2 times faster than the Raspberry Pi, comes with onboard wifi, 4GB flash memory, and buttons. "The pcDuino2 is a natural choice for us due to the fact that it is faster than the Raspberry Pi, and will need less modifications than a Beagle Bone Black (i.e. more affordable.)," explained Drew Taylor CEO, Cofounder of 3DaGoGo, Inc.
All you need to do is to simply plug your printer's USB cable into the AstroBox. It then creates its own local wifi network. Instead of using Repetier Host or Pronterface to control your printer, you can use AstroPrint wirelessly from your phone, tablet, or computer.
The second part is AstroPrint.com, which uses your free account to slice, organize, and store your designs in the cloud. The updates and optimizations of the cloud slicer are all automatic. Also, you can connect to your AstroBox to control your printer from anywhere you have internet access. If you have a camera installed you can even watch the print as it happens.
The team behind AstroPrint are the developers of 3DaGoGo.com marketplace of 'Proven to Print' 3D designs. CTO, Daniel Arroyo, was on the development team of the Symbian OS which is currently in 100's of millions of smartphones. Joshua White, CDO (Chief Design Officer), has designed the printer interface from scratch. Drew Taylor is a serial web-entrepreneur whose last project was FindYogaNow.com, a yoga class search engine with over 20K classes listed daily. "It has been our mission to simplify the 3D printing user experience so that mass consumer adoption will be possible." the team says.
AstroPrint is designed to be a 1-click-print platform for beginners, which will automatically set the most ideal settings for each of your prints. But it is also a great tool for 3D printing power-users who want to modify every setting in Slic3r. AstroPrint provides you easy access to every advanced setting, but with a simple interface that will even organize your gcodes.
The team will be offering the AstroBox starting at $75 which includes a pcDuino2, acrylic case, 2A power supply, 8GB microSD card w/ AstroBox software, plus a Lifetime Pro Plan to AstroPrint.com. After Kickstarter, the box retails for $149, and the Pro Plan for $10/month.
A few of the other perks, ranging from $5 to $3K include:
Picking your own case colors and laser etching.
Upgrade to a pcDuino3S with laser etched steel case.
Being on a special beta testing panel.
Dowloading SD card 'images' to run AstroPrint on your own Raspberry Pi, Beagle Bone Black or pcDuino.
And of course, meet the team for dinner and drinks!
Check out more info or support the project here on Kickstarter.
Posted in 3D Printing Software
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